Sarah is an easy to relate to teen. She is part child - part woman, one foot in each world and truly not belonging to either. Added to this, her father has remarried and has little time to spend on his growing daughter. We are not told, but it's clear her mother is dead. Mom was an actress and lover of the magic and she passed this on to her lovely daughter. It's very hard to believe Jennifer Connelly is only 12 years old here!!! She is the perfect Sarah, the beautiful woman-child that has no sense of her place in the world. Too grown for childish things, too young for boys and dating. Her cherished childhood toys are giving carelessly to her new baby stepbrother, again emphasizing her feelings of alienation. Her new mother has little patience, and even when she tries, she meets with a hostile resentful woman-child. Sarah pain at feeling as if she is not wanted anywhere is so heartbreaking.

Left with the crying baby, and feeling that her world is slowly crumbling around her (reflected in Bowie's "As the World Falls Down"), the child side takes control and spitefully wishes the baby to be taken away from the Goblins. In true Muppet fashion, they promptly and cheerful comply. Sarah faces the Goblin King Jareth - perfectly brought to life by Bowie - and demands he return her brother. When Jareth says he will only return her brother if she finds her way to the Goblin City, Sarah sucks in her courage and goes after him.

Along the way she meets wonderful friends such as Hoggle and Sir Didymous, and finds out her own inner value and worth. Something we all have to do in growing up.

A true faerytale for the little girl in us, wonderfully realized through the magic of the Muppets, Connelly and Bowie. This set is laced with all the wonderful goodies that will thrill all the many lovers of the film.

Kudos for the super repackage.


Fairy tale fun at its finest   July 30, 2007
 55 out of 58 found this review helpful

In the early 80's Jim Henson created one of the most ambitious fantasy films ever: The Dark Crystal. It was a movie that had a completely realized world with its own creatures and flora... and it was performed entirely by puppets. Not the Muppet kind that Henson is famous for, mind you. These were serious creations that involved serious innovations in animatronics. While many loved the movie and it was critically acclaimed many others didn't "get it". There was no human interaction in the movie whatsoever and that put off people. Also the movie was serious with none of that Muppet mayhem Henson fans are so used to. That put off a few more people.

The next evolutionary step in Jim's grand scheme of fantasy puppetry was Labyrinth, and they filled in the gaps that The Dark Crystal left for those who couldn't (or wouldn't) "get" the concept of a fully realized fantasy setting that is outside of our own. How does he do it? Let me tell you...

Step One - Human actors. Labyrinth included the young, yet already talented Jennifer Connelly as their heroine and well-established musician and actor David Bowie as her nemesis. Now you get the fun of a complete puppet world while at the same time you have human characters that interact in that same environment. Thus giving the viewer a better connection to the puppet characters.

Step Two - Better puppets. The Dark Crystal is a masterpiece in of itself, however the technology used to animate the puppets was in its infancy and if you had to be picky about it you can pick away at the limitations of the puppets in that movie. With Labyrinth you get updated technology, which gives you puppets who can show emotions better. Case in point is the goblin Hoggle, who is the starring puppet. So much attention to detail went into his facial expressions that you can actually see the fear, disgust, anger, and joy in his eyes. Add to that other puppetry innovations and you have a world of cool puppets.

Step Three - Keep it fun. The Dark Crystal was a grandiose and serious film that included some funny moments now and then. Labyrinth is the opposite. Is a fun film where the characters meet up with unexpected and often times crazy situations. Makes this fantasy adventure feel more comical in the same way it would reading a fun bedtime story.

Step Four - Keep the original concept. Jim Henson did The Dark Crystal with the thought that he wanted to create a whole different world inhabited by beings and creatures portrayed entirely by puppets. Labyrinth is essentially the same thing, but done in a different way. Walking through the movie's namesake (the maze that leads to the goblin city) is definitely like being in another world that's both fascinating and fun. Much of what you see is visually impressive and essentially relish in the fact your eyes can play tricks on you. Brian Froud is again signed on as the conceptual designer and his work shines just as well in this iteration as it did with Dark Crystal.

Labyrinth also has the destinction of having songs specially written for the movie by David Bowie. Keep in mind this movie was in the 80's so what you get is 80's Bowie, and there are a couple scenes that flow more like music videos (or musical numbers) than standard scenes.

You might get the impression I am dogging on Dark Crystal in order to lift up Labyrinth. Can't be farther from the truth. However I do know the differences between the two films and how the other was made in response to the first. Labyrinth is the folk tale while Dark Crystal is the fantasy book. I believe both are fantastic movies.

The original DVD for Labyrinth was a good compilation right from the start, and is superceded only now with the Anniversary Edition. Here's what you get:

Documentary Making of the Labyrinth - Has interviews with actors, puppet performers and production staff including Jim Henson, Brian Henson, David Bowie (who gives us some insight on his character) and Jennifer Connelly as well as lots of details on design and production of the movie. This documentary is a gem for those of you want solid behind-the-scenes details and was in the original DVD and is included on the Anniversary edition.

Journey Through the Labyrinth: Kingdom of Characters and The Quest for Golden City - These two all new featurettes include updated interviews with the cast and crew and never before seen footage from the Jim Henson archives. Kingdom of Characters focuses on... you guessed it... the main characters in the movie including conceptual design for the puppets (although Hoggle seems to be mostly left out, likely because there is so much of him in the original documentary) and background info on the actors. The Quest for the Golden City is mostly design details on the labyrinth, Goblin City and castle itself. These featurettes do well to fill in the gaps left by the original documentary. The extra footage is test footage of the puppets and such, with some production footage as well. I noticed some of the production footage was a rehash of what's on Making of the Labyrinth, but the crosstalk is few and far between.

Commentary by Brian Froud

You also get DDS 5.1 Surround in English and Japanese along with a Portugese stereo track (how many movies have a Japanese and Portugese dub?), Subtitles (in English, Japanese, Portugese and French), remastered visuals from high definition masters, and it's presented in anomorphic 2.35.1 widescreen. Believe me, the diffence in video quality between this and all of the previous DVD releases is significant. For no other reason this alone is worth getting.

Although no announcements have been made to made a truly high definition copy (HD-DVD or Blu-Ray) with all the wonderful extras included I'm sure it will eventually happen. However until that happens this is what you would call the definitive edition to date. Labyrinth is a wonderful movie for all ages. The visuals will impress and the hijinks will entertain. If you are a Muppet fan this movie will be much more accessable than the Dark Crystal, and if you like The Storyteller then you have abolustely no choice but to get this (it's like a full length Storyteller movie sans John Hurt).



Fantasy come to life   August 12, 2004
 37 out of 44 found this review helpful

I almost gave this movie four stars, until I realized how many times I've come back to it. It really is worth watching again and again.

The story's opening should appeal to many kids: teenaged Sara rebels at the baby-sitting duties that interfere with her vivid fantasy life. She would never hurt the child, but creates a fairy tale around her frustration. In this story, the beautiful princess (Sara, of course) is set free when denizens of Fairy-land abduct the evil infant. Then, suddenly, the fairy tale becomes real.

The story is Sara's quest to recover the lost child from Jared, played by David Bowie. He works well as the world's dark lord, even if his song scenes seemed gratuitous. Sara traverses the mythic Labyrinth guided, misguided, and befriended by beings from Jim Henson's wonderful imagination. This is the true magic of "Labyrinth," the sustained vision, comical and fantastical, of Brian Froud's world peopled by Henson's creatures. The whole world is simply amazing - and it goes on, in changing scenes and amazing detail, for the rest of the movie.

This is a wonderful kids' movie, with no real violence or adult themes, and with a happy ending. It does have a dark edge, however, that may scare the very youngest. Although it's a kids' movie, the kids are optional. Feel free to enjoy it just for yourself.

//wiredweird


A' mazing tale of never-ending fantasy.   August 14, 2000
 32 out of 33 found this review helpful

"Jareth: You remind me of the babe. Goblin: What babe? Jareth: The babe with the power. Different Goblin: What power? Jareth: The power of voodoo. Goblin: Who do? Jareth: You do. Goblin: Do what? Jareth: Remind me of the babe."

When I first saw this film as a kid, it was intant love. Jim Henson, George Lucas and David Bowie take you into a dazzling world of fantasy and adventure, "where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems."

LABYRINTH, is almost completely dominated by creations from Jim Henson's Creature Shop, though it does contains a human or two (David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as our modern-day Alice in Wonderland, Sarah). Like many teenagers, Sarah prefers the world of fairytales and make-believe to reality. Saddled with the "unfairness" of having to baby-sit her infant brother, she defiantly wishes that "the goblins would take him away." Little does she know, the Goblin King really does exist and he immediately comes to claim his prize.When Sarah tells him it was all a mistake and she'd like her brother back, he sets her a task: she can get the child back, but only by finding her way through an endless labyrinth to the castle in the center within thirteen hours.

And the labyrinth is impressive indeed. The illusionary world is a wonder to behold, full of Escher-esque columns and archways, immaculate hedge walls, and a massive city in the center of the maze surrounding the castle. Doorways move about, door knockers provide riddles, and traps ofall shapes and sizes abound waiting to... well.... trap you.

Director Jim Henson balances the deliberate rhythms with the intricate and impressive special effects of the time, to create a spellbinding film. LABYRINTH seems to be inspired by the works of Maurice Sendak and Louis Carroll as is evident by the flawless concept design by artist Brian Froud. Ex Monty Python member Terry Jones has written a script full of sly wonder and mischievous marvels. And David Bowie also performs five mystical, magical songs for the film.

Not many extras on the DVD but there is an excellent documentary, "Inside the Labyrinth" featuring tons of behind the scenes footage showing the creation of this incredible looking film.

Bottom Line: a must for Jim Henson enthusiasts and anyone who likes intelligent fantasy.


A Double Dose of Henson Classics   August 13, 2000
 23 out of 23 found this review helpful

Henson's first two non Kermit films, THE DARK CRYSTAL and LABYRINTH have noticeable differences yet remain wonderful films in their own right.

Each film consists mostly of fantastical muppets (in fact, THE DARL CRYSTAL has no humans in it whatsoever) but THE DARK CRYSTAL is serious and more epic in scale whereas LABYRINTH is more like a fanciful modern day fairytale.

THE DARK CRYSTAL centers on the quest of Jen, the last Gelfling, who seeks to restore a mystical crystal to his world and so end the tyrannical rule of the feral and viscous Skeksis. It is a dark mythical tale, a cross between Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings, in which Jim Henson and Frank Oz pushed puppetry into a new direction with imaginative (and often grotesque) cast of characters never seen before.

LABYRINTH, though no less visually exciting, is much lighter in tone and even contains a human or two (David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as our modern-day heroine, Sarah). Like many teenagers, Sarah prefers the world of fairytales and make-believe to reality. Saddled with the "unfairness" of having to babysit her infant brother, she defiantly wishes that "the goblins would take him away." Little does she know, the Goblin King really does exist and he comes to claim his prize. When Sarah tells him it was all a mistake and she'd like her brother back, he tells her that the only way to get him is to reach his castle at the center of an immense labyrinth within thirteen hours.

Brian Froud, well known for his illustrations and artwork brilliantly designed both films and executes them both flawlessly. Each film has sweet extras included on the DVD (though LABYRINTH is not as packed as DARK CRYSTAL which includes two deleted scenes, and an isolated score track). Both films have excellent documentaries, "The World of the Dark Crystal" and "Inside the Labyrinth" featuring tons of behind the scenes footage showing the creation of this incredible looking film, as well as trailers.

Of the 2 films, I am more of a LABYRINTH fan, but really both films are a delight. A must for Henson fans and anyone with a love of fantasy and puppetry.