Back when the Crystal Method album "Vegas" came out in 1997, the opening track from the CD sampled a line from a movie which I never heard of so I found one with the name that ended with "Crystal". Hence, this movie, released during the holidays of 1982 when ET dominated that year in America. In France and Japan it dethroned Jedi to be the #1 movie of 1983. Years later it found new life on home video and has become a cult classic for millions of fans. The first Jim Henson movie to feature a cast of mostly puppets, The Dark Crystal has great cinematography, a killer soundtrack, great drama, and amazing special effects for its time. Kids of all ages will like this movie despite the PG rating (remember, back in pre 1984, there was no PG-13) and the hour and a half plus length. If you're near a major megaplex, this movie is being shown again in a newly restored 4k print to advertise the upcoming home rerelease on March 6th, the same date as Thor Ragnarok. Then next year a prequel series on Netflix called Age of Resistance will tell what happened before the crystal cracked.

"The Dark Crystal" is the brainchild of Muppets-creator Jim Henson. The Dark Crystal is often compared to Labyrinth (and you can also buy the pair on a double-disc set), but, apart from both of them being fantasy films starring Jim Henson's puppets, I really think they're very different films. Labyrinth is more cheesy, with its dance numbers and comic relief. The Dark Crystal has none of that. It's played straight all the way. Don't expect any laughs here. In fact, there are some downright disturbing and creepy moments (drinking people's 'essence' comes to mind). The plot is pretty basic. The orphan Gelfilng Jen has to leave his adoptive 'Mystic' protectors to ultimately 'heal' the titular Dark Crystal whose shattering so many years ago has led to the current threat over the land. So it's your basic young lad needs to save the world whilst becoming a man (well, an adult Gelfling at least). There's talk of a prophecy and a portentious conjunction of three suns but it's all fairly generic. The real strength of the film lies in its setting and its visual design. I should mention that this film is 100% puppets and no human actors appear at all - at least not as humans but a few performers in suits may be apparent. The film makers were meticulous in their efforts to make this convincing and have succeeded admirably given the restrictions on manipulating rod puppets.I would say that the film is perfect in every way, but, despite its brilliant (and incredibly lifelike) puppets and sets, in my opinion it has one major drawback - the two central characters - the Gelflings themselves. Every secondary creature is brilliantly created and comes across as real beings. We either love or hate them accordingly, able to forget that they aren't real. But not the Gelflings. Not only do they look and move like Thunderbirds without any knee or elbow joints, but the vocal artists don't seem to be able to inject much life into them. And the special effects end up being pretty spectacular, especially during the chaotic literally earthshattering climax, while the finale is rather predictable, it is no less awe-inspiring for that. "The Dark Crystal" has some predictable plot twists, but it is also a glorious visual feast and a coming-of-age journey with the Gelflings, leading to a finale both awe-inspiring and bittersweet. Definitely a must-see.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

The Dark Crystal (1982): Dir: Jim Henson, Frank Oz / Voices: Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, Barry Dennen: Inventive Muppet style adventure that explodes onto the screen with such flair for detail yet it ultimately fails as a story. The plot introduces the peaceful Mystics that resemble a cross-breed of sloth and camel. They send a Gelfling on a quest to obtain a shard missing from the Dark Crystal. Failure will result in darkness at the aligning of the three suns. The Gelfling's name is Jen, which is actually a girl's name. His enemies are the evil Skeksis empire that drain fluid out of their victims because their leader wishes to retain his youth. Why doesn't he just take part in a skin care commercial? This is way too dark for young children and there is little to hold interest for adults either. Detailed production with direction by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Jen is the underdog hero sent on the quest, and Kira is his female counter-part worth her weight. There is an ogre with a flair for wisdom, which the screenwriter never displays. Other characters are not quite so broad but the effects and costumes seem to be the payoff over presenting personalities. The climax lacks the payoff needed but not much of this made any sense to begin with. The production is crystal clear Henson at his best but it is not up to par with the Muppets. Score: 3 ½ / 10

I was hoping that this movie was going to be a lot better than it was. To myself, I thought it would be great as this was one of Jim Henson's more notable films. However, the story didn't really grip me all that much. That could be because today we have a ton of these movies. The one where the is the hero who must overcome an orphan story to become the hero that they are today. However today, that has been all, but played. There could be the argument that it wasn't done at the time all that well, and that is why this movie is good. However, I'm not a fan of that argument. As older movies can still hold up even though they have the same overarching story as the movies in the genre that succeed them. This one, I didn't feel like had any real differences except it was done with puppets. The fact that you have puppets in a movie should not be the selling point. The selling point should be that you can use those puppets to tell a better story.In summation. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that good. It was right in the middle of the road for a movie.