The Art and Making of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley: The Rise and Fall of Stanton Carlisle

Comprehensive and insightful, , is the ultimate companion to the master director’s latest work.

Inspired by William Lindsay Gresham’s cult 1947 novel, Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper as Stanton Stan Carlisle, a talented but troubled drifter who takes up with a travelling carnival. Ingratiating himself with its troupe of misfits, Stan swindles his way to fortune and fame, but when he meets psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), his greed and duplicity will put him on the path to self-destruction. Also starring Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, and Rooney Mara, Nightmare Alley is del Toro’s most ambitious film to date, an engrossing yet disturbing journey into the psyche of a tragic swindler whose own nature seals his fate. This deluxe volume delves into the creation of all aspects of the film through extensive interviews with del Toro and his cast and crew, including writer Kim Morgan, with whom he collaborated closely on the script. This incisive commentary is illustrated with a broad range of striking visuals from the production-including concept art and unit photography-that illuminate the film’s two distinct worlds: the ramshackle life of the travelling carnival and the sophisticated art deco trappings of 1940s Buffalo, New York.