Nightmare Alley 4K 2021 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

1939. Having given up his old life, Stan Carlyle makes his way wherever he can and joins a traveling circus. There he begins to learn all sorts of ways to entertain and fool his audience, especially mind-reading, using the method of a formerly popular entertainer. Soon Stan decides to perform a similar act himself.

Review 4K Movie

If Guillermo Del Toro is always beautiful. If Guillermo Del Toro is always intriguing. If Guillermo Del Toro is always Ron Perlman.

The director's new project is about a young man, Stan Carlyle (Bradley Cooper), whose past makes it clear from the beginning of the film that he is not so simple. And his present speaks for itself: the guy is really determined in his intentions. Getting to know a number of people gives him the opportunity to learn certain skills from them, and the appearance of a spectacular blonde in his life gives him an incredible chance. That's just playing on the feelings of other people is expensive.

Del Toro has accustomed with his films that much in the film depends on the picture. Precisely calibrated, with spectacular work with light, which casts a noir shadow on 'Alley of Nightmares', with clearly outlined lines and catchy colorful elements, with skillfully created scenery, which adds a chamber-like quality to the narration, it turns out so juicy, that 2.5 hours of watching turns into an aesthetic pleasure.

In fact, don't go by the title and expect 'Nightmare Alley' to be a horror in the style of 'Mom', 'Crimson Peak' or even 'Mutants'. Del Toro's new film isn't a horror at all; there's not even a mystique here. It is a noir thriller with elements of crime and drama, which, you will agree, is not quite typical for a director. Something of the kind I haven't seen from him before.

'Alley of Nightmares' is woven out of contradictions and oppositions (as some of the magicians with whom Stanton meets). Yes, and much of what is shown here looks like a situation between an ordinary man and a magician: the first knows that he is being deceived, but still believes, and the second knows how to deceive and deceives. Already from the very beginning there is a contradictory feeling towards the main character: on the one hand, the opening scene gives us no peace, but on the other hand, his behavior as a guy's shirt is appealing.

The appearance in one of the first scenes of the so-called 'either man or beast' is very symbolic from the point of view of the fact that much in the film revolves precisely around the comparison between a man and a caged animal.

In essence, the fact that one person commits a certain act (such as a crime) implies that in the future he will walk and look around, will not feel free and calm. Man's dependence on money is another reason to compare homo sapiens to an animal, which is trapped by its own greed and lust for further profit.

'Alley of Nightmares' clearly and vividly makes it clear: one must be able to stop in time and pay attention to the signs and warnings. But not everyone will be able to do that when they find the gold mine. While watching it, I caught myself thinking that the appearance of the main character is again symbolic. This man can be compared to Pride, which the main character tried to overcome by bribing his 'talents' for making money.

Bringing it (money) as a gift to his Pride, becoming more and more entrenched in his own greatness over others, at a certain point you can find yourself in a very disadvantageous position, because the appetite that comes with 'eating', can do a cruel joke.

'Nightmare Alley' is inventive in its demonstration of how duplicitous a person can be who has used this as his weapon to achieve his goal. By adjusting to the right situation, ferreting out various nuances, adding to one's own baggage of knowledge in this way, one has only one goal: to grab as solid a score as possible. Vanity and greed do their job - having escaped from the bottom there is no desire to go back, but when the arsenal is only a fraudulent tricks, sooner or later payback will come.

'Nightmare Alley' is a beautiful picture-perfect and quite morally instructive project. Del Toro's traditional tricks, such as the fairy-tale effect (but also very dark and even somewhat gothic, as in 'Crimson Peak' for example), combined with a cool instrumental soundtrack, an emphasis on the freakishness of some characters (there are enough of them here, considering where some events develop), make 'Nightmare Alley' a sort of classic project for the director, defining his trademark handwriting.