Movies: Guillermo Del Toro

One of the most imaginative filmmakers around, Mexico ' s del Toro made the sumptuous " Pan ' s Labyrinth, " which earned three Oscars in 2006. He returns to fantasy this month with " Hellboy II. " His picks:

My Five Most Important Movies

1. "Los Olvidados." Luis Buñuel's film is a searing indictment of urban conditions—but also a dark fable.

2. "The Bride of Frankenstein." Moving graveyard poetry. Its esthetic legacy can be traced through Edward Gorey, Tim Burton and every neo-Goth in town.

3. "Greed." A brutal 1924 fable about the rotten state of modern man's soul

4. "The Gold Rush." Has at least a third of Charlie Chaplin's iconic moments

5. "La Chienne." Renoir's film about passion and murder urges us to accept that morality is a burden.

A film you revisited with disappointment: "Crime and Punishment." My memory of it was far grander.

Films parents should share with kids: If you allow me, two. "A Little Princess" is a visual feast. Delicate, inspirational. And "The Iron Giant." A brilliant film about choosing who you are. Eminently spiritual, but never preachy.

© 2008