Dark Crystal, Labyrinth Artwork
Sony Releases the DVD Covers for Classic Jim Henson Movies
Jun 7, 2007
(Source: muppetnewsflash.blogspot.com)
Ahh, history. It sucks ass so much of the time, but man is it exhilarating to see under-appreciated classics get their due.
On Tuesday, August 14th, Sony will release deluxe editions of two under-appreciated Jim Henson movies, 1982's The Dark Crystal and 1986's Labyrinth. These are both called "Anniversary Editions" and have been restored, remastered, and given special lenticular packaging. There's no word yet on what the various extras will be (given the movies' stature, and the care taken with the packaging, it's likely that the DVD sets will be full of extras), but we do know that artistic designer Brian Froud recorded commentary tracks for both movies.
Flushed with the whirlwind success of The Muppet Show, plus spin-off features The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, Jim Henson and his merry band of muppeteers wanted to push the craft of puppetry, and expand into feature films. The Dark Crystal was highly unusual in that all the characters were puppets: there were no human actors anywhere in the flick. The story of a Gelfling named Jen, who must stop the Skeksis reign of terror by putting the titular Dark Crystal back together, it was a classic case of Henson's reach exceeding his grasp. His ideas were stunning, but the technology couldn't bring them off (Jen's climactic leap onto the Dark Crystal was particularly mocked).
Reviews were mixed. Vincent Canby at The New York Times dismissed The Dark Crystal as "watered down J.R.R. Tolkien" and wrote it was, "without any narrative drive whatever. It's without charm as well as interest." On the other hand, Richard Sheib said it was, "worth seeing as an exercise in ranking imagination and the unlimited technical realization of it. The depth of detail put into the design of this world and sets is stunning." However, most reviewers were stunned at the darker scenes and themes in the movie, after the sunny reputation Henson had garnered with the The Muppet Show.
The Dark Crystal was a modest success, making $40 million in its initial release in theatres (it was budgeted at $15 million). The Dark Crystal won the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film, and won the grand prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. It was also the top-grossing flick that year in both France and Japan.
Labyrinth, produced four years later, was a more conventional movie in that it featured human actors performing along with Henson's puppet creations. Jennifer Connelly got her first starring role as Sarah Williams, the 15-year-old girl who must rescue her baby half-brother from the clutches of Jareth the Goblin King, portrayed by musician David Bowie. Like The Dark Crystal, it pushed the boundaries of puppetry, but this time Henson had the technology to properly realize his vision.
Like The Dark Crystal before it, Labyrinth received mixed reviews upon its initial release. Movie maven Roger Ebert said, "Great energy and creativity went into the construction, production and direction of this movie, but it doesn't have a story that does justice to the production," while Nina Darnton at The New York Times called Labyrinth "witty and slightly zany - a good combination to entertain both children and adults."
Considering that Labyrinth only made $12 million at the box office (less than half of its $25 million costs), the movie was considered a bomb. However, like The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth found new life on home video and has since become a cult classic.
Fun Fact: Although Monty Python veteran Terry Jones is credited with writing the script for Labyrinth, he says that very little of his ideas made it to the screen. His contributions ended with Sarah's biting the enchanted peach.
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