The Dark Crystal: the 40th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Dec. 21, 2022, 9:29 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 40th anniversary of The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson's first movie to not be an extension of one of his pre-existing franchises and his first foray into darker and more serious storytelling. Unlike his previous works, which are set in our own world, where puppet characters interact with humans, this movie is set entirely in its own fantasy world, populated entirely by puppet characters, with no human characters appearing, at all (yes, the garthim are clearly portrayed by humans in suits, but those suits do an excellent job of concealing the true nature of the actors who wear them, making them seem alien and menacing).
The Dark Crystal capitalized on the trend of dark medieval fantasy that was popular from the late 1970's throughout much of the 1980's, focusing on a classic hero's journey as Jen, a gelfing, leaves the safety of his home village to embark upon an epic quest that shall affect the fate of the world, meeting many unusual characters and facing great danger along the way. The movie is only 93 minutes long, so it does not have a great amount of time for world building and character development, but it is visually magnificent, a spectacle for the senses; every costume and every set was crafted by hand, with special effects being kept to a minimum. In addition to that, in the decades that have passed since the film was released, there have been numerous supplemental materials that have greatly expanded the world of The Dark Crystal, giving greater depth to its characters and events.
In my mind, The Dark Crystal is Jim Henson's crowing masterwork, the pinnacle of his career; he did revisit the fantasy themes several years later in Labyrinth, but that movie did not quite live up to the standards of TDC, in mym mind, as it had too many Muppet-esque wacky hijinks, but David Bowie was excellent as Jareth the golbin king. I have not yet seen The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, but I plan to watch it, at some point, so I hope that it is a worthy successor (or prequel, more accurately) to the original film.
What does everyone else say about this? How do you feel about this year being the 40th anniversary of The Dark Crystal?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
I cannot believe that I did not realize that this year is actually the 40th anniversary of The Dark Crystal, not the 30th! I am so embarrassed that I made a mistake such as that!
zAzen7977 says... #2
I’m also a big fan of the original Dark Crystal, which I consider to be a masterpiece. DemonDragonJ, if you haven’t seen the new show Age of Resistance, I highly recommend it. As with any prequel (especially something put out by Netflix) I had my concerns as to the quality of the production and the writing. But the show is produced by the Jim Henson company and they do an excellent job. The technology has come a long way since the original. The writing is surprisingly engaging, you almost forget you’re watching a puppet show. It’s a shame that the show was canceled after the first season, since there was supposed to be a second season to finish the story. Maybe if enough people show interest, eventually a second season will be produced.
December 24, 2022 3:24 p.m.