The dark crystal

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Movie
German title The dark crystal
Original title The Dark Crystal
Country of production USA , UK
original language English
Publishing year 1982
length approx. 89 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Jim Henson ,
Frank Oz
script Jim Henson ,
David Odell
production David Lazer ,
Gary Kurtz
music Trevor Jones
camera Oswald Morris
cut Ralph Kemplen
occupation

The characters in the film were each embodied by two people: One controlled the doll (including Jim Henson as Jen), while a professional narrator took over the speaking role.

Original speaker :

The Dark Crystal (1982) is a fantasy feature film by the puppeteers and Muppets inventors Jim Henson and Frank Oz . It is the first live-action feature film in which only puppets can be seen in action. It was also Henson's first fantasy film. The first performance in Germany was March 25, 1983.

action

One of the original biscuits on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta

The dark crystal is about how the male Gelfling Jen and the female Gelfling Kira end the reign of terror of the Skekse after a long hike with the help of the dark crystal and thus return their world to a paradisiacal state.

The film is set in the world of Thra . This is characterized by a dualism of the good, wise Uru (in the English original Mystics ) and the greedy Skeksen . The Uru are wise wizards who are on the verge of extinction. The Skekse have ruled the world since the so-called splintering of the crystal 1000 years ago.

A prophecy plays an important role in the world, according to which a Gelfling , a small elven-like being, will end the rule of the Skekse. That is why the Skekse have been trying to eradicate the Gelflinge for centuries.

Jen is assigned to bring the splinter back to the dark crystal in order to restore the balance of the world. On the journey he goes through numerous adventures and meets friends and enemies. Most important of all is Kira, who then moves on with Jen. During the Great Conjunction of the Three Suns, Jen succeeds in inserting the missing sliver of the dark crystal back into the large crystal. The energies of the reunited crystal also reunite the Uru and the Skekse . It turned out that a thousand years ago both were one being in the race of the primal Skekse . The Skekse's reign of terror ends. The resurrected, transcended primal Skekse heal Kira, who was fatally injured during the final battle, and leave the newly healed world to the two.

The last shots of the film show the restored, original crystal dome in a paradisiacal landscape.

The world

Thra is a world made up of deserted deserts and idyllic landscapes. There are always traces and monuments from the mythical past.

In addition to Urus, Skeksen and Gelflingen, the world of dark crystals also includes the wise, faun- / satyr-like astronomer Aughra and the childlike Podlinge.

production

Origins of the world of dark crystal can be found in Jim Henson's Land of Gorch from 1975/1976. It was an experimental section on the Saturday Night Live show that took place in a volcanic landscape dotted with historical artifacts. Henson worked directly on the film for a total of five years.

The artist Brian Froud created the entire artistic design for the film and also drew the film poster and the record cover. Henson discovered Froud through his screenwriter Jerry Juhl , who found The Land of Froud at a book flea market in San Francisco in 1977 . When the Dark Crystal was created, the development of the story and the characters followed the design of the world.

Jim Henson and Frank Oz directed and directed some of the puppets and also cast some roles. The film was Henson's most technically complex project to date. In addition to the hand, stick and whole-body dolls he had previously used, he also used extensive animatronic processes for doll building and management. The dolls themselves are made of a new type of latex foam , which allows easier movement and more diverse facial expressions than the materials previously used. The smaller dolls (Gelflinge, Podlinge, etc.) were partly guided by hand. However, actors who were in the larger doll constructions were also used. The puppets were the forerunners to the animatronic figures that were later u. a. in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or in the character of Yoda in Star Wars .

The film was shot in EMI Elstree Studios near London, with pre-production mainly taking place in New York.

Co-directing Oz was the puppeteer's first directorial work. Henson asked him for help making the film. According to his own statements, Oz would otherwise never have thought of directing. After experiencing the dark crystal, however, he made several films and also worked as a theater director.

continuation

A sequel called Power of the Dark Crystal was planned. The film should combine the puppet technique of the first part with the current CGI of today's films and continue the story of Jen and Kira. Production stopped in 2012.

In 2017, streaming network Netflix announced it was working on a prequel called The Dark Crystal: Era of Resistance . Filming began in autumn 2017. The first season has been on Netflix since August 30, 2019.

reception

Reviews

While the film has a less than original plot and the protagonists often seem stereotypical, the film has an impact mainly through the lavishly furnished landscapes, the design of the world and the often eccentric supporting actors.

The lexicon of international films also praised the lavish decorations and the picture compositions.

Awards

  • 1983: Grand Prize of the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival for Jim Henson and Frank Oz
  • 1983: Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film

literature

  • Christopher Finch : The Making of the Dark Crystal. Creating a Unique Film . Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York 1983, 96 pages, ISBN 0-03-063332-X
  • JJ Llewellyn, Brian Froud : The World of the Dark Crystall , Alfred A. Knopf, 1982 ISBN 0810945797
  • Anton CH Smith: The dark crystal. Fantastic novel . Original title: The Dark Crystal . German by Horst Pukallus. Heyne, Munich 1983, 223 pages, ISBN 3-453-01735-8

media

Video and DVD

  • The dark crystal (VHS), Columbia Tristar 10146, incl. 15 min documentation
  • The dark crystal (DVD), EAN 4030521101463, country code 2, FSK 12
  • The dark crystal (UMD), EAN 4030521703803, FSK 12
  • The Dark Crystal (DVD), UPC 043396028494, country code 1
  • The Dark Crystal (Blu-ray)

Film music

Video game

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Victoria Grace Weisel, Leslee Asch et al .: Muppets, Monster & Magic. The world of Jim Henson (OT: The Art of the Muppets). Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main and New York 1987, ISBN 3-88799-021-8 , p. 36
  2. ↑ a b c d e Catriona McAra: A Natural History of 'The Dark Crystal': The Conceptual Design of Brian Froud in Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham (eds.): The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson: Essays on His Work and Legacy Beyond The Muppet Show and Sesame Street McFarland, 2012 ISBN 0786469862 , p. 101
  3. ↑ a b c Catriona McAra: A Natural History of 'The Dark Crystal': The Conceptual Design of Brian Froud in Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham (eds.): The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson: Essays on His Work and Legacy Beyond The Muppet Show and Sesame Street McFarland, 2012 ISBN 0786469862 , p. 101
  4. ↑ Catriona McAra: A Natural History of 'The Dark Crystal': The Conceptual Design of Brian Froud in Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham (eds.): The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson: Essays on His Work and Legacy Beyond The Muppet Show and Sesame Street McFarland, 2012 ISBN 0786469862 , p. 104
  5. ↑ Catriona McAra: A Natural History of 'The Dark Crystal': The Conceptual Design of Brian Froud in Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham (eds.): The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson: Essays on His Work and Legacy Beyond The Muppet Show and Sesame Street McFarland, 2012 ISBN 0786469862 , p. 103
  6. ↑ Sharon Lough: The Muppets creator Frank Oz is packing his puppets away , Metro UK, September 19, 2011
  7. ↑ [1] Moviepilot, accessed June 18, 2018
  8. ↑ The dark crystal. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 20, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used