Pan’s Labyrinth is back in theatres, and for the first time, audiences can see Guillermo del Toro‘s 2006 fantasy in three dimensions. The 20th anniversary re-release, a joint effort from Cineverse and Fathom Entertainment, opened in select theatres October 8 and expands nationwide today, October 9, with new 4K and HDR presentations alongside the 3D conversion.
Del Toro, who oversaw the project personally, says the conversion took well over a year and involved more than 1,300 artists working frame by frame, a figure he gave without an exact count. “Absolutely no goddamn AI” went into the process, he said, describing every element of the 3D work as handmade. Asked about the cost of that approach, he was blunt: “It’s much more expensive… I don’t care.”
The 3D treatment is used selectively, concentrated in the film’s fantasy sequences, the eerie slide from Franco era Spain into the underground realm ruled by the faun that gives the film its title. Del Toro called the effect in those scenes “quite a revelation.”
The push behind the re-release, says del Toro, is partly a statement about process at a moment when AI assisted filmmaking tools are becoming more common across the industry. “What we’re protecting,” he said, “is the beauty and redeeming power of art.”
Aaron Parry of SDFX Studios oversaw the dimensional conversion itself, with select engagements also presenting the film through Barco’s laser projection and HDR systems.
Pan’s Labyrinth originally premiered in 2006 and went on to win three Academy Awards, cementing its place as one of the defining dark fantasies of its decade.
Tickets for the theatrical run are available now through the official 20th anniversary site.
