The Dark Crystal
One thousand years ago on the far away planet of Thra a mystical Dark Crystal was damaged and a shard was lost, creating two new races, the evil vulture like Skeksis and the gentle wizard Mystics. In an attempt to prevent the prophesy of the restoration of the Dark Crystal, which will set right the balance of the universe, the Skeksis have attempted to destroy the Gelfings, the only race capable of mending the crystal. The last two surviving members of the Gelfing race are on a journey to find the lost shard and fulfill the prophesy before the aligning of the three suns, known as the Great Conjunction. If the two small Gelfings fail to fulfill the long awaited prophesy their world will be forever lost to the evil Skeksis.
While this film was not among my favorites I can not help but to be in awe of the imaginative mind of Mr. Henson. The creativity of the film was nothing short of amazing. Jim Henson’s brilliance was on display throughout the film shown through master puppetry and breathtaking animatronics.
The plot of the story was a little lacking in my point of view. Yes, there was a basic story line that was easily understood, but the focus of the film was on the amazing and very skilled puppetry. The opening story was very informative but a younger audience would be lost and possibly disturbed by the slightly terrifying characters. The vulture like Skeksis were quite creepy. Even the good characters throughout the story had a slight edge of menace in their features.
The 1982 film transferred to blu-ray with brilliance. It looked and sounded amazing. There were very few times the scenes were too bright or slightly grainy. The background scenery and landscaping was extremely vibrant and crisp.
Special Features
The features you get with The Dark Crystal are amazing, especially The World of The Dark Crystal Documentary.
-The Book of Thra- Dark Crystal Collector
-SkekTek’s Crystal Challenge- Trivia Game
-Picture-in-Picture Storyboard Track
-Introduction by Screenwriter David Odell on the original Skeksis language
-Commentary with Brian Froud
-The World of The Dark Crystal Documentary
-Reflections of The Dark Crystal: “Light on the Path of Creation” & “Shard of Illusion”
-Original Skeksis Language- Test Scenes
-Deleted Scenes