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Writer: David Odell
Based On A Story By: Jim Henson
Directors: Jim Henson and Frank Oz
Feature length: 93 minutes
Extras:
The Mythra Treatment, Character Illustrations, Storyboards, The World Of The
Dark Crystal Documentary, Original Language Work Print Scenes, Deleted Funeral
Scene, Character Drawings and Profiles, Theatrical Trailers, Bonus Trailer,
Talent Files, Replication Of Jim Henson’s Notepad, Collectible Senitype, A
Special Forward By Cheryl Henson
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and English and Spanish Dolby Surround
Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Book Style Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1982/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
On
a far off planet the evil Skeksis have utilized the source of their power within
the dark crystal to extend their lives and enslave other races. Having wiped out
nearly all of the Gelfling race because of fear of a prophecy that states that a
Gelfling will put an end to their rule, the Skeksis mount a ceaseless reign of
terror to ensure their own immortality. Two lone Gelflings undertake a quest to
find the shard and restore purity to the dark crystal and end the Skeksis rule
forever.
Even
after twenty years, “The Dark Crystal” is still a visual landmark in fantasy
filmmaking with a cast of characters made up entirely of puppets created by Jim
Henson’s creature workshop based on designs by acclaimed illustrator Brian
Froud (Fairies), who would collaborate with Henson again on “Labyrinth.”
Ironically it is the more human like characters such as the Gelflings and
Podlings that look a little too Muppet like for what is an otherwise well
realized alien world.
The
Collector’s Edition of “The Dark Crystal” is a wonder to watch because the
rich textures and details within the creature and production design can be
appreciated on home video like never before. Some scenes still have some
bleeding of color that makes the Gelfling characters appears somewhat orange at
times, but overall this is a better picture presentation than the 1999
“Special Edition” DVD release and more or less on par with the 2003 Superbit
edition released earlier this year. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack is full in quality, but the rear channels are not utilized quite as
much as one might expect from a 5.1 channel mix. English and Spanish Language
Dolby Surround Soundtracks as well as English Captions and Closed Captions for
the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded on to the dual
layered DVD as options too.
This
“Collector’s Edition” of “The Dark Crystal” features all of the extras
that were made available in the 1999 release along with a few exclusive new
items. The disc comes housed in a book like case with nice character artwork on
the front and back and information on the technical specifications and film
credits within on the inner side of the opening flap. Inside is an opening
forward by Jim Henson’s daughter Cheryl recalling how her father developed the
idea for “The Dark Crystal” while stuck aboard the Concord en route to a New
York in the midst of a blizzard. Then there is a replication of Henson’s
handwritten notepad depicting his notes on character development, plot, scenes,
and even quick sketches of the creatures. There is also a limited edition
senitype with a digitally scanned image from the film reproduced onto paper and
a 35mm film frame reproduced from the original CGI image transfer.
The
rest of the extra value features are on the disc itself. Exclusive to the DVD
enclosed is the text to Jim Henson’s “Mythra Treatment” that can be read
onscreen without the need of a DVD-ROM player, a short gallery of character
illustrations and a short storyboard gallery for the scene where the Garthim
attack the Podling village. The rest of the extra features are the same ones
included on the original 1999 DVD release. These are notes on and profiles of
the Skeksis and Uru characters, talent files for Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Brian
Froud, and a deleted scene taken from the only known existing work print of the
Skeksis Funeral (3:29) presented in a letterboxed (2.35:1) aspect ratio with an
extremely grainy image filled with video noise given the source material used.
The
best extra features on the DVD are a collection of alternate original language
scenes, where we see the Skeksis speaking an alien language. The scenes were
also taken from a work print and are presented in a (2.35:1) aspect ratio with
optional English Language Subtitles. In many ways I wish they went with this
idea for the entire film because it reinforces that we are viewing an alien
world, but I can understand why they would choose to present the whole film in
English if only for the wider audience appeal. These scenes are detailed as
“Emperor’s Deathbed” (1:54), “New Emperor” (4:59), “Aughra And
Jen” (5:32), “Podling Village” (: 51), “Aughra And Skeksis” (1:52),
“Fountain Of Youth” (3:23), and “Presenting Kira” (2:03). The
behind-the-scenes documentary “The World Of The Dark Crystal” (57:23) is
still a fascinating look at how the Henson’s vision was realized. One can only
imagine how Henson might have produced “The Dark Crystal” today with all of
the technological advancements in animatronics and CGI to free up what could not
be readily achieved in the early 1980s and what the film would be like.
The
theatrical teaser (: 38), American trailer (2:17), and European trailer (1:19)
as well as a home video spot for “Labyrinth” (: 32) concludes the extra
features within this package. If you are a huge fan of “The Dark Crystal”
and don’t mind possibly having three copies of the film on DVD in your library
then I suppose you probably already have this DVD release, but unless it is a
gift or a first time purchase, I see no great reason why someone happy with the
1999 or “Superbit” DVD releases should feel the need to upgrade. “The Dark
Crystal: Collector’s Edition” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on
and offline from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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