Award-winning director and Death Stranding NPC Guillermo del Toro’s film The Shape of Water is set to join The Criterion Collection. The new 4K Blu-ray version will be released on November 26th and can be pre-ordered now on Amazon for $35, which is 30% off the $50 list price. At its core, the film is a love story – albeit a strange one involving an estranged woman and a humanoid amphibian – and the film brilliantly showcases del Toro’s unique style and detail-oriented methods to build a believable world. “The Shape of Water” is arguably del Toro’s best film, winning the 2018 Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
While you’re waiting to rewatch The Shape of Water, we recommend checking out the official novel, co-written by del Toro. The book is available now, priced at $31 for hardcover and $13 for Kindle. It’s worth noting that a new paperback edition of the official novel The Shape of Water will be released next May.
The Shape of Water was released a week before Criterion’s 40th anniversary celebrations. The 40-movie box set called CC40 will be released on November 19th.
$35 (originally $50)
If you’re not familiar with the Criterion Collection, you’re going to love it. Each film in the series is presented the way the creators intended, turning them into the final director’s cut. They’re also loaded with tons of extra content, giving you a deeper look into each film’s development, and you’ll generally find a variety of films covered here. From classic and avant-garde films to Hollywood blockbusters, B-movie horror films and weirder stuff, everything has been highlighted in the past. The Shape of Water easily falls into this category!
Here’s your detailed look at the director-approved version of the film:
- 4K digital master produced by director Guillermo del Toro
- 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtrack
- A 4K UHD movie disc in HDR format
- One standard Blu-ray disc containing the movie and special features
- New conversation between del Toro and filmmaker David Lowery
- A documentary about the film’s production design, acting, special effects and soundtrack
- Prologue and analysis of the scene: dance
- Shaping Waves: An Interview with Illustrator James Jean
- 2017 Masterclass on Technical Aspects of Film, presented by Del Toro and other cast members
- trailer
- English subtitles
- English description audio
- Article by film critic Carlos Aguilar
The Shape of Water will be del Toro’s fifth film in the Criterion series. You can buy the other four movies, including “Pinocchio” and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” at significant discounts on Amazon. Sadly, Del Toro’s greatest cinematic masterpiece has yet to appear on this list, but it’s only a matter of time before Pacific Rim wins a Criterion Collection award. Okay, maybe not, but Pacific Rim is del Toro’s highest-grossing film, and you should still watch the 4K Blu-ray version because it’s a lot of fun.
Guillermo del Toro Criterion Collection
If you’re looking for more details on The Shape of Water, you can get some informative books now. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water: Creating Fairy Tales for Troubled Times is a beautiful hardcover book that explores the art and filmmaking journey behind the film.
Authors Daniel Kraus and del Toro adapted “The Shape of Water” into an excellent novel. Contrary to the extremely common book-to-movie adaptation process, novels (movies turned into books) are no longer as common as they once were. Good novels are even rarer, but del Toro and Krause have created novels that complement and build upon the world of the film. The hardcover edition of The Shape of Water is available now for $31, but there is also a new paperback edition for $20 that will be released on May 20, 2025.
The Shape of Water isn’t Del Toro’s only film adaptation of a novel. He teamed up with award-winning author Cornelia Funk and illustrator Alan Williams to adapt Pan’s Labyrinth into a novel that is arguably as good as the film. If you like art books, you can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Del Toro’s version of “Pinocchio.”
Fans of del Toro’s films should also check out the trilogy of vampire novels he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan. The Strain was adapted into a pretty good FX drama that ran from 2014 to 2017, but the novel (as usual) is better than the adaptation.
