Enjoy incredible footage from the Henson archives in The Dark Crystal. Travel back in time to the faraway planet of Thra. Cheer on the Mystics as they fight to overthrow the evil Skeksis and take back control of their planet! When Jen, a member of the Gelfling tribe, sets out to find the crystal’s missing shard, his dangerous journey brings him face to face with monsters at every turn. Determined to restore peace to their planet, Jen will not back down! From the brilliant imagination of Jim Henson, this masterpiece of animation recounts the timeless tale of good vs. evil and has become a cult favorite of children and grown-ups alike!Jim Henson’s fantasy epic The Dark Crystal doesn’t take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but like Star Wars it takes the audience to a place that exists only in the imagination and, for an hour and a half, on the screen. Recalling the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, Henson tells the story of a race of grotesque birdlike lizards called the Skeksis, gnomish dragons who rule their fantastic planet with an iron claw. A prophecy tells of a Gelfling (a small elfin being) who will topple their empire, so in their reign of terror they have exterminated the race, or so they think. The orphan Jen, raised in solitude by a race of peace-loving wizards called the Mystics, embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of the Dark Crystal (which gives the Skeksis their power) and restore the balance of the universe. Henson and codirector Frank Oz have pushed puppetry into a new direction: traditional puppets, marionettes, giant bodysuits, and mechanical constructions are mixed seamlessly in a fantasy world of towering castles, simple huts, dank caves, a giant clockwork observatory, and a magnificent landscape that seem to have leaped off the pages of a storybook. Muppet fans will recognize many of the voice actors–a few characters sound awfully close to familiar comic creations–but otherwise it’s a completely alien world made familiar by a mythic quest that resonates through stories over the ages.–Sean Axmaker
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March 16, 2008
#1
Wow. How many bad fantasy movies can you make in one decade?!
i first became intrested in this jenre cuasa Peter Jackson
and his *brilliant* Lord of the Rings series of films. So i thought id take a lil’ history lesson and watch all the ‘classic’ fantasy/mythology flciks that are out there.
Thing is: PJs a *genius* these guys were all hacks. Case in point: this stupid movie.
The filmakers were obviously too cheap to hire real acters to play the parts so they did it all with PUPPETS and thought no one would notice! I’m NOT kidding you!
It took me about five minutes to notice that i was watching a bunch of hand puppets. Besides that the plot, characters, story, and special efefcts are all cheap and stupid. The music is the WORST i have ever heard.
Don’t waste your money on these old movies made before anyone knew how to make a movie worth watching. i mean it was ok back then but no one knew any better but now there is NO excuse! unless your to lazy to use your brain and rent a REAL movie like Lord of the Rings in which case enjoy this cuz its perfect for you!
March 17, 2008
#2
We recently viewed this movie after reading rave reviews about it on this website. Having seen it, we can safely say that we’ve never experienced such a waste of our lives as we did seeing The Dark Crystal. We believe we are now dumber for having seen it. It lacks any sort of artistry, plot, dialogue, basically anything that you would hope a movie would contain. We saw the movie with a group of eight. By the end of the movie, only two had survived this insult to our intelligence as human beings (And the only reason those two stayed to watch nasty buzzards and annoying gophers for two hours was because one was stubborn and the other was drunk). We hate to go on and on, but there is such a rage inside of us now, we actually want to physically hurt people who find this movie enjoyable. The fact that there are 201 other reviewers out there that actually liked this movie challenges our faith in humanity. Don’t get us wrong–we have nothing against movies such as Labyrinth or The Muppets, but if you’re going to make a movie, for God’s sake make it a movie about something!
March 17, 2008
#3
This certainly is a one-of-a-kind movie, and its unusual production actually works in its favour, adding another layer of melancholic remoteness.
It certainly stands as a singular achievement of its time, and also as a milestone in the development of film puppetry in general.
On the strong side are also some great moments in collaboration with the soundtrack and the unusual sense of reality that comes with the intricate puppet technology.
The movie’s biggest problem on the other hand is that so much creativity seems to have been invested into making things look ugly. Not only are the Skeksis a bunch so awful to watch that they could give normally sensitive viewers a cramp in the stomach, it is also the action itself (how they crumble to dust, drain sweet innocent beings from the soul and drinking the juice, feast in the most awful possible way) that are hard to bear, could give children nightmares and leave you with a strange feeling in your belly.
That being said, the movie certainly has a pretty unique look to it, and it makes some fun to figure out how they might have shot each of the scenes (how it may have actually looked like on the set).
As much as I love this kind of speciality movie from the early 80ies (another gem from this period is TRON, for example) I would not want to watch “The Dark Chrystal” again any time soon – once was enough.
I might want to maybe steel from the soundtrack though (e.g. the boating scene with the two Gelflings)
March 17, 2008
#4
It’s a shame you can’t give a movie zero stars. This movie is a union of Lord of the Rings, bad acting, and a terrible screenplay. “They don’t make them like this anymore”? Yes, for good reason.
March 17, 2008
#5
If you liked Willow, then you will like this movie. In other words, don’t watch it. The only good part about it is laughing at it.