THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982)

For many, The Dark Crystal is a beloved icon of their childhood: a film that drew them into another world, fuelled their imaginations, thrilled them… and gave them recurring nightmares. Now, All the Anime presents Sony’s stunning 4K Ultra HD scan, taken directly from the original camera negatives and fully restored, in a choice of collector’s packaging. It’s the perfect opportunity for loyal fans to revisit, and for a fresh audience to discover, this classic of imaginative fantasy.

It was a weird and wonderful Wizard of Oz (1939) for the fledgling millennial generation. I was in my late teens when I first saw it, so I was okay with most of the rather intense content. But, be warned: for a PG film populated with puppets, it contains pretty dark themes and genuinely disturbing imagery. That’s probably why I love it so much!

Perhaps because The Dark Crystal is such an unusual film, it’s stood the test of time and looks as amazing as it ever did—and just as quirky. If you haven’t seen it before, I’m not sure how to sum it up. It’s a fantastic example of immersive world-building, on par with the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03) and the Avatar movies. The brisk pacing is perfect, and it feels like you really get to know the world of Thra and its mythic history in just 93 minutes—somewhat shorter than modern fantasy audiences have been conditioned to expect!

The unique world it conjures holds together as a cohesive reality much better than most I can think of, except perhaps The NeverEnding Story (1984), which also employed mechanical effects and large-scale puppetry. In many ways, it’s an even greater feat of imagination, as every element of its mythos, every animal and plant, and every detail of its characters was created from scratch, and there are no humans to be seen. It’s probably so effective because it was written and designed to be a film, rather than adapted from literature.

Nothing quite like it had been seen before, and audiences weren’t expecting an epic fantasy with dark Gothic undertones to come from the imagination of Muppet maestro Jim Henson. Back in 1976, Henson started developing ideas for a serious fantasy film that could build on the techniques he was using for the first series of The Muppet Show (1979-1981). He was aware of the fantasy art of British illustrator Brian Froud and made contact with him to suggest a possible collaboration. The following year, they sealed a deal to develop the film together.

Their approach to pre-production was unusual, too. For one thing, they took their time over it: nearly six years from initial ideas to premiering the finished film. To begin with, Froud and Henson created the world. They mapped it,evolved its flora and fauna, and populated it with creatures and characters. As the world took form, the stories began to grow from it, creating a rich and intricate mythos.

The look was very much influenced by Froud’s existing artwork and the Devon landscape that surrounded him. Henson would come up with ideas for the characters, describing their psychological and spiritual aspects and what they had to do in the story; Froud would then draw them. When pre-production began in earnest, he joined the small team in New York, where his concept drawings and design sketches were taken to the art department so maquettes could be modelled, adapting the designs where necessary. The hands-on modellers and prop-makers would then feed back to Jim and Brian, and the design process became a thriving creative collaboration. Ideas and concepts were granted time to ferment, grow, and mature into a world with a convincingly rich history.

This amount of lead-time for world-building is a rare luxury. The world of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, for instance, had already precipitated through the mind of J.R.R Tolkien after centuries of development rooted in Norse mythology. With The Dark Crystal, Henson and Froud were starting with a clean slate.

In modern cinema, the only original film work that competes with the abundant intricacies of The Dark Crystal might be James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Interestingly, Cameron was already working on his first ideas and concept art at the same time Henson and Froud were creating Thra in their New York design studio. By comparison, six years in the making is stunningly efficient next to the three decades it took to bring the first Avatar (2009) movie to the screen—and it’s debatable which is the more immersive.

Two advantages that The Dark Crystal has are that the mechanical effects still seem magical. Seeing real things move in real time has a fascination all its own, and it also forces the viewer to engage their imagination, drawing us deeper into the world. The electronic video effects are the only aspects that date it at all, but they’re used sparingly, and at points when we’re too invested in the storytelling to be distracted.

The other significant strength is the deft deployment of folkloric structure. The film opens with an extensive narration of events that, having occurred a millennium earlier, are already legendary tales in the world of Thra. We’re told of a cracked crystal of power and a shard that was lost. The event heralded the arrival of two races of strange beings: the urRu, known as ‘Mystics’, and the delightfully disgusting Skeksis, who dwell in the castle of the crystal. There, they’ve learned how to use its power to extract life essence from the defenceless Podlings to extend their own lives. It may seem that the film’s extended opening exposition lays too many cards on the table, but don’t worry—there’s plenty more mystery and suspense to come. The purpose seems to be to establish a foundational myth. Immediately, the film takes on the gravitas of a culturally defining folktale.

Those familiar with the hero’s journey described by psychologist Carl Jung will be able to spot several stops on the quest that follows. Incidentally, it was this same theory of the archetypal mythic tale that inspired George Lucas to follow the same structure when writing Star Wars (1977)—also produced by Gary Kurtz, who co-produces here with Jim Henson.

Our hero is Jen (voiced by Stephen Garlick, puppeteered by Jim Henson), who believes he’s the last Gelfling—a race of good, fairy-like people—and is set on a mission by his dying master to avert disaster. Before a foretold celestial alignment, he must stop the Skeksis from permanently transforming the crystal of power into… you guessed it, the dark crystal that will consolidate their evil reign of terror for another millennium.

Of course, the gender imbalance is addressed and duality restored when he meets Kira (voiced by Lisa Maxwell, puppeteered by Kathryn Mullen) along the way, another Gelfling who thought herself to be the last of their kind. They take up the calling together. Of all the creatures, the Gelflings are the least strange and intentionally resemble young humans. To match our idea that goodness equates with beauty, their features are simple and smooth, necessitating that the puppeteers perform mainly through gesture and posture. They may skirt the uncanny valley, but they never slip into it.

The idea of goodness and beauty being harmonious is soon shattered when we meet Aughra (voiced by Billie Whitelaw), a fierce, witch-like shaman. Just like the three Graeae Witches of ancient Greek mythology who shared one eye between them, she too has a single, removable eye—perhaps also a wink to the one-eyed Odin of Norse tales. She is an expressive character design operated by Frank Oz and, in retrospect, is reminiscent of Yoda, playing a similar role as a facilitator on the hero’s journey.

The unfettered imagination in the character designs pushed the boundaries of what was achievable. New animatronic techniques were devised, new materials experimented with, and new kit developed. Take the Skeksis, for example. They’re villainous creatures that look like a hybrid of dinosaur, vulture, and dragon. To make them believable, new methods were required to make their lips, brows, eyes, and hands mobile. It ended up taking five or six operators for each Skeksis. There were two actually in the suit, both using a specially designed mini-monitor to see what was going on so they could react to other characters and move the head in the right direction. Then, crawling around the hems of their grand gowns, were three or four more puppeteers controlling the hands and other elements. The facial expressions and eye movements were radio-controlled by another operator. The mind boggles at the logistics of moving all those people around when there were nine of the creatures dynamically interacting, without causing injury or appearing in shot!

Understanding the physical demands placed upon the performers really helps one appreciate the dedication it took to make the puppets do more than just work. They don’t merely function; they move smoothly, they’re expressive, and they actually perform. They end up being as emotive and believable as many human actors. This is the heart of the film’s success: you soon forget you’re watching puppets. For me, this was a problem with Henson’s follow-up, Labyrinth (1986). Much as I’m a huge fan of both David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly, the juxtaposition of human talent with puppet performers drew negative attention to the illusion. That’s what The Dark Crystal successfully pulls off: a grand illusion. There are very few ‘special effects’ in the film. Almost everything we see was actually there in front of the lens, playing out in real time. What would now be done with digital effects was achieved with miniatures and matte paintings on glass, merged with the live action.

The Dark Crystal was a great cinematic achievement. It introduced new mechanical effects that were used in the original Star Wars trilogy to bring Jabba the Hutt and Yoda to life, but taken to a whole new level. Henson would use techniques innovated for The Dark Crystal in Labyrinth, the later Muppet movies, and The Storyteller (1987) TV series. Although The Dark Crystal didn’t test well, and its budget spiralled from an initial $13M to $25M, it opened to a warm reception and was immediately welcomed by genre fans, winning a couple of festival awards. It was a slow-burner at the box office, however, losing much of its audience to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Shortly after release, it began to draw negative criticism for its unexpectedly dark themes. Some parents expected something similar to the Muppets and resented its traumatising effects on younger children. It did earn a respectable profit, though, returning $40M and pushing into the US Top 20 for the year.

Now, 44 years on, it’s loved by legions of loyal fans. During the long interim, more stories from the world of Thra have been told. There was a series of graphic adaptations with art by Kelly and Nicole Matthews, written by Simon Spurrier and based on the original, unproduced screenplays by David Odell, Craig Pierce, and Annette Duffy. River Horse released two tabletop RPG games—one parallelling the events in the movie and a second set in the world of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019). Louis Leterrier helmed that outstanding series for Netflix, but the planned two-season arc fell foul of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what would’ve been the second season concluded in the form of graphic novels.

The extras made for the 25th anniversary DVD release in 2007 are all included here. There are two featurettes looking back on the production with contributions from Brian and Wendy Froud, Brian Henson, and Kathryn Mullen. There are also informative anecdotes and reminiscences, making it feel like a Dark Crystal convention with a great guest line-up. To celebrate the new Blu-ray restoration and 4K Ultra HD debut, there is also a new featurette, The Myth, Magic and Henson Legacy, which looks back on the production, placing it within a modern context.

Although there’s no official announcement, Brian Henson has teased in recent interviews that The Jim Henson Company is exploring new avenues for the franchise and that these projects are actively in development. Hopefully, last year’s theatrical re-release of the 4K restoration and these new collector’s edition and Blu-ray releases from All the Anime will rekindle enough industry interest to get a new chapter underway.

The world of Thra has so many more tales to tell, and I, for one, look forward to returning to it!

UK • USA | 1982 | 93 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Features:

• 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: Contains the film on UHD Blu-ray with a 4K HDR presentation. This is the same definitive Sony scan featured in previous releases, but with additional digital clean-up and improved encoding. For me, watching this restored print was like seeing the movie anew: the meticulously designed details are all perfectly clear, while the natural colour palette remains painterly, evoking the illustrative style of Brian Froud. The visual texture of the 35mm film grain has been respected, retaining its cinematic authenticity without any hint of superfluous noise. Black levels have been sympathetically balanced to retain all detail while adding a real sense of depth to the shadows and cavernous interiors. There are some brief shots where the highlights seem to have bleached out some texture, but I assume the contrast was balanced to lessen any distracting glare. If anything, it simply adds to the ethereal, dreamlike atmosphere. The sound clean-up is equally impressive throughout.
• Blu-ray: Contains the same Sony scan of the film on standard Blu-ray, featuring English, French, and German audio tracks with corresponding subtitles.
• Audio Commentary With Conceptual Designer Brian Froud. There is no better choice to provide an entertaining and highly informative commentary than Froud. Onboard as a key collaborator from initial concept to the first screenings, he was involved with almost every aspect of the production. He begins by voicing his pleasure and surprise that they used his original, hand-rendered design for the main title. Hearing a true creative talk openly about the design process is an education in itself, and essential viewing for aspiring illustrators or anyone interested in concept art and stagecraft.
  
  He explains his approach to imaginative fantasy design and how it meshed with Henson’s vision. For example, Henson initially wanted the Skeksis to be attenuated, crocodilian creatures, while Froud’s first take was distinctly fish-like. Neither of their individual visions would have been as fitting as the hybrid vulture-crustacean-dinosaurs that eventually emerged. Likewise, he reimagined the Podlings, basing them on potatoes to emphasise their ‘earthiness’ instead of falling back on traditional dwarf or gnome designs.
  
  He generously shares his methods of visual research and recalls the importance of working within a team during a prolonged pre-production period, where Henson and Frank Oz would talk over ideas in response to his sketches. New avenues were explored with practical prop-builders on hand to consider technical constraints. Froud’s illustration style was already laden with symbolism, so he synthesised Henson’s philosophical focus and spiritual meanderings into a cohesive visual language for the tribes of Thra.
  
  He points out details in the design that viewers might easily overlook, and explains technicalities such as how matte effects were used in tandem with liquid sky effects. He recalls just how vast the multi-level sets were, constructed across several sound stages which he had to inspect and personally touch up before each scene was shot.
  
  Covering costume design, Froud explains that the robes were inspired by Jacobean fashions and tattered military banners. Clothes were often designed to imply a volume that was not physically there, or to hide control rods and the performers themselves. He also divulges a few ‘trade secrets’ of the Henson approach: because puppets are physically limited, each character usually had one specific scene designed to show them doing something marvellous. Once the audience saw that, they willingly believed the puppet could do everything else, like walking.
  
  Henson’s genius as a team leader comes across clearly. He refused to compromise on performer safety or comfort, ensuring the environment was as secure as possible even when metal blades were swinging and pyrotechnics were exploding. Unsurprisingly, the film holds a special place in Froud’s heart: he met his future wife, Wendy—a gesture specialist and Gelfling puppeteer—during production.

Bonus Blu-ray Disc Contents:

Pretty much all you want to know, about the making of Dark Crystal, is covered in an excellent array of extras with these new editions, much of it legacy material from earlier releases.

• NEW 35-minute Fan Event Q&A With Lisa Henson. A moderately awkward start soon settles into a relaxed chat about her memories of the production and its prequel series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. She explains that the film was originally met with mixed reviews from confused critics who simply had no frame of reference for it. All they seemed to grasp was that it was far too scary for a children’s film, showing a reluctance to engage with its profound themes as adults. However, audiences welcomed it, and it did well enough at the box office to get Labyrinth greenlit. She notes that it took time for those who saw it as youngsters to grow up and champion it; 20 years after release, it was finally considered a classic. She also fields questions about the practicalities of the production workflow—including live voice acting and post-dubbing—with Jim Henson and Frank Oz designated as “Puppet Captains” in charge of the crew. It is a term now commonly used within the puppetry industry.
• “The Dark Crystal: The Myth, Magic And Henson Legacy” 10-minute interview with screenwriter David Odell. A discussion of the significant changes made to the story and characters during development. For example, Aughra went through a major evolution, changing from a male wizard to an Earth Mother figure influenced by Greek and Viking mythologies. Odell also talks about the groundbreaking use of cable-controlled animatronics and remote-controlled motors to change the expressions of the larger puppets so that everything happened live on set—something never attempted on such a scale before or since.
• “The World Of The Dark Crystal” 57-minute documentary .  This excellent 1983 archival documentary includes interviews with Jim Henson, Brian Froud, puppet-maker Wendy Midener Froud, producer Gary Kurtz, co-director Frank Oz, and puppeteer Kathryn Mullen. Taking us behind the scenes, it details the film’s development from the first pencil strokes to the final cut. What quickly becomes apparent is the immense dedication of everyone involved. It may be known as Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal, but he was far from a dictator-director. His strength lay in encouraging the creative talents of those around him, leaving the team empowered to pitch ideas that made the final result all the richer.
• “Reflections Of The Dark Crystal: Light On The Path Of Creation” 20-minute interview with screenwriter David Odell. The screenwriter recalls his involvement from script to screen, beginning with the unusual inspiration of a children’s book featuring crocodiles living in a palace and trying to behave like nobility. He discusses how Henson engendered philosophical self-reflection among the creative team, treating the plot as a scaffold for deeper themes so the narrative became far richer than simple dialogue and action. He also consciously introduced familiar elements to anchor the strangeness—which is why the Gelflings look akin to human children, and why the Skeksis dine at a table using cutlery.
• “Reflections Of The Dark Crystal: Shard Of Illusion” 16-minute documentary about creating the fantasy world of Thra and its inhabitants. Detailed commentary and behind-the-scenes footage demonstrate just how pioneering the mechanical effects were. Jim Henson saw the whole production as a testing ground for innovative techniques; apparently, The Dark Crystal remained his favourite production of all because he and his team managed to retain the joy of raw creativity while taking massive creative risks.
• Original Skeksis Language Scenes With Introduction By Screenwriter David Odell . Originally, the villainous Skeksis and the spiritual Mystics spoke their own constructed languages. When this confused audiences during ill-fated test screenings, Odell wrote an English ‘translation’ to match their mouth movements, which was then overdubbed. In this fascinating feature, he explains the process and introduces the original scenes. It is easy to see why they made the switch: the original scenes are baffling and significantly more frightening. The death of the Skeksis Emperor is already terrifying as his face crumbles to dust, but when it happens amid barbarous growls and shrieks, it becomes genuinely grotesque. The same applies to the sequence where the gentle Podlings have their life essence drained—their cheeks sucking inward and their eyes turning zombie-white. It is intense stuff, and younger viewers certainly need the comfort of the final film’s narrative explanation.
• Clips from Test Footage . Though the footage suffers from poor-quality, hazy colour and video banding, it is well worth a look to see how the creatures changed as the practicalities of making them perform became apparent. It highlights the immense commitment of the operators and the value of the two-way communication between the performers and the workshop teams.
• Picture-in-Picture Presentation of Concept Art and Surviving Storyboards. (29-minutes) .  Meticulous storyboarding was essential to iron out technical problems before shooting. Often, the artists would suggest angles or actions that simply weren’t possible given the limited movement of the physical puppets. The puppeteers would feed back to the artists, who adapted the drawings accordingly. This bonus feature cleanly documents the process using Froud’s original concept art and storyboard comparisons.

A choice of three limited editions:

• The Dark Crystal 4K UHD + Blu-ray Collector’s Edition — included within this set is the film on 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray as well as the bonus Blu-ray disc, together with a 64-page art book. Not available at time of review.
• The Dark Crystal 4K UHD + Blu-ray and bonus disc Steelbook in slipcase. No booklet or insert.
• The Dark Crystal Blu-ray and bonus disc in standard Blu-ray plastic case. No booklet or insert.

DVD Disc Bonus Features:

• Deleted Scenes.
• Original Skeksis Language Scenes with Introduction by Screenwriter David Odell.
• Photo Galleries.
• “The World of The Dark Crystal” Documentary.

Cast & Crew

directors: Jim Henson & Frank Oz
writer: David Odell (story by Jim Henson).
voices: Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards & Barry Dennen.