Exploring the Dream-Worthy Crafts of ‘Nightmare Alley’

Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley immediately impressed early audiences with its noir-inspired twist and turns in addition to its remarkable performances. The film stars Bradley Cooper as an aimless grifter interfacing with a cavalcade of major stars such as Cate Blanchett, Toni Collete, Rooney Mara, David Strathairn, Willem Dafoe, and many more. del Toro clearly loves not only film noir but also cinema itself. Nightmare Alley is a love letter to film and to anyone who has ever been mesmerized by light catching a wisp of cigarette smoke.

In fact, the crafts of del Toro’s Nightmare Alley may be the true star of the film (apologies to Cooper and Blanchett). Every artisan working on the film is at the top of their game from the stunning cinematography to the lushly detailed production design to the breathtaking costumes. This visually sumptuous film gives us a vision of the 1940s that we rarely see detailed this exquisitely.

Here, Awards Daily’s Joey Moser and Clarence Moye sit down with some of the artisans working on Nightmare Alley. They discuss a myriad of topics including conveying the film’s theme through their art, designing for this period-specific film, and working with the great Guillermo del Toro.

Here are the Nightmare Alley artists interviewed: