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The Dark Crystal 14 Aug 2007

The Dark Crystal - 25th Anniversary Edition (cover)I don’t think I’ve written about this film before. It’s one of my favourites, and has been since I saw one of Henson’s creatures on a chat show back when the film first came out.

The Dark Crystal was released in 1982; today I was pleasantly surprised to see that a 25th anniversary edition is in the offing (update: in the US. UK release slated for 1 October).

amazon.com link.

This film made a big impression on me as ten year-old, and like I say, I still love it. Credit for this has to go in large part to Brian Froud: his designs for the film are nothing short of astounding.

As an aside, the novelisation is also incredibly good—hats off to A.C.H. Smith, using David Odell’s screenplay.

The early eighties were splendid for FX-laden films with real stories: think The Empire Strikes Back, E.T. or the Indiana Jones series. All great films and great fun!

My kids enjoyed The Dark Crystal too, with its central quest and extraordinary puppetry—I find this quite heartening in the age of sophisticated CGI in films: there’s still room for stories and quirky conceptualisations.

Further reading

Via Retro Thing.

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Comments

  1. Another world…

    Another time…

    In the age of wonder.Nathan T. Freeman#
  2. :-) Interestingly, Labyrinth is also getting a cleaned-up HD re-release. You can buy the two movies in a box set:
    I think that the world of Jim Henson's imagination might just be the best possible place to grow up. And, if you already have grown up, it is still a place to visit on a regular basis.


    Great review: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/08/14/065336.phpBen Poole#
  3. I think whomever owns the rights to Jim Henson's characters must be hard up for cash because they also released the Dinosaurs TV series on DVD.

    http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Complete-First-Second-Seasons/dp/B000E8NRVC/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4232423-1693630?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1187093510&sr=8-1Charles Robinson#
  4. I am a huge fan of Jim Henson's work, and I already own a copy of the original Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. I wanted to get the Muppet Show Box Set, but here in North America, we have (or at least had, a few years ago) a box set that was half of what it was in the UK, so I didn't get it. It will most probably be my Christmas gift this year.

    I don't think that they are putting out DVDs just to make money: these movies and the Dinosaurs series were just amazing.

    I would like to see a DVD box set of "the storyteller". That was an amazing series as well.

    Surprisingly, my 2 daughters liked Labyrinth. The Dark Crystal lacked a bit of action according to them, but they enjoyed it none the less.

    I miss that kind of magic…Benoit Dubuc#
  5. Update!!!

    I just found out that hte sttoryteller DVD exists:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EU1Q5E/ref=pd_cp_d_0/102-1971993-4637700?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=13HQ61YSG35VJB9NWD5S&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=252362301&pf_rd_i=B0002J4X2U

    Christmas will be expensive this year!!!Benoit Dubuc#
  6. I just meant that there was suddenly a lot of Henson's work showing up on DVD. I suppose I'm cynical about people's motives for releasing material over a decade later. [smiley poke_tongue] I'm truly glad they are, though. I loved Dinosaurs, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock. :-)Charles Robinson#
  7. I bought the collectors edition of TDC a few years back, which was worth the price alone just for the bundled documentary (something that originally aired on TV in the US when the film came out).

    I believe the new box set includes that documentary plus some more stuff from the Henson archives. I won't grumble for ten quid, and yes, I reckon Labyrinth is well worth picking up too :-) Ben Poole#

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