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The Dark Crystal is a 1982 fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. The Muppet Show characters for which he is famous do not appear, but some of the same performers are used. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. Character and creature designs in the movie are by Brian Froud. 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, vital drive, and the triune nature of harmony. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment - the British production company responsible for producing The Muppet Show. The book titled The World of The Dark Crystal, written by Brian Froud, was released at the same time as the film. The book gives much of the story background presented in this article.
[edit] PlotThe film takes place on Thra, a planet with three suns; the Great Sun, the Rose Sun, and the Dying Sun. Many creatures and races inhabit the planet, but the dominant race is the urSkeks, who came from another world and are the guardians of the Crystal of Truth. The Crystal harnesses the forces of nature, especially the light of the three suns, for the benefit of all on Thra. One thousand years before the beginning of the movie, during the Great Conjunction of the three suns, the urSkeks cracked the Crystal of Truth, and split into two races; the hunchbacked, gentle beings known as urRu or "Mystics" and the vulture-like tyrants known as Skeksis. In that moment the Crystal became the Dark Crystal. The Skeksis drove the urRu from the castle where the cracked crystal resided, then instituted a reign of terror over their world. Their wrath was particularly directed toward the elf-like Gelflings, due to a prophecy that promised the restoration of the crystal and the end of the Skeksis' power. The prophecy, rediscovered in an ancient Gelfling city, read:
Jen believes he is the last of the Gelflings. After his parents were killed by the crustacean-like "Garthim" (soldiers conjured by the Skeksis), he was raised in a lush valley in which the urRu reside. When Jen's master urSu is on his deathbed, he calls Jen to his side and reveals that his destiny is to "heal" the crystal by finding the shard, which may be found at Aughra's observatory. As this occurred, urSu's Skeksis counterpart, the emperor SkekSo, dies as well, resulting in a confrontation between the Chamberlain SkekSil and the General SkekUng. Deciding to settle this with the "trial by stone" (Haaksheekaah in an earlier conceptualization), SkekUng becomes emperor and SkekSil is exhiled from palace in rags. Moments later, the Skeksis are quickly made aware of Jen's existence. Jen reaches Aughra, a wisewoman character of unknown species, and discovers the needed crystal shard, which is hidden among others like it, by playing music on his flute, to which it resonates. In the process, Jen learns of the upcoming Great Conjunction by means of Aughra's orrery-assisted predictions, but learns little of its connection to the shard before the Garthim arrive and destroy Aughra's observatory, capturing Aughra but failing to capture Jen. Jen spends the night in a swamp, while Aughra is taken to the castle of the crystal, where she indignantly rebukes and mocks the Skeksis, scoffing at their blustery claims of power and promising Jen's arrival to destroy them. Meahwhile, the urRu urIm, hearing the calls of the Crystal, gathers his kind so that they can begin their trek back to the castle. The next day, Jen awakens in marshes, where he is frightened by a doglike pet known as Fizzgig and meets another Gelfling, Kira, whose existence he never suspected. They stay for a night amongst the Podlings who raised Kira after the death of her parents, only to be ambushed by the Garthim. Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig escape the attack, but many Podlings are captured by the Garthim and taken as slaves. In frustration and despair, feeling responsible for the Garthim raid, Jen discards the crystal shard. Kira reassures him that he had nothing to do with the attack; ' It wasn't your fault... the Garthim have always come '. In the morning, as they awaken, they discover one of the houses of the old Gelfling City, where Jen reads the prophecy of the Crystal and Kira recovers the shard, learning that it is part of the Dark Crystal and must be reinserted to restore integrity. Jen and Kira are then confronted by the disgraced SkekSil, who attempts to trick them in believing he would help them, but they refuse and escape him. Riding on furry, long-legged Landstriders, the Gelflings quickly arrive at the castle of the crystal, just in time to see the Garthim that attacked Kira's village. Kira, followed by Jen, ride to attack the Garthim and try to free the captured Podlings while the Landstriders fight the Garthim to distract them from the rescue effort. The Gelflings fail to rescue the Podlings and find the Garthim, who have slain the Landstriders, closing in on them at the edge of the deep, rocky moat that encircles the castle. Sweeping Jen and Fizzgig into her arms, Kira jumps off the cliff, revealing that female Gelflings have wings. At the bottom of the gully, Jen and Kira enter the castle via the Teeth of the Skreesh, an undefended sewer entrance to the lower parts of the castle. SkekSil meets them again and attempts to convince them to offer peace to the Skeksis. As Jen and Kira attempt to escape, SkekSil seizes Kira. Fearing for Kira's safety, Jen strikes SkekSil, using the crystal shard as a dagger and wounding SkekSil's arm. Concurrently, the urRu chanter urSol suffers a spontaneous wound on his arm in the corresponding location. Enraged, SkekSil forces Jen into a wall, inciting a cave-in. SkekSil then takes Kira prisoner, believing Jen to be dead. For capturing Kira, SkekSil is restored to his position as Chamberlain. On the suggestion of the scientist, SkekTek, SkekUng decides to regain his youth by draining Kira's life essence, recalling that the potency thereof allows a Skeksis emperor to maintain his youth for longer periods than did that of the Podlings on whom SkekTek was forced to rely since the Gelfing genocide. Only a few drops of the "everlasting essence" are drawn from Kira before she, urged by the captured Aughra, calls out to the animals imprisoned in the laboratory, who break free and attack SkekTek. SkekTek falls into a volcanic pit to its death, resulting in the urRu Alchemist urTil's disintegration into flames. Kira escapes as her bond with Jen gives him the strength to escape the cave-in, but he is separated from Fizzgig during a confrontation with the Garthim. Aughra manages to escape her prison while urRu enter the castle. While the two Gelfings meet back up at the central interior chamber where the crystal is housed just as the three suns begin to align, the Skeksis arrive to prepare for the immortality that they will gain from the Conjunction if the Crystal is not restored. Jen leaps onto the Crystal, but the shard falls from his hands; Kira grabs it, but is surrounded by the Skeksis. Leaving herself open, she throws the shard to Jen as the Ritual Master SkekZok kills her. Once the Conjunction begins, an enraged Jen places the shard in its appropriate place, unifying the crystal as the urRu arrive. When the Garthim shatter and the Skeksis' influence on the castle crumbles, the urRu and Skeksis reunite into their original urSkek incarnations. The urSkek leader, UngIm, speaks to Jen of their history, communicating directly with the consciousness via mystical sign language. UngIm restores Kira to life, then with his brethren departs the current plane of existence, leaving the Crystal and an injunction to "make [the] world in its light" to the Gelflings. Outside, the devastated world has been instantly restored to its former beauty and harmony. [edit] Characters and Races of the Dark Crystal[edit] Voice Cast[edit] English Language Version
[edit] ReceptionThe Dark Crystal made slightly over $40 million in theaters, with an estimated budget of $15 million.[1] 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.[2] 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.)[1] Other critics, however, panned the film as "watered down J.R.R. Tolkien. . . without charm as well as interest"[3]. In both France and Japan, The Dark Crystal was the highest-grossing box office release for the year (1983).[1] [edit] Other mediaThe novelization of the film was written by A.C.H. Smith. An illustrated storybook version The Tale of the Dark Crystal, written by Donna Bass and illustrated by Bruce McNally. A video game based on the movie was released shortly after the film itself. A 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. The story is set hundreds of years before the story in The Dark Crystal, and before the Great Extermination. [edit] Technical notesAll 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[4] 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).[5] [edit] Sequel
Power of the Dark Crystal is a sequel currently in development and scheduled for release in 2009.[6] Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Cartoon Network original series Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack, and director of the 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars mini-series) will direct and produce the movie through The Orphanage's Animation Studios. The film will incorporate computer-generated backgrounds with highly-detailed animatronic puppets. Fantasy artist Brian Froud, designer of the original film, has returned to design the creatures and characters. The screenplay for the film was written by David Odell and Annette Duffy. Lisa Henson and Kristine Belson will produce the film with Brian Henson, Ralph Kamp and Louise Goodsill serving as Executive Producers. Odyssey Entertainment will represent the worldwide sales and distribution of the film. [7] In the film, Jen and Kira, having lived for many years as the rulers of their world since the reunification of the crystal, welcome an unexpected visitor to their castle. From her they learn that the U-mun people, who live in the blazing center of the planet, are threatened by the death of their sun. There is only one thing powerful enough to heal the star - a shard of the crystal. The Gelflings refuse and, in desperation, the visitor shatters the crystal, steals a shard and flees deep underground into the tunnels beneath the castle. So begins the adventure of Thurma, a girl "made of fire", who bands together with Kensho, an outcast Gelfling, in an adventure in the "inner-world" over the fate of the planet. 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:[8]
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