El cristal encantado

I had never heard of dark crystal before they announced the Netflix series taking place in the same universe. I got curious and watched the film first and I am so not disappointed. Few years after the first Star Wars and the first alien, special effects didn't look so realistic compared to today. But what they achieved visually is worth the 200 millions of CGI a film nowadays requires. Amazing designs and colours. There is a feeling of immersion, which I have rarely achieved watching films from early 80's. The Story-telling is good and enjoyable once you accept this universe's basic rules, which are kind of dumb, but I'll give it a pass. This is a very enjoyable hero's journey before the era of comic-book movies and you can really feel that because everything in this film feels so honest and genuine. The film makers had really a lot of freedom and I believe there should be more films with such creative freedom in the 21st Century. The film aged well, but you can see that the characters move and special effects are old, despite a clever use of the camera to hide it as well as possible. An excellent surprise to discover this film, I had a great time!

This movie is like an odd, but wonderful dream. It takes place in a fantasy world, created by the talented duo, Frank Oz and Jim Henson. Everything in this film is so meticulously done, that it still lives on to this day. Computer effects be damned. This film has texture, and it is pleasing to watch. This movie, as you will see, was made for kids. But really, it is a masterpiece in film-making. True, good, story-telling. Sure, kids will love it, but the film isn't really aimed at them like most kid movies are. It is complicated, eerie, beautiful, and intelligent... most of all, mystical. I reccomend this to anyone seriously interested in film, especially fantasy... not to be missed!

The Dark Crystal is a fantastic film made by Jim Henson. It truly is one of those movies that prove what a genius he was, and that his genius stretched past Kermit and Big Bird. However…I always have mixed feelings about this movie.

The Dark Crystal takes place in a fantasy land that has fallen out of balance and turned evil because "the dark crystal" has lost a shard. Then comes Jen, a "gelfling", a small creature with a sweet face and long hair. Jen has has been raised by the "mystics" large, peaceful creatures that tell him he is the last of his kind. He is the last of his kind because the "skeksies" have killed all the gelflings due to a prophesy that a gelfling will overthrow their reign. The skeksies are evil, bird/reptile like creatures that are the complete opposite of the mystics. Simultaneously, the leader of the skeksies and leader of the mystics die, and Jen goes on a quest to find the missing shard in the Dark Crystal. On his journey Jen finds Kira, a female gelfling raised by "podlings", who also believed she was the last of her kind. Together, Kira and Jen must find a way to restore the shard to the dark crystal, therefore creating balance in their world once more.

This movie is a visual feast. It is absolutely amazing what Henson managed to do with the muppets and the worlds he created. As many have said it is even more amazing to see it in comparison to today's CGI and advanced special effects, and appear superior. The plot is also solid, with lots of meaning and spirit. However…I personally always found the film difficult to enjoy. As a child this movie gave me horrible nightmares, as it did for many other people. This is probably high on the list of traumatizing children's movies! So parents be forewarned, this shouldn't be shown to children under age 8, or even those a bit older who scare easily. In fact, adults can still find many aspects of this film disturbing, including scary characters, music, voices, and actions. One of the most disturbing aspects is how the skeksies would suck the "essence" (soul) out of podlings, drink it to prolong their own youth, and then make the podlings into slaves. As an adult I can look past the scary parts to recognize how well the film is made and written, but I still find it difficult to enjoy. That aside, it's definitely worth a watch.

You know, I'm not a fan of the majority of Jim Henson's work. I despise THE MUPPETS and generally all related things, finding them twee and unfunny; I was the same when I was a kid. Call me a curmudgeon, or old before my time, but this shouty, over the top type of humour just isn't my cup of tea at all. What a surprise, then, that Henson should make THE DARK CRYSTAL, one of the finest dark fantasy films of the 1980s!

I had this film on video as a child and it's a memorable film when you watch it as a kid - and for all the wrong reasons! That's because THE DARK CRYSTAL is a completely HORRIFIC film for a child to watch. I remember being scared out of my wits by the stuff on show here - the crumbling corpse, the enforced stripping sequence, the striders dying, and of course the essence-stealing scene, which is still disturbing even when I watch this back as an adult.

The level of cruelty and violence on display makes THE DARK CRYSTAL stand out from other, more twee stuff like LEGEND and LABYRINTH, and indeed I think this gives it an edge to the competition. Otherwise, the production values are strong, the characters memorable and the quest-style storyline fits with the material just right. THE DARK CRYSTAL is an underrated children's movie and one which beats every other animation or puppet film I can think of from the 1980s.

A well crafted and interesting movie! It was good but lacked a bit of world building so that this magical world of Thra feels a bit empty! The 2019 Netflix Show shads light into this "empty" world and impoves upon it greatly! So I recommend watching the Show first. This is just my opinion, comming from a guy who is a few years to young to have watched the movie back in the 80s.

Finally I would like to say to the critics of puppeteering: JUST GIVE IT A CHANCE! It is really good!