thomas4cinema

This is a treasure to be rediscovered! The fight of good (the Mystics) versus evil (the Skeksis), with the surviving Gelfling in the middle, needing to fix the Crystal that will bring back equilibrium and save the world from eternal Skeksis rule… this is as good as any fantasy story gets, and Henson’s indefinite capacity for creature creation gives these creatures character and soul. This is the Lord of the Rings or Avatar of its time, populating a world with vultures and cute furry dog-thingies… there is not a bit of patina to either the story or to the way it is set in scene, and there are unforgettable images such as the slow but persistent march of the Mystics to the Castle for the final showdown. Seeing “The Dark Crystal” today gives great insight into how influential it has been for the fantasy genre, with the Avatar flying parasol plants being close to a direct copy, or the recent Stephen King novel “Doctor Sleep” borrowing and directly quoting the idea of the evil creatures feeding off the “essence” of their victims for rejuvenation. Oh what would Jim Henson do today? This is something to be asked whenever some run-of-the-mil fantasy spectacle hits the screen for a week and is forgotten the week after. I am quite sure that Dark Crystal will not ever be forgotten who had the pleasure of seeing it as children. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_crystal/