Today’s Feature: The Director’s Notebook (2013)/Pacific Rim (2013)

Outside of a few Power Rangers pieces here and there, we haven’t done much about Kaiju or Tokusatsu on this site. This is a shame, as it is an ever-growing and ever more influential sub-genre in Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction. In 2013, fans were lucky enough to experience Pacific Rim from the now Academy Award winning Director Guillermo Del Toro. In recent years, Del Toro’s recognition has brought him from the height of “Genre” film (ugh, I hate that term) to the forefront of the art as a whole. Pacific Rim is far from the director’s most acclaimed work but, for many fans of the genre, holds a special place. Though utilizing much more CGI than Del Toro typically does, the film retains a visceral design style. The audience is certainly aware that they are witnessing complex animations, but I can’t imagine that it could have been executed with more touch than it was.

“…a complex exercise in telling a tale of a lot more simple heroism.”

The Director’s Notebook tells the story of how many aspects of this visual showpiece came together, and of Del Toro’s intentions for a seemingly endless amount of details. The feature itself is a collection of quotes, image galleries and short video interviews with Del Toro, framed as if you are actually turning the pages of a notebook. If you can read Spanish, the pages that appear on screen provide even more content as they are actual pages from Del Toro’s notes.  Now, I typically don’t like features framed like this, primarily because they attempt to hide a lack of real content. In this case, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This feature’s strength comes from its, well, randomness.  Del Toro has a comment on nearly every aspect of the film’s design, and obviously insight far beyond that. Yes, the film has been criticized for being a bit too simple plot wise but, as you will learn, even this was part of the plan. The feature is a stunning document of how his genius functions and just how much thought go into his work. I could listen to Del Toro talk about the project forever and this feature could have been four or five times as long and not drag. Luckily, the disc also features The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim, a short documentary highlighting the franchise’s unique design.

The Director’s Notebook is available on the Pacific Rim 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-Ray and the 4K Ultra HD release.