Last year, Guillermo del Toro, the creative genius behind such genre classics as The Devil's Backbone and Hellboy, unleashed the most amazing feature of his career. Set against a backdrop of Franco's fascist Spain circa 1944, Pan's Labyrinth is an enchanting yet malevolent tale of a lonely child who escapes war-torn reality via a mysterious maze populated by bizarre creatures. In the labyrinth, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) learns she has to complete a trinity of unusual tasks to discover her true self.

The fact that Pan's Labyrinth works so brilliantly on so many different levels was justly reflected when it scooped Oscars for art direction, cinematography, and make-up, and a trio of BAFTAs. This awesome two-disc DVD reveals exactly why the judges got it right for once. Although Del Toro provides a superb commentary to the feature itself on disc one, it's disc two that really lets you inside the mind of the maverick dream-weaver. Leading with a 'this movie is so personal to me it changed my life' prologue, Del Toro then divulges his knowledge of man, myth and magic through a humorous and heartfelt interview with film critic Mark Kermode.

The disc is also crammed with cool behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, while the true inspiration for the film is exposed when Del Toro throws open the pages of his personal note/sketchbooks. As he waxes lyrical about the nature of fairytales and their origins relating to the movie, you know he's someone whose life has been moulded by the mystical. All told, this is not just a DVD for fans of Del Toro and Pan's Labyrinth - it's also a true eye-opener into what makes cinema so damned magical.