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Home Team ICO updates

Guillerrmo Del Toro calls Team Ico's games masterpieces

4:40 PM on 08.26.2008, Colette Bennett 56 comments

Guillerrmo Del Toro calls Team Ico's games masterpieces photo
     Team ICO

You don't know who Guillermo Del Toro is, you say? Shame on you if you don't. The Mexican director is responsible for films such as The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, and is also one of the only men on the scene with the balls to make dark fantasy great again. In short, one of my heroes. But what does that have to do with Team Ico?

In a recent interview with Edge magazine, Del Toro talked about his affinity for games like Medal of Honor: Airborne, Call of Duty 4 and Army of Two. Of Team Ico games, however, he commented, "There are only two games I consider masterpieces: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus."

If you've seen any of his films, those comments won't come as much of a surprise, but it pleases me to see that directors have an awareness of gaming beyond those that they think can be adapted into Hollywood productions. Although if Del Toro announced he was making Ico into a motion picture, I'd probably die on the spot and float right up into the arms of Jesus. No lie. It'd be that good.

[Thanks, Joe]


Next page: More ICO stories




mix's Avatar
mix at 08/26/2008 16:44
I have not seen the Devils Backbone but I now want to as his others movies were pretty awesome.

I can not wait for the next Team Ico game!

Still trying to find Ico on PS2 as I swear I used to own it at one point in time :(
SWE3tMadness's Avatar
SWE3tMadness at 08/26/2008 16:44
Awesome to hear someone important outside of the games industry give props to them. This just further cements Del Toro in my opinion as one of the coolest guys in film right now. :D
ilovetots's Avatar
ilovetots at 08/26/2008 16:45
Pan's Labyrinth was awsome!!! Can't even imagine how amazing Ico would be!
nilcam's Avatar
nilcam at 08/26/2008 16:46
I'd enjoy watching Del Toro's take on SotC more than trying to controlling that damned horse.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 08/26/2008 16:55
You're right, this doesn't come as much of a surprise. But then, I've only ever seen Pan's Labyrinth.
GrayFox's Avatar
GrayFox at 08/26/2008 16:56
I don't even think you could make an Ico or SotC movie. There would have to be a heck of a lot of interpretation.

But it's cool to see with some artistic being mentioned in the mainstream. Maybe this will cause a few more to go out and grab a copy.
World Eater's Avatar
World Eater at 08/26/2008 16:57
Don't forget he also did Blade II (the best in the series, IMO) and also the new Hellboy II which I also thought was good.
MrSadistic's Avatar
MrSadistic at 08/26/2008 16:58
Well it's good to see that pretentiousness acknowledges pretentiousness.

Yeah, I said it.
GrayFox's Avatar
GrayFox at 08/26/2008 16:58
*cool to see games with some artistic merit

Jesus..
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 08/26/2008 17:00
I saw Pan's Labyrinth first, but it is worth it to go back and see The Devil's Backbone, as well as the two Hellboy films. That guy rocks, and it's nice to see a film guy praising games (any of them) instead dissing them.
XL1ska's Avatar
XL1ska at 08/26/2008 17:14
This guy is quite talented, so it's nice to hear a guy like him say such great things about games...especially those two.

And Pan's Labyrinth was a great movie but the scene where the guy's nose gets crushed in with a bottle still fucks with my head.
tgammet's Avatar
tgammet at 08/26/2008 17:26
I think a SotC movie would have more resonance as a film. Of course there's so little dialog I'm not sure you could keep audiences interested for long. A lot of the Colossi would have to be cut out for time.
Usedtabe's Avatar
Usedtabe at 08/26/2008 17:36
I agree with Sadistic.
moocow21's Avatar
moocow21 at 08/26/2008 17:36
I can hardly wait for his Hobbit movies. :)
Spartacus's Avatar
Spartacus at 08/26/2008 17:56
HURGH NERDGASM
laxcat's Avatar
laxcat at 08/26/2008 18:20
Also worth seeing is a cool little vampire movie he made called "Cronos".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104029/
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar
ArrestedDeveloper at 08/26/2008 18:23
I love that chubby little mexican.
Clockwork's Avatar
Clockwork at 08/26/2008 18:42
Pan's Labyrinth is amazing. And The Hobbit will be amazing. Guillerrmo Del Toro is amazing.
Demtor's Avatar
Demtor at 08/26/2008 18:55
He's becoming my favorite director these days. I haven't seen a bad movie yet. This just bumps him up more in my book. The Hobbit has the blockbusting ability to make or break him I fear, but its good to hear Peter Jackson is working with him.
Prince Ghidorah's Avatar
Prince Ghidorah at 08/26/2008 19:04
@Demtor

If you don't want to spoil your perception of him don't watch the one where Mira Sorvino fights the giant moths. Other than that, he's pretty great.
necrozen's Avatar
necrozen at 08/26/2008 19:33
He's one of the few directors who are keeping me interested in movies. Not to mention that he's making fantasy dark and scary again (something we had in droves when I was a kid in the 80s). So yeah, I agree with him.
MotoRobo's Avatar
MotoRobo at 08/26/2008 20:03
If a director says a videogame's a masterpiece it's a much greater compliment than if another game designer or fan said it. Videogames are just games but movies are real art. That's why developers want to be cinematic and MSG4's more movie than gameplay. W/all 5 or so of the games Guillermo's played he has a great pool of knowledge containing the names of good games w/gamers have never heard of. He has made so many good movies too! Like Pan's Labyrinth and...
AliasWyvernspur's Avatar
AliasWyvernspur at 08/26/2008 20:15
Ico was one of the greatest games I've ever played. Alone, the water effects were ahead of its time.

To have someone like Del Toro to do either Ico or SotC be like hot sex on my face.
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 08/26/2008 20:18
Niiiice. Let's wait and see if he fucks up The Hobbit before we give him unconditional love though :D
Slick Icarus's Avatar
Slick Icarus at 08/26/2008 20:31
Not too surprised, nice to see someone in Hollywood who loves good games other than Spielberg. I'd love to see what would happen if he were to work on a game like the Spielberg.

By the way, I'm a freak for Del Toro. Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone are two of my most favorite films of all time. Can't wait to see his take on Middle-Earth.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 08/26/2008 20:38
@Sadistic
If "pretentiousness" means "quality," then I agree.

@Pew
Peter Jackson (and those two women) are writing the adaptation with (I think) Del Toro, so Del Toro won't be entirely to blame if the film's no good. But given Jackson's involvement, I don't see this being any worse than the LOTR films.
cainball's Avatar
cainball at 08/26/2008 21:27
Is no-one going to call MotoRobo a jackass?
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 08/26/2008 21:37
And I, for one, agree with him.
myheadsonfire's Avatar
myheadsonfire at 08/26/2008 22:07
Guillermo del Toro is my hero too. I like how he cares about the way the games based on his movies like Hellboy turn out. The Hobbit movies are going to rule.
wfolse1's Avatar
wfolse1 at 08/27/2008 00:52
@MrSadistic

Yeah, because the guy who directed two movies about a red demon who fights crime and another movie about a half vampire slaying other vampires is surely pretentious. Your a boob.
shaun's Avatar
shaun at 08/27/2008 02:06
everytime i here is name,my butthole begins to get tight,no kidding,liked pans labyprint by the way
Fusiontr's Avatar
Fusiontr at 08/27/2008 02:12
Pan's Labyrinth was an amazing film
I haven't seen any of his other films
But on seeing that film alone
I say, if he makes a film based on a Team ICO game I will probably cream with excitement!
DibbityDan's Avatar
DibbityDan at 08/27/2008 03:03
Dr. Gonzo likes games? Oh, you said Grillissimo Del Toro.
DR EGG's Avatar
DR EGG at 08/27/2008 08:31
Guillermo: "Masterpieces...but they NEED MORE EYEBALLS! More eyeballs popping out of every orafice, ever."

ps, EYEBALLS
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 08/27/2008 09:15
That's quite the compliment.
sporelink's Avatar
sporelink at 08/27/2008 11:14
I think I'm falling in love with Guillermo. I have loved all the movies I have seen by him. He is then making the two hobbit movies. Now he's talking about two of my favorite games?
*heart flutters*
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 08/27/2008 14:56
Del Toro = Awesome sauce. I wouldn't even mind if an Ico or SOTC movie were in another language either. I loved Pan's Labyrinth>
Wexx's Avatar
Wexx at 08/28/2008 00:02
Cool. I dunno though, I don't think Ico/Shadow of the Colossus would make a good movie at all, even if Del Toro and all of his godly film making ability. Those experiences were special as they were - as a game - and I can't imagine getting the same thing out of them as a movie. Playing shadow of the colossus... mmm, just so much more satisfying than any movie I've ever seen in terms of my emotional attachment to what was going on on screen. BUT THAT'S JUST ME!
sohbet odalar's Avatar
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MisterGrieves's Avatar
MisterGrieves at 02/04/2009 23:04
Well, this makes a lot of sense on a creative level. I'm thinking SotC and Ico have more in common with Pan's Labyrinth than either Hellboy, though. All three pieces share a palpable sense of wonder.

Hellboy, though... eh.
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