The Shape of Water | |
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Directed by | Guillermo del Toro |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Guillermo del Toro |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Dan Laustsen |
Edited by | Sidney Wolinsky |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 123 minutes[1] |
Countries |
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Languages |
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Budget | $19.5–20 million[3][4] |
Box office | $195.3 million[5] |
The Shape of Water is a 2017 romantic fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature, and decides to help him escape from death at the hands of an evil colonel. Filming took place on location in Ontario, Canada, from August to November 2016.
The Shape of Water was screened as part of the main competition in the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 31, 2017, and was awarded the Golden Lion. It was also screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It began a limited release in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017, before expanding wide on December 22, 2017, and grossed $195 million worldwide.
The Shape of Water was acclaimed by critics, who lauded its acting, screenplay, direction, visuals, production design, cinematography, and musical score. The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top ten films of 2017. The film was nominated for a leading thirteen awards at the 90th Academy Awards, winning four, including Best Picture and Best Director for del Toro, and received numerous other accolades. It was the second fantasy film to win Best Picture, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). A novelization by del Toro and Daniel Kraus was published on March 6, 2018.
Plot
Elisa Esposito, who was found abandoned by the side of a river as an infant with scars on her neck, is mute and communicates through sign language. In 1962, during the Cold War, Elisa works as a custodian at a secret government laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland, and lives a very routine life in an apartment above a movie theater. Her only friends are her closeted gay next-door neighbor Giles, a struggling middle-aged advertising illustrator, and her co-worker Zelda Fuller.
Colonel Richard Strickland has just captured a mysterious creature from a South American river and has taken it to the Baltimore facility for further study. Curious, Elisa discovers it is a humanoid amphibian. She begins visiting him in secret, and they form a close bond.
Seeking to exploit the Amphibian Man for a US advantage in the Space Race, General Frank Hoyt is eventually persuaded by Strickland to vivisect it. Dr. Robert Hoffstetler, a scientist who is secretly a Russian spy named Dimitri Mosenkov, pleads unsuccessfully to Strickland to keep him alive for further study, while simultaneously ordered by his Soviet handlers to kill the creature.
When Elisa overhears the Americans' plans for the Amphibian Man, she attempts to persuade Giles to help her liberate him. He refuses at first, scared of the consequences and ethics. After failing to get his job back, Giles is rejected by a pie restaurant worker, who he discovers is a racist and homophobe. Subsequently, he has a change of heart.
Hoffstetler stumbles upon Elisa's plot in progress and chooses to assist her. Though initially reluctant, Zelda also becomes involved in making the escape successful. Elisa plans to release the Amphibian Man into a nearby canal when heavy rain will allow access to the ocean. In the meantime, she keeps him in her bathtub. Strickland interrogates Elisa and Zelda, among others, but he learns nothing.
The Amphibian Man encounters one of Giles's cats, who reacts expectedly. Giles discovers the Amphibian Man devouring the cat. When he tries to stop him, he gets startled, slashes Giles's arm and rushes out of the apartment. He gets as far as the cinema downstairs before Elisa finds him and returns him to her apartment.
The creature touches Giles on his balding head and wounded arm. The next morning, Giles discovers hair has begun growing back on his previously bald head, while the wounds on his arm have healed. Elisa continues to develop her romantic relationship with the Amphibian Man, culminating in sexual intercourse.
General Hoyt unexpectedly arrives and tells Strickland he has 36 hours to recover the Amphibian Man, or his career and life will be over. Meanwhile, Hoffstetler is told by his handlers that he will be extracted from the US in two days. Although the planned release date approaches, the Amphibian Man's health begins to deteriorate.
Hoffstetler goes to meet his handlers, and Strickland follows him. At the rendezvous, Hoffstetler is shot by one of them and Strickland intervenes, shooting both handlers. Realizing that Hoffstetler is a spy, Strickland tortures the dying man into revealing the Amphibian Man's whereabouts. He is surprised to learn that Elisa and Zelda are involved.
Strickland threatens Zelda in her home unsuccessfully, until her husband Brewster, reveals that Elisa has the Amphibian Man. She immediately telephones her, warning her to release the creature. An enraged Strickland ransacks Elisa's empty apartment until he finds evidence in the bathtub and a calendar note revealing where she plans to release the Amphibian Man.
At the canal, Elisa and Giles are bidding farewell to the creature when Strickland arrives, knocks Giles down, and shoots both the Amphibian Man and Elisa. The Amphibian Man heals himself, and kills Strickland by slashing his throat. As the police arrive on the scene with Zelda, the Amphibian Man takes Elisa and jumps into the canal, swimming around her lifeless body. He applies his healing powers/ability to the scars on Elisa's neck, which open to reveal gills like his.
Elisa jolts back to life and they embrace and kiss. In a closing voice-over narration, Giles conveys his belief that Elisa lived happily ever after and remained in love with the Amphibian Man.
Cast
- Sally Hawkins as Elisa Esposito
- Michael Shannon as Richard Strickland
- Richard Jenkins as Giles
- Doug Jones as "The Amphibian Man"
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Robert Hoffstetler / Dimitri Mosenkov
- Octavia Spencer as Zelda Delilah Fuller
- Nick Searcy as General of the Air Force Frank Hoyt
- David Hewlett as Fleming
- Nigel Bennett as Mihalkov
- Stewart Arnott as Bernard
- Lauren Lee Smith as Elaine Strickland
- Martin Roach as Brewster Fuller
- John Kapelos as Mr. Arzoumanian
- Morgan Kelly as Pie Guy
- Wendy Lyon as Sally
Production
Development
It was co-produced between the United States and Mexico. The film was directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay he co-wrote with Vanessa Taylor.[1] Del Toro formed the idea for The Shape of Water over breakfast in December 2011 with Daniel Kraus, his future collaborator on the novel Trollhunters.[6] It was primarily inspired by del Toro's childhood memories of seeing Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and wanting to see the Gill-man and Kay Lawrence (played by Julie Adams) succeed in their romance.[7]
When del Toro was in talks with Universal to direct a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon, he tried pitching a version focused more on the creature's perspective, where the Creature ended up together with the female lead, but the studio executives rejected the concept.[8] Additionally, the film also shows similarities to the 2015 short film The Space Between Us.[9]
In placing the film in the 1960s, del Toro said "the movie is a movie about our problems today and about demonizing the other and about fearing or hating the other, and how that is a much more destructive position than learning to love and understand [...] if I say once upon a time in 1962, it becomes a fairy tale for troubled times. People can lower their guard a little bit more and listen to the story and listen to the characters and talk about the issues, rather than the circumstances of the issues."[10]
Casting
A fan of her performances in Fingersmith (2005) and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), del Toro wrote the script with Sally Hawkins in mind for the female lead and pitched the idea to her while he was intoxicated at the 2014 Golden Globes.[11] Hawkins prepared for the role by watching films of silent comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Stan Laurel from Laurel and Hardy, the last of whom Del Toro told her to watch because he thought Laurel could "do a state of grace without conveying it verbally".[12]
Doug Jones was chosen to portray the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water, having collaborated with del Toro on Mimic (1997), Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), and Crimson Peak (2015). In an interview with NPR, Jones said his initial reaction to learning the creature would also be a romantic lead was "utter terror" but trusted the director to expand the character's development. As Jones wanted to portray a creature distinct from others in monster films, he practiced a variety of movements in a dance studio. After del Toro told him to make the character "animalistic, but royal and regal", Jones decided to also portray the character as a Matador.[13]
The part of Giles was originally written with Ian McKellen in mind, and del Toro was inspired to do so by his performance in Gods and Monsters as the real-life closeted gay filmmaker James Whale, the director of Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), who found himself unemployable in his later years. When McKellen proved unavailable, del Toro sent an e-mail to Richard Jenkins, who accepted the part.[14]
Michael Shannon was cast as Richard Strickland, the villain of the film. Shannon and del Toro had early conversations about the notion that Strickland would have been the hero of the film if it had been made in the 1950s, something that fascinated the actor.[15] Octavia Spencer, who played the role of Elisa's co-worker, friend, and interpreter Zelda, found it funny that the people del Toro used to speak for the mute main character were people who represent very disenfranchised groups.[16]
Filming and visuals
Principal photography began on August 15, 2016, in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario,[17][18][19] and wrapped on November 6, 2016.[20] The interior of the Orpheum (the movie theater seen in the film), is that of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto, while the exterior of the building is the façade of the Victorian Massey Hall, a performing arts theatre not far from the other one. Elisa and Giles's old flats, which in the film are just above the Orpheum, were actually a set built at Cinespace Studios, West Toronto.[21]
Del Toro was torn between making the film in color or in black and white, and was at one point leaning toward the latter. Fox Searchlight Pictures offered del Toro either a $20 million budget to make the film in color or a $17 million budget to shoot it in black and white. Del Toro admitted he was in "a battle I was expecting to lose. I was of two minds. On one hand I thought black and white would look luscious, but on the other hand I thought it would look postmodern, like I was being reflective rather than immersed." As a result, he chose to shoot it in color.[22][23] In an interview with IndieWire about the film, del Toro said the project was a "healing movie for me", as it allowed him to explore and "speak about trust, otherness, sex, love, where we're going. These are not concerns that I had when I was nine or seven."[24]
Music
Three years before The Shape of Water was released, del Toro met with composer Alexandre Desplat to talk about the film's premise. In January 2017, Desplat was shown a rough cut of the finished film, and finding it similar to a musical, he agreed to compose a score. As a result, Desplat tried to capture the sound of water extensively to have audiences experience a "warm feeling" that is also caused by love. In an interview, he said the melody from the opening scene was "actually made of waves. I did not do that on purpose, but by being completely immersed in this love and these water elements, I wrote a melody that plays arpeggios like waves."[25]
Writing the film score took six weeks; it was purposely composed to create the sense of immersion and to give the "sense that you, yourself, are floating". The two melodies, one titled "Elisa's Theme", are heard at the beginning of the film and later merge into a single piece of music by the end of it. To emphasize this effect and its final result, Desplat changed the sounds of the accompanying flutes, accordions, and whistles to "something blurred". On composing the score overall, he said that it was "a matter of sculpting the music and making it take the shape of the storyline." As a result, Desplat opted out of giving Shannon's character a melody.[25]
The music for The Shape of Water was released on December 1, 2017, by Decca Records. At the 90th Academy Awards, it received the Academy Award for Best Original Score.[26] Desplat noted that "when the movie's that beautiful—and I actually think this movie is a masterpiece—it makes your life much easier. You just have to put your hands on it and it takes you anywhere you want."[25]
Release
The Shape of Water premiered on August 31, 2017, at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Golden Lion for best film.[27][28] It also screened at Telluride Film Festival,[29] the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival,[30] and BFI London Film Festival, among others.[31] The film was released in two theaters in New York City on December 1, 2017, and then expanded to several other cities the following week. It had its official wide release in the United States on December 22, 2017.[32]
On March 13, 2018, the film was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download.[33] Special features on the Ultra HD Blu-ray includes a making-of documentary, two featurettes, a MasterClass Q & A with Guillermo del Toro, an interview with artist James Jean, and three theatrical trailers.[34]
Reception
Box office
The Shape of Water grossed $63.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $131.4 million in other countries, for a total of $195.2 million.[5]
After grossing $4.6 million over a three-week limited release, the film began its wide release on December 22, 2017, alongside the openings of Downsizing, Pitch Perfect 3 and Father Figures, and the wide expansion of Darkest Hour, and grossed $3 million from 726 theaters over the weekend, and $4.4 million over the four-day Christmas frame.[35] The following weekend, the film made $3.5 million.[36] The weekend of January 27, 2018, following the announcement of the film's 13 Oscar nominations, the film was added to over 1,000 theaters (for a total of 1,854) and made $5.9 million (an increase of 171% over the previous week's $2.2 million), finishing 8th.[37] The weekend of March 9–11, following its four Oscar wins, the film made an additional $2.4 million. It marked a 64% increase from the previous week's $1.5 million and was similar to the $2.5 million made by the previous year's Best Picture winner, Moonlight.[38]
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 465 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Shape of Water finds Guillermo del Toro at his visually distinctive best—and matched by an emotionally absorbing story brought to life by a stellar Sally Hawkins performance."[39] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[40] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it positive reviews; audience members under the age of 40 gave the film an average grade of either "A+" or "A", while those over 40 gave it an "A" to "A−", on an A+ to F scale;[41] PostTrak reported that filmgoers gave the film an overall positive score of 80%.[42]
Ben Croll of IndieWire gave the film an 'A' rating and called it "one of del Toro's most stunningly successful works... also a powerful vision of a creative master feeling totally, joyously free."[43] Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film three and a half out of four stars, praising Hawkins's performance, the cinematography and del Toro's direction, and saying: "Even as the film plunges into torment and tragedy, the core relationship between these two unlikely lovers holds us in thrall. Del Toro is a world-class film artist. There's no sense trying to analyze how he does it."[44] For the Minnesota Daily, Haley Bennett reacted positively, writing, "The Shape of Water has tenderness uncommon to del Toro films. ... While The Shape of Water isn't groundbreaking, it is elegant and mesmerizing."[10]
Rex Reed of the New York Observer gave the film one out of four stars, calling it "a loopy, lunkheaded load of drivel" and that "the whole movie is off the wall". Reed's review was criticized for referring to Hawkins's mute character as "mentally handicapped" and for falsely crediting actor Benicio del Toro (spelled Benecio) as the film's director. Reed also stated Benicio was Spanish, whereas he is Puerto Rican; Guillermo del Toro hails from Mexico.[45]
Accolades
The Shape of Water received 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, the most of any film in the 2018 race. It won in four categories: Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Director, and Best Picture. It was the second fantasy film to win Best Picture, after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).[46][47][48] The Shape of Water was acclaimed by critics, who lauded its acting, screenplay, direction, visuals, production design, and musical score. The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top 10 films of the year.[49] At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, the film earned seven nominations, winning for Best Director and Best Original Score.[50] It received twelve nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, winning three awards including Best Director, and fourteen at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, winning four awards.[51]
The film also sparked some debate about whether it should have been eligible for a Canadian Screen Awards nomination, as it was filmed in Canada with a predominantly Canadian crew and many Canadian actors in supporting roles. Under Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television rules, to qualify for CSA nominations under the rules for international coproductions, at least 15 percent of a film's funding must come from a Canadian film studio. Even the film's Canadian co-producer, J. Miles Dale, stated that he supports the rules and does not believe the film should have been eligible.[52] The Shape of Water also appeared on many critics' year-end top-ten lists, of which 25 critics chose it as their favorite film of that year.[53] A novelization by del Toro and Kraus was published on March 6, 2018.[54]
Plagiarism accusations
In February 2018, the estate of Paul Zindel initiated a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Central District of California against director Guillermo del Toro and associate producer Daniel Kraus, alleging that The Shape of Water "brazenly copies the story, elements, characters, and themes" of Zindel's 1969 work Let Me Hear You Whisper, which depicts a cleaning lady bonding with a dolphin and attempting to rescue it from a secret research laboratory's nefarious uses.[55] The complaint spends more than a dozen pages detailing alleged "overwhelming similarities" between the works.[56] Del Toro denied the claim of the Zindel estate, saying that "I have never read nor seen the play. I'd never heard of this play before making The Shape of Water, and none of my collaborators ever mentioned the play." Distributor Fox Searchlight also denied the claim and said that it would "vigorously defend" itself in court.[57]
In July 2018, Judge Percy Anderson dismissed the suit and stated that del Toro and Fox Searchlight were entitled to recover their legal costs.[58] On April 5, 2021, the following statement by plaintiff was released: "David Zindel, the son of Paul Zindel, author of Let Me Hear You Whisper, acknowledges, based on confidential information obtained during the litigation process, that his claims of plagiarism are unfounded. He acknowledges Guillermo del Toro as the true creator of The Shape of Water. Any similarity between the two works is coincidental."[59]
There have also been accusations that The Shape of Water plagiarised Amphibian Man, a 1962 Soviet film based on a 1928 novel of the same name by Alexander Belyaev.[60][61] Indie Cinema Magazine noted that both have a similar plot, the use of the name "Amphibian Man" in both films, the Soviet connection in both stories, and the 1962 setting.[60] Amphibian Man was one of the highest-grossing Soviet films of all time, with up to 100 million box office admissions in the Soviet Union.[62]
The film also received accusations of plagiarism by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the French director of the romantic comedy Amélie and the cult classic Delicatessen,[63] who claimed that del Toro plagiarized some of the scenes within his works Amelie, Delicatessen, and The City of Lost Children.[64] Other observers vehemently disagree with Jeunet's assertion.[65] Jeunet pointed out some of the similarities in the saturation of the colours, overall art direction and the use of anthropomorphic objects, as well as the music, which is reminiscent of Yann Tiersen's soundtrack on the former. Responding to Jeunet's accusations of plagiarism, del Toro cited the influences of Terry Gilliam's works as the inspiration for The Shape of Water.[64] Both composer Alexandre Desplat and del Toro have cited French composer Georges Delerue,[66] whose work predates Tiersen's by decades, as the inspiration for the musical score. Desplat has also emphasized the importance of water as essential to both the score and to the themes of the film itself.[67]
While covering the plagiarism accusations from Jeunet and Zindel, comparisons were also drawn between The Shape of Water and the 2015 short film "The Space Between Us", the latter of which was created as a student project at the Netherlands Film Academy.[68][69] Outlets reported that both films held a similar premise, that of a janitorial worker falling in love with an amphibious man held captive at a research facility, as well as other similarities such as the time period as well as "scenes in which the woman feeds the creature and dances to records in front of it; and rescue missions, both involving laundry carts, devised after plans to kill and dissect the creatures come to light."[70][71] After screening a copy of The Shape of Water, the Netherlands Film Academy and students issued a statement acknowledging the films as uniquely different and that "They have separate timelines of development and are not in any conceivable way interlinked or related."[72]
References
- 1 2 "The Shape of Water". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ↑ "The Shape of Water". kinorium.com. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (November 21, 2017). "Spirit Awards: 'Call Me by Your Name,' 'Get Out' Soar, 'Shape of Water' Shunned Again". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
- ↑ "2017 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study: 25. August 8, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- 1 2 "The Shape of Water". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Potter, Janet (March 1, 2018). "How an Evanston writer's boyhood idea inspired 'Shape of Water'". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ↑ "The Iconic Horror Movie Scene That Inspired 'The Shape of Water'". Bloody Disgusting. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ↑ "Del Toro Talks Black Lagoon Influence On "Shape"". darkhorizons.com. November 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Is 'The Shape of Water' Cribbed Directly From the Short Film 'The Space Between Us'?". AwardsWatch. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- 1 2 Bennett, Haley (December 15, 2017). "'Review: The Shape of Water' Mermaid film noir sounds like a fishy genre, but director Guillermo del Toro navigates it with skill". Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
- ↑ Lee, Chris (November 30, 2017). "How Guillermo del Toro Got Drunk at a Golden Globes After-party and Made Sally Hawkins the Star of The Shape of Water". Vulture. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Beachum, Chris; Dixon, Marcus James (December 26, 2017). "Guillermo del Toro ('The Shape of Water'): 'A fairy tale for troubled times' [Complete Interview Transcript]". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple sources:
- Yu, Mallory (March 3, 2018). "'Shape Of Water' Creature Actor Doug Jones Understands The Monsters". NPR. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- Briger, Sam (February 19, 2018). "'Shape Of Water' Actor Explains Makeup, Body Language And Bathroom Breaks". NPR. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- Spiegel, Josh (December 8, 2017). "The Star Who Finally Gets His Due with 'Shape of Water'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- "The Shape of Water's Doug Jones on Playing Costumed Monsters and His Persistent On-Set Challenge: Pooping". Slate. March 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ↑ Shanley, Patrick (February 22, 2018). "'Shape of Water' Star Richard Jenkins on Getting Cast Via Email". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Miller, Julie (December 5, 2017). "For Michael Shannon, the Clothes Made the Man in The Shape of Water". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Beachum, Chris (December 28, 2017). "Octavia Spencer ('The Shape of Water'): 'Otherworldly and beautiful' themes are 'very relevant for today' [Complete Interview Transcript]". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Evry, Max (August 15, 2016). "Shape of Water: Guillermo del Toro Begins Production". Comingsoon.net. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Guillermo del Toro's staff plan Hamilton visit to talk film studio locations: mayor". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 13, 2017. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
- ↑ "All the Toronto locations that show up in Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water". Toronto Life Magazine. January 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- ↑ Wist, Sean (November 8, 2016). "Filming has wrapped on Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ↑ "The Shape of Water, 2017". movie-locations.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ↑ Pond, Steve (January 23, 2018). "'Guillermo del Toro on How 'The Shape of Water' Was Almost Shot in Black and White". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ↑ P. Sullivan, Kevin (November 30, 2017). "Guillermo del Toro originally pitched 'The Shape of Water' in black and white". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ↑ Marotta, Jenna (November 19, 2017). "Guillermo del Toro: 'The Shape of Water' Saved My Life". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- 1 2 3 Grobar, Matt (December 30, 2017). "'The Shape Of Water' Composer Alexandre Desplat On The Sounds Of Love & Water". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ↑ Phillips, Michael (March 5, 2018). "Oscars can still surprise us". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ↑ "Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water wins Venice Golden Lion". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. September 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ↑ Anderson, Ariston (July 27, 2017). "Venice Competition Includes Films From George Clooney, Guillermo del Toro, Darren Aronofsky". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 25, 2017). "Toronto Film Festival 2017 Unveils Strong Slate". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ↑ Mandell, Andrea (September 12, 2017). "Guillermo del Toro casts a spell at Toronto Film Festival with 'The Shape of Water'". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ↑ James, Nick (February 16, 2018). "The Shape of Water review: Guillermo del Toro's magical anti-fascist fairytale". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ↑ McNary, Dave. "Guillermo del Toro's 'Shape of Water' Gets Awards Season Release Date". Variety. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ Mercer, Pete (March 12, 2018). "Guillermo del Toro Reveals Meaning Of Shape of Water's Lead Characters". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ↑ Archer, John (March 19, 2018). "'The Shape Of Water' 4K Blu-ray Review: The Ultimate Wet Dream". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 24, 2017). "Last Jedi' Lords Over Christmas Weekend B.O. With $100M+ As 'Jumanji' Roars $65M+ & 'Pitch Perfect 3' Sings $27M". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 31, 2017). "'Last Jedi' Has Upper Hand Over 'Jumanji' In New Year's Weekend Duel As 2017 B.O. Closes With $11.1B – Monday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 28, 2018). "Fox Controls Close To 40% Of Weekend B.O. Led By 'Maze Runner' & Oscar Holdovers; 'Hostiles' Gallops Past $10M". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 11, 2018). "'Black Panther' Rules 4th Frame With $41M+; 'A Wrinkle in Time' At $33M+: A Diversity & Disney Dominant Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- ↑ "The Shape of Water". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ↑ "The Shape of Water". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 8, 2017). "'Coco' Topping Another Sleepy Weekend Of Holdovers & Awards Season Breakouts Before 'Last Jedi' Takes Over B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 29, 2018). "How Much of a Box Office Boost Will The Nominees Get By Oscar Night?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- ↑ Croll, Ben (August 31, 2017). "The Shape of Water Review: Guillermo del Toro's Lush Fairy Tale Is a Powerful Vision of Love". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ↑ Travers, Peter (November 27, 2017). "'The Shape of Water' Review: Guillermo del Toro's Girl-Meets-Monster Romance Is a Gem". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ↑ Sharf, Zack (December 20, 2017). "Rex Reed's Negative 'The Shape of Water' Review Goes Viral After Crediting Benicio del Toro as Director". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ↑ Mendelson, Scott (March 5, 2018). "Oscars: 4 Reasons 'Shape Of Water' Is A Unique Best Picture Winner". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ↑ Buckley, Cara (February 7, 2018). "How Did 'The Shape of Water' Become the Film to Beat at the Oscars?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ↑ "Oscars: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ↑ "AFI Awards 2017". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ↑ Berg, Madeline (January 7, 2018). "Golden Globes 2018: The Full List Of Winners". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ↑ "The Shape of Water leads Bafta nominations". BBC News. BBC. January 9, 2018. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ↑ Patch, Nick (March 8, 2018). "Are the Canadian Screen Awards too Canadian?". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ↑ Dietz, Jason (December 5, 2017). "Best of 2017: Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- ↑ Lussier, Germain (December 6, 2017). "The Shape of Water Novel Does Much, Much More Than Adapt the Movie". io9. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ↑ Dwyer, Colin (February 22, 2018). "'Shape Of Water' Creators Sued Over Plagiarism Claims As Oscars Approach". NPR. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ↑ Berman, Eliza (March 1, 2018). "Everything to Know About the Shape of Water Plagiarism Controversy". Time. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- ↑ Dwyer, Colin (February 23, 2018). "'Shape of Water' Creators Sued Over Plagiarism Claims As Oscars Approach". NPR. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (July 24, 2018). "Judge Dismisses 'Shape Of Water' Lawsuit Waged During Final Oscar Voting Against Guillermo Del Toro's Best Picture Winner". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ↑ Gardner, Eriq (April 5, 2021). "Guillermo del Toro Overcomes Claim 'The Shape of Water' Was Plagiarized". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- 1 2 "The Shape of Water – Review: The Shape of Plagiarism of director Guillermo del Toro". Indie Cinema Magazine. January 22, 2018. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ↑ "Does a Movie Need to Have an Original Plot to Be Good?". Times of San Diego. February 4, 2018. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ↑ "How film flourished in the USSR". Humanities Division. University of Oxford. December 6, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ↑ Mulholland, Rory (February 10, 2018). "Director of Oscar favourite The Shape of Water accused of copying scenes from Amelie and Delicatessen". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- 1 2 "La Forme de l'eau : Jean-Pierre Jeunet accuse Guillermo Del Toro de "copier-coller" Delicatessen" [The Shape of Water: Jean-Pierre Jeunet accuses Guillermo Del Toro of "copy and paste" Delicatessen]. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ↑ "Imitation Game: The Difference Between Homage and Plagiarism". Film School Rejects. February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ↑ EmanuelLevy (December 30, 2017). "Shape of Water: Love Letter to Cinema from Del Toro – Emanuel Levy". Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ↑ Grobar, Matt (December 30, 2017). "'The Shape Of Water' Composer Alexandre Desplat on the Sounds Of Love & Water". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ↑ Gilbey, Ryan (February 22, 2018). "Seen it all before? The Shape of Water and claims of movie plagiarism". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ↑ Evans, Nick (January 23, 2018). "No, The Shape of Water Didn't Plagiarize A Short Film". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ↑ "What to Know About the Shape of Water Plagiarism Controversy". Time. March 1, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ↑ Squires, John (January 19, 2018). "The Curious Case of 'The Space Between Us' and 'The Shape of Water'". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ↑ Nordine, Michael (January 22, 2018). "'The Shape of Water': Guillermo del Toro Didn't Take Any Ideas From Viral Short, Netherlands Film Academy Rules". IndieWire. Retrieved April 26, 2023.