Since childhood, Guillermo del Toro was transfixed by a single shot of the Gill-man peering at Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) floating in the water in The Creature From the Black Lagoon. He felt the pain of the monster’s unrequited love, but it took him 40 years to unite the damsel with the creature.
The Shape of Water has mystified audiences since its 2017 release. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture in a year filled with heavy hitters like Phantom Thread and Dunkirk, and del Toro’s heartfelt twist on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale has since legitimized the monster romance genre and its recent explosion into the mainstream. And whether you missed it or are overdue for a revisit, Criterion just dropped a 4K UHD and Blu-Ray combo loaded with special features.
