Underplayed Gems

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Dark Crystal poster
Directed by
Frank Oz, Jim Henson
Genre
fantasy film, adventure film
Country
United Kingdom, United States
Runtime
1h 33m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.1 of 10 from 1,273 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Two Gelflings named Jen and Kira go on a quest to restore a broken crystal and defeat the evil Skeksis on the alien world of Thra. The film is famous for using puppets and animatronics instead of human actors.

darkfantasticalepicadventurousmysticalotherworldlyvisually intricateserious

What happens

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, produced by Gary Kurtz and Henson, with a screenplay by David Odell based on a story conceived by Henson. The film was produced and financed by ITC Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company and distributed by Universal Pictures. It features the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. Set on a fictional planet, the film revolves around Jen and Kira, two Gelflings on a quest to restore balance to the world of Thra and overthrow the evil, ruling Skeksis by restoring a powerful broken Crystal. The film was promoted as the first major live-action motion picture without any human actors, featuring characters realized through groundbreaking animatronics created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Many creatures, such as the Gelflings, required as many as four puppeteers to achieve full movement and expression. In addition to directing, Henson and Oz also performed several characters alongside regular Muppets collaborators Kathryn Mullen, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and Louise Gold. The primary concept artist was fantasy illustrator Brian Froud, famous for his distinctive fairy and dwarf designs; Froud later collaborated with Henson on his subsequent fantasy film Labyrinth (1986). The film score was composed by Trevor Jones. The Dark Crystal initially received mixed reviews from mainstream critics; while being criticized for its darker, more dramatic tone in contrast to Henson's previous works, it was praised for its narrative, production design, and characters. Over the years, it has been re-evaluated by critics and has garnered a cult following. An Emmy Award-winning prequel television series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, premiered on Netflix in 2019 and ran for one season. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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