The Dark Crystal [1982] dir Jim Henson and Frank Oz

The Dark Crystal (1982)



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/




The Dark Crystal is a cult 1982 fantasy film directed by puppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz, creators of The Muppet Show. Although still marketed as a family film was notably darker then previous material created by them. Characters for which they are famous do not appear, but some of the same performers are used. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking at the time. The primary concept artist was the fantasy illustrator Brian Froud, famous for his distinctive faerie and dwarf designs. Froud also cooberated with Jim Henson and Frank Oz for their next project, the 1986 film Labyrinth which was notably more light-hearted then The Dark Crystal.



The Dark Crystal was produced by Gary Kurtz, whose list of credits include American Graffiti, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Return to Oz, and Slipstream. The screenplay was written by David Odell, who had worked with Henson as a staff writer on The Muppet Show. Trevor Jones provided the film's atmospheric music. The movie makes an attempt to study the nature of good and evil in terms of conscience, destiny, and the triune nature of harmony. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment, the British production company responsible for producing The Muppet Show.





Jim Henson ... Jen / A Gelfling / High Priest (Ritual Master) / Podling / Additional Characters

Kathryn Mullen ... Kira, A Gelfling (performer) / Jen, A Gelfling (assistant) / Additional Characters (uncredited)

Frank Oz ... Aughra - A Keeper Of Secrets / Chamberlain / Podling / Additional Characters

Dave Goelz ... Fizzgig, A Friendly Monster (performer) / General (Garthin Master) (performer) / Dying Emperor (performer) / Podling (performer)

Steve Whitmire ... Scientist (performer and voice) / Kira, A Gelfling (assistant) (voice)

Louise Gold ... Gourmand (performer)

Brian Muehl ... Ornamentalist (performer and voice) / Urzah (performer) / Dying Master (performer and voice) (voice)

Bob Payne ... Historian (Scrollkeeper) (performer)

Mike Quinn ... Slave Master (performer)

Tim Rose ... Treasurer (performer)

Jean-Pierre Amiel ... Weaver (performer) (as Jean Pierre Amiel)

Hugh Spight ... Cook / Landstrider (performer)

Robbie Barnett ... Numerologist (performer) / Landstrider (performer)

Swee Lim ... Hunter / Landstrider - Performer

Simon Williamson ... Chanter (performer)



Stephen Garlick ... Jen (voice)

Lisa Maxwell ... Kira (voice)

Billie Whitelaw ... Aughra (voice)

Percy Edwards ... Fizzgig (voice)

Barry Dennen ... Chamberlain / Podling (voice)

Michael Kilgarriff ... General (voice)

Jerry Nelson ... High Priest / Dying Emperor (voice)

Thick Wilson ... Gourmand (voice)

John Baddeley ... Historian (voice)

David Buck ... Slave Master (voice)

Charles Collingwood ... Treasurer (voice)

Sean Barrett ... Urzah (voice)

Mike Iveria ... Podling (voice) (as Miki Iveria)

Patrick Monckton ... Podling (voice)

Sue Westerby ... Podling (voice)

Joseph O'Conor ... Narrator / Urskeks (voice)







Production notes

The film was shot at Elstree Studios, and exterior scenes were shot in the Scottish Highlands and Twycross, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom.



All characters in the movie are Muppets, and none are based on humans or any other specific Earth creature. At the time of the movie's release, it was billed as the first live-action film without any human beings on screen.



Originally, Jim Henson wanted the Skeksis to speak in their own constructed language, their dialogue subtitled in English. This was dropped after screen test audiences found the subtitling too distracting, but the original effect can be observed for selected scenes on the various DVD releases.



The hands and facial features of the groundbreaking animatronic puppets in the film were controlled with relatively primitive rods and cables, although radio control later took over many of the subtler movements. Human performers inside the puppets supplied basic movement for the larger creatures, which in some cases was dangerous or exhausting: for example, the Garthim costumes were so heavy that the performers had to be hung up on a rack every few minutes to rest (while still inside the costumes).



In 2000, the framework of the Skeksis was reused by the Jim Henson Company to make the Halosians in the Farscape episode "Out of Their Minds."





Reception

The Dark Crystal made slightly over $40 million in theaters, with an estimated budget of $15 million. Its limited appeal at the time was partly due to parental concerns about its dark nature, and partly because it was overshadowed by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was released the same year. It was more of a critical success, winning a Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and earning the grand prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. (The film was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects.) Other critics, however, panned the film as "watered down J.R.R. Tolkien. . . without charm as well as interest". In both France and Japan, The Dark Crystal was the highest-grossing box office release for the year (1983).Nevertheless, the film has gained a cult following over the years since its release.





Literature

The tie-in novelization of the film was written by A.C.H. Smith, and is now out of print and very rare.

A popular book entitled titled The World of The Dark Crystal, written by concept artist, fantasy illustrator and chief creature designer for the film, Brian Froud, also released at the same time as the film. This book expanded greatly on the world of Thra, its conditions and history, and gives some of the story background presented in this article.

An illustrated storybook version The Tale of the Dark Crystal, written by Donna Bass and illustrated by Bruce McNally.



Video game

In 1983 a video game based on the movie was released for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit in the format of a text adventure.



Marvel Comic

Also a year after the film's release, in 1983, Marvel Comics printed a comic book adaptation of the movie.



Manga

An OEL manga comic book prequel, Legends of the Dark Crystal, was published by TokyoPop on November 13, 2007. The comic is written by Barbara Kesel, with art by Heidi Arnhold and Max Kim. The story is set hundreds of years before the story in The Dark Crystal, after the Great Conjuction which saw the splitting of the UrSkeks into the urRu and the Skeksis, yet before the Great Extermination of the Gelflings.



Possible Sequel

A sequel entitled "Power of the Dark Crystal", has been in pre-production for several years, and is estimated to be released sometime in 2011. Genndy Tartakovsky agreed to direct on two conditions: that the film would utilize live-action puppets as well as computer animation, and that Brian Froud would return to design the characters.[2]



Nicole Goldman, vice president of marketing and publicity for The Jim Henson Company, spoke of the film's status on the January 14, 2008 installment of the Henson.com podcast, stating:



“ ...[The film] is deep in development here, and we are as committed to it as ever. We are still planning our original vision of a film, which is a theatrical release... We are anticipating a beautiful blend of puppetry and animatronics with CG animation backgrounds as we've said all along... We're all very excited to see the film come together, and we'll be sure to update the fans to the progress as we have those updates confirmed. So stay tuned for more information on Power of the Dark Crystal![7] ”





Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA



1983 Won Saturn Award Best Fantasy Film



1983 Nominated Saturn Award Best Poster Art Richard Amsel

1983 Nominated Saturn Award Best Special Effects Roy Field Brian Smithies



Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival

1983 Won Grand Prize Jim Henson Frank Oz



BAFTA Awards

1984 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Special Visual Effects Roy Field Brian Smithies Ian Wingrove



Hugo Awards

1983 Nominated Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation