Nominated for 4 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design)
“Although we shot NIGHTMARE ALLEY in color, we lit it as if it were black & white. You can see exactly the same level of design, and we wanted to give viewers this special vantage as a take of the classic noir genre that the film is part of.” —Guillermo del Toro
When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet.
“As a cinematographer, it is a total privilege, a huge artistic satisfaction and a dream come through to have the possibility to tell Guillermo’s amazing story first in a rich and colorful version and then in this beautiful black & white version as well. When we designed and shot we were always thinking color and black & white. The classic lighting I have used is an homage to all the incredible masters of cinematography who have inspired me.” —Dan Laustsen, Director of Photography
"Nightmare Alley pays tribute to noir. But it's also its own dark snow globe, luminous and finely faceted, and one of del Toro's most fluent features." - Hollywood Reporter
"It's a glorious homage to an American experience all but lost to time." - Variety
"Everything you love about Guillermo del Toro is present, yet the filmmaker feels so wholly new here. Nightmare Alley feels like a true delightfully twisted noir." - Flickering Myth
"A lurid film noir that dazzles in its ambition and startles in its seductive ability to draw you in" - Movie Nation