90th Academy Awards · 2018
The Shape of Water
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
“A fairy tale for troubled times.”
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The story
An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer92%Fresh#49 of 98 winnersIMDb7.3481K votes#79 of 98 winners
Metacritic87/ 100#33 of 93 winners
TMDB7.2/ 10
Famous lines
Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with your love. It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere.
When he looks at me, the way he looks at me, he does not know what I lack... or how... I am incomplete. He sees me for what I am, as I am.
If we do nothing, neither are we.
Elisa: F - U - C - K
Strickland: What is she saying?
Elisa: Y - O - U
…
Zelda: She, she is sayin' "Thank you"!
Man is as silent as the grave. But if farts were flattery? Honey, he'd be Shakespeare
You know, sometimes I think I was either born too early or too late for my life.
Fuck. You are a god.
Would I tell you about her? The princess without voice. Or perhaps I would just warn you about the truth of these facts... and the tale of love and loss... and the monster who tried to destroy it all.
Elisa: What would you say?
Giles: I would say: Take better care of your teeth and fuck, a lot more.
I do not fail. I deliver.
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- Fox Searchlight offered Guillermo del Toro $20 million to make the film in color or $17 million to shoot it in black and white. Del Toro had been leaning toward black and white but chose color.Wikipedia · Filming and visuals
- The film grew from del Toro's childhood memories of Creature from the Black Lagoon and his wish that the Gill-man and Kay Lawrence could end up together. Universal had earlier rejected his pitch for a remake told from the creature's side.Wikipedia · Development
- The Amphibian Man's voice was built by sound editor Nathan Robitaille from his own vocalizations, various animal sounds, and recordings of Guillermo del Toro breathing.Wikipedia · Casting
- Del Toro wrote the lead role with Sally Hawkins in mind and pitched it to her while he was intoxicated at the 2014 Golden Globes. She prepared by watching Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Stan Laurel.Wikipedia · Casting
- The role of Giles was written for Ian McKellen, inspired by his performance as Frankenstein director James Whale in Gods and Monsters. When McKellen proved unavailable, del Toro emailed Richard Jenkins, who accepted.Wikipedia · Casting
- Rex Reed's one-star review in the New York Observer became infamous for crediting Benicio del Toro as the film's director and calling him Spanish; the director was actually Guillermo del Toro, who is from Mexico.Wikipedia · Critical response
- Doug Jones said his first reaction to learning the creature would be a romantic lead was "utter terror." Told to make the creature "animalistic, but royal and regal," Jones also played him like a matador.Wikipedia · Casting
- Michael Shannon and del Toro discussed how his villain, Colonel Strickland, would have been the hero had the film been made in the 1950s, an idea that fascinated the actor.Wikipedia · Casting
- It led the 90th Academy Awards with 13 nominations and won four, becoming only the second fantasy film to win Best Picture after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.Wikipedia · Accolades
- Paul Zindel's estate sued, claiming the film copied his 1969 play Let Me Hear You Whisper. The suit was dismissed, and in 2021 Zindel's son acknowledged the plagiarism claims were unfounded.Wikipedia · Plagiarism accusations