The Dark Crystal - Collectors Edition.

I loved this film as a child. I remember being both intrigued and fascinated by the elf-like fantasy, and also scared and left a little confused from the creepy skeksis!
I have this on video and it was by strange coincidence I was chatting to someone about the film, so imagine my delight when I picked the Special Collectors Edition up from ASDA at £5.67. Yes, it really was that low!

#Background

The film involves an entire cast of puppets who are lifelike and realistic. When I say puppets I mean the half bodies or people in rather large suits, not the string types! This film is a Jim Henson creation and directed by Frank Oz.

The film follows closely to a mythical, dark storyline where there is a fantastical journey to save the land from evil. The film involves adventure, friendship, trust, loyalty, bravery, and fantasy-fiction.

The film is rated PG and runs approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. Even though the film involves puppets I must issue a caution for there are some small creepy parts.
There is a warning on the DVD case: "contains mild horror".
The films released under Columbia Tristar and is has Dolby digital sound.

#History

Jim Henson has produced some excellent monster and beast creations using complex prosthetics and fantastic animatronics. Over the years he has brought us "The Muppets" and "Labyrinth" with David Bowie.
Frank Oz worked with some of the animatronics featured in Star Wars and his voice talent is used for "Yoda". Both Oz and the late Henson have worked on the phenomenal success of the Muppets since the early 1970's.

This film took over 5 years to make and was the first all puppet film. It uses a series of robotics and clever costume to create an image of incredibly lifelike beasts and characters.
First released in 1982 this film was not a box office smash but continued to intrigue audiences world wide. The DVD copy I have was released in 2004.

Brian Froud was the designer of the sets and the creator of the characters.

Trevor Jones is responsible for the music score; however there is very little music featured.

*A handy website is www.henson.com where it explains the use of robotics and animatronics as well as a history of Jim Henson works.

#Voice Talents and puppeteers

Jen - Jim Henson's voice, character performed by Stephen Garlior.
Kira - Lisa Manwell's voice, character performed by Kathryn Mullen.
Aughra - Frank Oz's voice, character performed by Billie Whitelaw.
Chamberlain - Frank Oz's voice, character performed by Barry Dennsen.

The Narrator is Joseph O' Connor.

#Story

We start with the narrator introducing us to "another world, another time. In the age of wonder" already I know I am in for an exciting trip to a make-believe land so my attention is grabbed straight away.
We learn about the mysterious crystal that cracked many years ago, and produced two races. The Skeksis who guard the crystal feed off its strange power. They are creepy, corrupt, vicious breeds who dress in flamboyant costumes to hide their nasty selves.

The Mystics are the second race and a contrasting peaceful race in touch with all nature and well-being. They are natural wizards and believe in old wise ways and teachings.
Jen is a Gelflin (a human /elf / in our eyes) who lives with his peaceful master and leader of the Mystics. His master is dying and in his words of comfort to Jen, he expresses that there is great danger and he must find a crystal shard that once belonged to the mysterious crystal, before the 3 suns meet the sky.

Meanwhile the Skeksis emperor is also dying but, in contrast to the quiet death of the Mystic wizard, this is a grand affair and all Skeksis gather round, eager to claim the role of emperor.
They are ruthless and a challenge arises between Lord Chamberlain and The General. The challenge "Trial by stone" is set and the two Skeksis have to make the deepest cut in a rock to determine leadership.
Lord Chamberlain is defeated and ruthlessly stripped of his costume robes and banished from the castle.

Back in the mountainous valleys of peace, beauty and nature, Jen manages to seek out Aughra, a scientist type, space gazer. She holds the shard and tells of a prophecy of the 3 suns lining up and one race will rule all.

*I actually find Aughra very funny and sarcastic. Her comments are witty and confusing! A good character even if she is a little scary! If you listen carefully you can hear "Fozzie Bear" and "Yoda" in her voice!

After an invasion of Aughra's cave house by the Skeksis guards Jen escapes and discovers Kira, a fellow Gelflin. After falling in a mud puddle Kira helps him out and when their hands touch "dream-fasting" occurs and memories are shared between them. We learn that both Kira and Jen's family were killed by the Skeksis and both left to grow up with peaceful creatures. Kira was looked after by the Poddling race who are used as slaves in the Skeksis castle.
Kira has an extraordinary gift of being able to talk to flowers and call animals.

They both must journey to the castle to help stop the prophecy being fulfilled. Neither of them understands what they have to do. Once in the castle Kira is captured and Jen must carry on the fight against the ever stronger evil.

Can Jen stop the evil Skeksis from ruling the land? What will happen to the gentle Mystics? Is Kira in great peril?

*One of my favourite characters is Kira's little pet Fizzgig. He's a hairy, fuzzy ball of nasty sharp teeth! He is like a yappy dog and hates Jen! He makes me laugh and he looks so funny. But, he also plays several small heroic parts in the film so he's one to keep an eye out for!

#Features

On the disc there is a choice of Scene select, subtitles in 6 major European languages, choice of audio, two rather poor film trailers and I must say, for a so-called Special Collectors Edition, a measly six chapters to choose of special features.

1. "The Mithrax Treatment" is basically just a written story introduction. The story is a handy background guide to the film for the first-time viewers. The introductory notes are detailed and explain the race of each species in the Mithrax realm. Reading through I found it highly confusing and it is much easier to watch the film!

2. "Character Illustrations"

are as the title suggests! We see 10 coloured sketches of the creatures in the film with no explanation to as their part, their background or what the character is based on. A very disappointing chapter.

3. "Storyboards" is again a huge let-down. Same as the illustrations there are no explanations.

4. "The World of The Dark Crystal". Ah that's better! Here we see the actors in their costumes and the making of the animatronics involved. I like this chapter and it gives a great insight to the detail and skill involved in this film. The costumes are painstakingly produced from as real materials as possible including individually placed hairs or colour details.
There is a great interview with Jim Henson and here he explains his ideas with the help of sketches. Also interviews with the artists and clips from the film.

The features are incredibly dated and I feel they could have re-produced some of these pictures with a better colour and sound background. I noticed the speaking parts were difficult to hear and the movie clips were loud and startling!
(Lasts an hour)

4. "Character drawings and profiles" - A handy introduction to all of the Ur-Ru and Skeksis creatures but no mention of the main characters!

5. "Talent files" - This is a written introduction of the director, producer, and the concept art designer Brian Froud.

6. "Deleted Scenes" - I found this chapter highly disappointing as out of a total of 8 scenes, only ONE was not featured in the film. The deleted scenes are not deleted and they are included in the actual film so I was confused as to why they were classed as deleted?!
The one scene they did cut from the feature film was a 3.48 minute funeral scene for the two leaders of the races. I feel this was rightly cut as it slowed the film and dwelled on what the viewer already knows.

#My Opinion

Even though I watched this film as a small child, and enjoyed the adventure, I did feel a little uneasy. The film is actually rated PG and I can see the adult appeal more than a child's. The Skeksis and Augrah are a little disturbing and there is an upsetting scene during a battle between the castle guards and the llama-like Landstriders.

As a child I loved the magic and the funny shaped characters. I was also a Labyrinth fan and this film was very similar in the sense of adventure.
As an almost grown-up I appreciate this film far more now.
I appreciate and understand the differences between the two races and understand the story more! I still enjoyed the fantasy adventure.

The film did take me away to another land and I enjoyed the escapism, and towards the end it is a little emotional. The film is a good watch but I would say you have to be in a certain mood. I find it's best to watch with a clear mind as there is quite a lot of character involvement. In some parts it is comical but in all it has a dark, eerie feel throughout.

One thing I did notice was the sound. It was of poor quality and being as DVDs are usually re-mastered versions of the films this one was a little bit of a let down.

Overall, I would recommend it to those who enjoy puppet type films and fantasy but it seems to have spawned a certain cult audience which may not be to everyone's tastes.

*Pictures taken from www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3108/darkcrystal.html.