The Dark Crystal (1982): Jim Henson and Frank Oz

Brendan Rowe
Staff writer
Jim Henson, best known for creating both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, is not about the story. Henson’s genius is in immersion – the way he creates worlds. This is exactly what he does in The Dark Crystal; Henson builds a world of magic and science, and of mystery and wonder.
Henson creates the world of The Dark Crystal through a strong attention to detail. Every scene is crafted to specifically illustrate something new about the film’s mythos. Henson’s originality comes through in his choice of fantasy artist and character designer: Brian Froud – a famous illustrator of faeries and dwarfs – to create characters and designs that would be memorable to the audience and different from Henson’s previous works.
In The Dark Crystal, Jen, a Gelfling, is sent on a journey to repair the dark crystal by his dying master, a member of the Buddhist-like Mystics. Jen is opposed by the Skeksis, a race of reptilian birds who are the leaders of an oppressive empire.
The film’s soundtrack, written by Trevor Jones, is brilliant. Jen plays a flute and the Mystics sing Buddhist chants. Jones uses medieval period instruments to give the film an otherworldly sound.
The Dark Crystal is considered the first live-action film in which no humans appear on-screen, thanks in large part to Henson’s world building. The film’s characters are detailed and original. One example is a scene where a bunch of Skeksis eat at a feast, and each eats a unique meal in a unique way. Some dishes are mixed and matched, but each Skeksis has its own taste.
In another remarkably detailed scene, Jen is saved from a swamp creature. Just before the cut the camera lingers on the creature, and two of its babies pop up. They appear for less than a minute of screen time, yet they help to draw us in.
If you sit down to watch The Dark Crystal, you can’t help but become absorbed in the beauty and depth of its world. It’s always an interesting experience to see something from the puppet master outside of the works that made him famous – the creations we watched as children.