Cronos appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Objectively, this Dolby Vision release looked good, albeit with some debatable choices.
Softness remained minimal and didn’t cause many distractions. The majority of the movie exhibited solid accuracy and definition.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt light but natural, and outside of a couple tiny specks, the movie lacked print flaws.
Colors tended toward a heavy mix of blues, teals, grays and greens. As I will note later, I suspect these choices came from a modern regrading and don't represent the way the movie looked originally.
Nonetheless, the colors looked well-represented within these choices. HDR gave the tones added dimensionality.
Blacks seemed deep and tight, while low-light shots offered nice clarity. Whites and contrast enjoyed a boost from HDR. If I ignore my personal thoughts about the color choices, I felt this turned into a largely solid presentation.
As a product of its era, the film’s DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack worked pretty well. For the most part, the soundfield hewed to the front speakers.
In that domain, music spread nicely across the channels. Elements moved with reasonable smoothness as well.
The surrounds came into play mainly with the movie’s more action or horror related scenes. This meant a good layer of involvement, even if the soundscape didn’t live up to modern standards.
Audio quality worked fine, with speech that remains intelligible and fairly natural. Music showed nice range and clarity.
Effects appeared lively and accurate, without obvious distortion. Nothing here dazzled, but I still felt satisfied with the soundtrack.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the prior Criterion Blu-ray from 2010? Both appeared to come with identical audio.
The UHD's Dolby Vision visuals became a different matter, however, primarily related to some major changes in the color grade. While the 2025 4K opted for a heavy teal vibe, the Blu-ray went with a much more amber/red orientation.
I strongly suspect the BD offered a palette that more closely resembled the image as originally intended in 1992. The alternate 2025 grading just felt like del Toro's attempt to make the movie look more "modern".
If the altered hues don't bother you, though, you'll find clear improvements from the UHD, as it delivered superior blacks and delineation and it lost the BD's minor print flaws. That said, I thought the BD worked better just because the colors seemed more appropriate.
I gave both discs "B+" picture grades because objectively, the 4K looked good. Subjectively, I preferred the BD.
As we shift to extras, we find two separate audio commentaries. The first comes from writer/director Guillermo del Toro. Taped in 2002 for a DVD, del Toro provides a running, screen-specific discussion of influences and inspirations, visual design, research, his take on the vampire genre, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, props and effects autobiographical elements.
Del Toro recorded commentaries for his first nine films but skipped a track for his Oscar-winning 2017 flick The Shape of Water. He continued that trend for his two subsequent movies, 2021’s Nightmare Alley and 2022’s Pinocchio.
This seems like a shame, as del Toro always produced simply terrific commentaries, a reminder we get from his chat for Cronos. Del Toro proves insightful, informative and engaging in this top-notch track.
Also recorded for the 2002 DVD, the second commentary features producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall. Navarro and Springall sat together for their side while Gorson recorded his alone and the two separate running, screen-specific sides got edited together.
Across this track, we get notes about the collaboration with del Toro, cast and crew, sets/locations, and various production elements. While the track starts out fairly well, it fades pretty badly along the way.
This means the majority of the content shows up during the movie’s first half, as the participants pop up much less frequently the rest of the way. We get some decent notes overall but this becomes an inconsistent commentary.
The remaining extras appear on the included Blu-ray copy, and Geometria provides a del Toro short film from 1987. It runs six minutes, 27 seconds in this version “personally reworked” by the filmmaker.
This means del Toro simply finished the reel to correct some issues related to time limitations in 1987. Whatever the case, the creepy little horror tale offers an intriguing look at early del Toro.
The director provides a circa 2010 interview that goes for six minutes, 53 seconds and delivers thoughts about Geometria. As always, he proves engaging and informative.
Also from 2010, Welcome to Bleak House goes for 10 minutes, 14 seconds and provides a look at del Toro’s office. The filmmaker himself leads us through a lively glimpse of his personal space.
Under Interviews, we locate four segments. We get reels with del Toro (17:36), cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (12:36) and actors Federico Luppi (5:25) and Ron Perlman (7:25). All were shot circa 2009-2010 except for Luppi’s chat, which came from the Cronos production in 1992.
Del Toro looks at the movie's themes and related elements as well as his current thoughts about the film and what he learned from the experience. Some of this repeats from the commentary but del Toro remains engaging enough to make the chat worth a look.
Navarro discusses his relationship with del Toro as well as his work on Cronos and later flicks. Perlman relates how del Toro recruited him and their association.
Both Navarro and Perlman chats work well, especially when the actor talks about del Toro’s bluntness with him on the set. Luppi’s remarks prove less insightful but they still give us a few decent thoughts.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we wind up with a Still Gallery that features 68 elements. These show details from aspects of Cronos as well as older pics of del Toro and friends/family.
These also come with caption screens written by del Toro to describe what we will see. They add value to the package.
The set ends with a booklet that includes art, credits, an essay from critic Maitland McDonagh and director’s notes from del Toro. It becomes one of Criterion’s better booklets.
In general, it seems logical to enter the debut of a celebrated filmmaker with caution, but Guillermo del Toro showed an affinity for cinema right out of the gate. Cronos delivers a lively and creative take on the vampire genre.
The Blu-ray comes with positive audio and a nice roster of bonus materials but visuals demonstrated a color grading that veered so far from the prior release that the "new" hues turned into a distraction. Del Toro’s first feature holds up well after more than 30 years, but I wish this 4K went with what I suspect is the movie's original palette, as the new sense of colors just feels wrong.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of CRONOS
