I’ve been thinking a lot about nostalgia lately. There are a lot of movies and TV shows from my childhood that have been remade during this and last year (Ghostbusters, Girl Meets World, Fuller House), and there are more which have been in talks about remakes and sequels (Spaceballs, Labyrinth). After Dawn’s post a few weeks ago about classic films geeks love, I started thinking about these films I continue to love. I also thought about movies from my childhood others my age love with a passion.
One such film is Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal. For the longest time I believed I had seen this movie. Only until recently — the past week — did I realize I had never seen it, despite the proclamations that I was a fan of this and Labyrinth. Therefore, I sat down with my battered VHS copy of the movie I found at a library book sale and explored this new (old) world created by Jim Henson.
The Dark Crystal (1982) tells the story of Jen, an elflike creature known as a gelfling, whose family was murdered by the Skeksis, a malevolent race of lizard/bird life creatures. Prophecy tells that the Skeksis will be defeated by a gelfling, so they kill all gelflings to prevent this from occurring. Unbeknownst to them, one gelfling survived and was taken in by a clan called the Mystics.
Now, days before the three suns of the planet will merge in an eclipse, Jen must seek out a fragment of the dark crystal and return it to the nearly-full crystal in order to save the world. A thousand years ago the dark crystal was cracked, creating the Skeksis and the Mystics. The skeksis rule the planet with an iron glove, killing all who defy them, which is everybody. They look to the Dark Crystal for guidance, using it as their eyes to the outside world through crystal creatures that transmit what they see.
On Jen’s journey to return the crystal shard, he encounters another gelfling, Kira, whose parents were also murdered and was taken in by podlings. Along with her pet, Fizzgig, the couple see out a way to safely get inside the castle and learn what they must do with the crystal shard. All the while the Skeksis hunt down the gelflings, now aware that the prophecy may still come true. Ultimately, as the three suns merge, Jen returns the shard to the full crystal, destroying the castle and the race of skeksis with it.
The film used both puppetry and full-body costuming, portraying no human-like character in the entire story. I found the costuming and puppets surprising however, seeing completely human-like facial characteristics on both Jen and Kira. Something I have not often seen in puppets from the late ‘70s-early ‘80s. I often forgot that the main characters were in fact puppets, seeing them interact with each other, sometimes getting confused when camera angles would change, replacing the puppet with a costumed human using the same facial expressions.
Having never seen this movie prior to this watching, I can now saw this will be a continued watch alongside my other favorite Jim Henson masterpiece, Labyrinth. I will also be seeking out the many volumes of the manga following both movies.
Next week I will continue my journey into nostalgia by discussing a movie I never need an excuse to rewatch (but it always helps to have a reason)—the best George Lucas movie based on a Marvel Comics character, 1986’s Howard the Duck.