If not for home video, most people in this country would never even get the opportunity to see a film like 'Cronos'. Perhaps it's a lack of interest on the part of the major distributors, or maybe it's some form of cultural arrogance on the part of American audiences (most likely both), but films produced outside of the U.S. rarely do well here. It's too bad 'Cronos' could not attract an American distributor able to market such a film. This could well have been an exception.
'Cronos' is a story about immortality and the price it carries. The Cronos device is the invention of a sixteenth century achemist to bring him eternal life. When the alchemist dies in a freak accident in the 1930s, the device disappears when the estate is sold at auction. Years later, an elderly antique dealer named Jesus Gris discovers the device hidden in a statue in his shop. He unknowingly activates the device and it atttaches itself to him in a decidedly uncomfortable manner. At first frightened, Jesus soon realizes that the device makes him look and feel younger and so begins his obsession with the Cronos device. Unknown to Jesus, the alchemist left a journal containing his notes about the device and the proper way to use it. When the owner of the journal, a sick and aging millionaire, learns Jesus has the device, he will stop at nothing to get it for himself.
It's difficult to catagorize 'Cronos'. The story contains a strong element of vampirism, though presented in a highly imaginative and decidedly non-traditional way. The story also contains a liberal dash of humor which may at first seem out of place but I found kept the film from slipping into the purely macabre. However, the most memorable aspect of this film for me are it's visuals. Even though most of the dialog is in Spanish and I find subtitles distracting, the photography and compositions are riveting. 'Cronos' is filled with haunting and, at times, surreal images. This alone is worth the price of admission.
The laser transfer of 'Cronos' is suprisingly good. Suprising because it comes from Vidmark Entertainment, a company better known for their second rate, straight to video drive-in movie fare. Colors are accurate and highly saturated with only the slightest instability in the deepest reds. The image is a bit dark but contrast is very good and detail does not seem to suffer. The image is silky smooth without a trace of graininess or video noise. This transfer is not letterboxed but I did not notice any compromise in composition. It almost appears that this film was shot for 1.33:1.
The audio on this disc is outstanding. The Dolby Stereo soundtrack does not contain a great deal of directional effects, but the surround channel is used extensively and effectively providing tremendous depth and envelopement. Frequency response is also excelllent, taking full advantage of the digital capability of the format, particularly in the low bass.
'Cronos' runs 92 minutes and the disc is not chapter encoded nor is a trailer provided (hey, this is Vidmark). List price is $34.95.
I do have a couple small nits to pick. Rather than having english credits created for this U.S. release, Vidmark took the cheap route and used the original spanish credits (some of us read that stuff). Secondly, Vidmark gets an early nomination for most deceptive jacket of 1995. I suppose some genius in advertising figured this film might need a little help on the shelf so they have pictured on the cover an attractive blonde in a pose of ecstacy with the Cronos device attached just above her breast. Of course, this has nothing at all to do with the movie. The only major female characters are the antique dealer's middle-aged wife and his adolescent granddaughter. Well, no matter. 'Cronos' is a mesmerizing film and a terrific disc. Find it.
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