The Film
A vision of goblins surrounding a baby in a crib inspired Labyrinth - the movie that brought Jim Henson's Muppets to the next level. Fifteen year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) lives for fantasies. She dresses in medieval frocks while reenacting dialogue from a fairy tale about a Goblin King (David Bowie) and his realm. But when the fairy tale world encroaches on her own, these fantasies become all too real and Sarah embarks on an adventure fraught with danger.
The film's handful of live actors interact with a diverse population of Muppets in this exploration of the goblin kingdom. In the filming, many new concepts and practices in puppetry and animatronics were forged. As Sarah explores the labyrinth, she encounters all sorts of creatures, some she befriends, others she simply interacts with and moves on - sort of like Henson's version of visiting the land of Oz.
It was the perfect platform to pit a relatively unknown but plucky young actress against a rock star of legendary qualities, with a supporting cast of mythical Muppet beasties. But don't be looking for Kermit and Ms. Piggy - the Muppets and themes here can be frightening and are not intended for small children.
The Picture
In the days before computer-assisted animation, Jim Henson was the go-to guy for fantastic creatures. His Muppets have held starring or supporting roles in many a feature film, particularly in the 1980s. But Muppets need a bit of staging trickery to pass as fully formed creatures, particularly when they interact with human actors. And this translates to complex sets and backgrounds as well as liberal use of green screens to superimpose actors (human and otherwise) into the film's fantastical realm.
Backgrounds in Labyrinth are typically composed of elaborate matte paintings and in some cases, here under the scrutiny of 1080p high definition, these background paintings impart an unnatural look as if the actors were cut out from where they were filmed and then projected into a diorama. It's just not as seamless as it could be. But at other times, the Muppets blend well with their environment and even affect lifelike qualities, thereby adding to the fantasy storyline.
The film also suffers in the "present-day" real world scenes, with a very dated, almost faded look that smacks of the 80s. The colors in this 2.35:1 transfer are vibrant and saturated with the creatures, but less so with the humans -- and with David Bowie who knows?! Because so much of the film is set in the magical world it is really hard to complain about "color accuracy." What is a goblin's skin tone exactly, anyway? Although the HD transfer does give the film a hyper real look, it also reveals some of the strings (in this case literally) that hold up the characters, as well as drawing attention to the less-than-perfect effects, breaking that fourth wall just a bit.
The Sound
Labyrinth brings to life a world of creatures, bubbling bogs, and creaky trap doors. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound brings each noise to attention as action takes place throughout the movie. The sound is mostly clear and enjoyable throughout, although some of the song lyrics are a bit hard to make out - but this could be due to the voices of the characters, and again with Bowie, who knows? More importantly the soundtrack of original songs written and performed by David Bowie is a treat, and these are served well by the Blu-ray format. The Bowie tunes are complemented nicely by a score written by orchestral film composer Trevor Jones.
The Extras
While offered as a single disc, Labyrinth contains a good deal of extras including commentary with Brian Froud, a making-of documentary "Inside the Labyrinth," and a second feature "Journey Through the Labyrinth: Kingdom of Characters and The Quest for the Goblin City." Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition is the Storytellers: Picture-in-Picture featurette containing parts of interviews with Cheryl Henson, puppeteer Kevin Clash, and puppet makers Rollin Krewson and Connie Peterson among other contributors to the film. Interviews with actor Warwick Davis and makeup artist Nick Dudman are also included. The featurette plays alongside the movie, almost like pop-up video format.
In this playing of the movie, Nick Dudman explains how he was brought in to take care of Jennifer Connelly. While his experience was heavily into special effects makeup, his role on this film was more of makeup touch-ups on the minimally made-up young actress, and almost more of a babysitting role.
The documentaries and other features add to the film as creator Brian Froud explains the original concept for Labyrinth as first discussed with Jim Henson in a limo. Also mentioned is the revelation that this really was never a movie for children. Interviews with the people behind each Muppet illustrate that this movie really did break ground for movies to come. It makes one wonder what Jim Henson and his fertile imagination would have gone on to do had he lived on to produce more films with the animatronics and CGI special effects available today.
Final Thoughts
A Blu-ray packed with an enjoyable film and compelling special features that give insight into how it was made makes a great presentation. Labyrinth on Blu-ray has a full package of extras, making it a worthy library addition to any Fantasy film watcher. Given the surreal -- almost dreamlike -- quality of the film, it is likely that this could become a beloved film for a whole new generation of stoners. But watch it yourself before showing it to the wee ones as the film's scary creatures and situations may lead to nightmares in those of a tender age.
Product Details
- Actors: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly
- Director: Jim Henson
- Audio Languages: English, French, Portuguese Double TrueHD 5.1, Spanish 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: PG
- Studio: Sony Pictures
- Release Date: September 29, 2009
- Run Time: 101 Minutes
- List Price: $27.95
- Extras:
- The Storytellers: Picture-in-Picture track featuring interviews with Cheryl Henson, puppeteer
- Kevin Clash, Henson puppet makers Rollin Krewson and Connie Peterson, actor Warwick Davis, and Makeup artist Nick Dudman
- Commentary with Brian Froud
- Making-of Documentary: Inside the Labyrinth
- Journey Through the Labyrinth: Kingdom of Characters: & The Quest for Goblin City
