On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
Brian Meehl
- Ornamentalist (performer and voice)
- (as Brian Muehl)
- …
Jean-Pierre Amiel
- Mystic Weaver (performer)
- (as Jean Pierre Amiel)
Simon J. Williamson
- Mystic Chanter (performer)
- (as Simon Williamson)
David Greenaway
- Mystic Healer (performer)
- (as Dave Greenaway)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJim Henson's plan with this movie was to get back to the darkness of original Brothers Grimm fairy tales. He felt that children liked the idea of being scared and that this was a healthy emotion for them with which to deal.
- GoofsThe Gelfling puppets have three fingers and one thumb on each hand. When Kira and Jen make their way into the castle via a mouth-like entrance, Kira's right hand has five fingers in the long shot (actors, not puppets, were used for long shots of the Gelflings).
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits show only the credits for the crew.
- Alternate versionsThe original home video release replaced the theatrical end credit roll (the credits rolled over an image of the last shot of the film) with a different, video-based one (end credits rolling over an image of Aughra's face.). Subsequent home video releases restored the original end credit roll.
- ConnectionsEdited into The World of 'The Dark Crystal' (1983)
Featured review
This must be, along with KRULL, one of the most forgotten fantasy movies ever ! I´ve been searching for a VHS copy of DARK CRYSTAL, for years now ! Nobody seems to have ever released this on tape !
WHY, is this movie so hard to find ?!! I´m fortunate enough to have a copy of it, but it isn´t a very good copy at all, because it was taped about 10 years ago, from a movie channel, and it´s got tons and tons of satelite interferences and "rain" in the image. At least i get to own the movie. I guess...
The first time i´ve seen anything about DARK CRYSTAL, was back in 1982 when i was 12 years old. I wento to see Spielberg´s - ET, and before it, the presentation movie trailer for DARK CRYSTAL came on the screen. I remember that i was much more impressed by it, than by ET. By the end, all i wanted to know was when DARK CRYSTAL would be on the theater. I was so impressed by it, that those 2 minutes from the presentation stayed in my mind ever since, and all that i remember from the day i went to see ET, was that i watched 2 minutes of something that i never thought it existed or would be possible. Remember it was 1982, and in those days, children´s programs on tv didn´t included the amount of fantasy stuff that it is showned today, so watching that was somehow a revelation for me.
Anyway 6 year later i got to finaly see it, on a forgotten childrens matinee, and i loved every minute of it, altough i felt even then that it had some dull parts in it. Somehow there is something diferent with the pace this story is told. Even now i feel this, each time i watch DARK CRYSTAL.
But this is just a minor thing. Maybe i´m being just picky. Because DARK CRYSTAL is a masterpiece, it might have its flaws, but that doesn´t prevent it from being one of the greatest fantasy movies ever. Even though is so forgotten by everyone. Even i forget i have it. In a way, this is an Historical movie, because to my knowledge this was the first time that the atmosphere from the now common fantasy novels was portraited in a movie. And what a begining !!! Jim Henson got it right, right at the first try !
Every time i watch this i only wished he had lived enough time to adapt TOLKIEN´s - LORD OF THE RINGS to the movies. He would make a fantastic job for sure.
With DARK CRYSTAL ,Jim Henson achieved a perfect balance between a kids movie and a fantasy movie for adult viewers. This only added credibility to the world he created for this story. Just for this alone he should be praised. He showed the way, a fantasy movie should be made, but nobody in Hollywood seem to have learned anything from it.
I have read that DARK CRYSTAL, was a comercial flop, because it was released during the ET days, and not many people went to see it. Wich is a sad thing, because a masterpiece like this deserved to have filled the theaters. Maybe adults thought it was just for kids and the kids wanted to see ET, so it flopped. I read that even american reviews attacked DARK CRYSTAL. Maybe it was the usual in america, when a movie can´t be put in a category, nobody makes many efforts to publicize it. And i bet this was a nightmare to some people who had to publicize it. How would they present it ?
So if, you can find it, you have to see this movie ! I f you like fantasy, you´ll go nuts with it. Only the landscapes are enough to make anyone drool. The story is very,very good and much more adult oriented than it might seem at first, the pecial effects are pefect for it, the soundtrack is excelent, and the characters are very lifelike and believable. I only don´t like very much of the hero, it feels to much like a pupet. Compared to the others is a bit strange.
It´s time DARK CRYSTAL gets the atention it desrerves, this is a brilliant movie.
WHY, is this movie so hard to find ?!! I´m fortunate enough to have a copy of it, but it isn´t a very good copy at all, because it was taped about 10 years ago, from a movie channel, and it´s got tons and tons of satelite interferences and "rain" in the image. At least i get to own the movie. I guess...
The first time i´ve seen anything about DARK CRYSTAL, was back in 1982 when i was 12 years old. I wento to see Spielberg´s - ET, and before it, the presentation movie trailer for DARK CRYSTAL came on the screen. I remember that i was much more impressed by it, than by ET. By the end, all i wanted to know was when DARK CRYSTAL would be on the theater. I was so impressed by it, that those 2 minutes from the presentation stayed in my mind ever since, and all that i remember from the day i went to see ET, was that i watched 2 minutes of something that i never thought it existed or would be possible. Remember it was 1982, and in those days, children´s programs on tv didn´t included the amount of fantasy stuff that it is showned today, so watching that was somehow a revelation for me.
Anyway 6 year later i got to finaly see it, on a forgotten childrens matinee, and i loved every minute of it, altough i felt even then that it had some dull parts in it. Somehow there is something diferent with the pace this story is told. Even now i feel this, each time i watch DARK CRYSTAL.
But this is just a minor thing. Maybe i´m being just picky. Because DARK CRYSTAL is a masterpiece, it might have its flaws, but that doesn´t prevent it from being one of the greatest fantasy movies ever. Even though is so forgotten by everyone. Even i forget i have it. In a way, this is an Historical movie, because to my knowledge this was the first time that the atmosphere from the now common fantasy novels was portraited in a movie. And what a begining !!! Jim Henson got it right, right at the first try !
Every time i watch this i only wished he had lived enough time to adapt TOLKIEN´s - LORD OF THE RINGS to the movies. He would make a fantastic job for sure.
With DARK CRYSTAL ,Jim Henson achieved a perfect balance between a kids movie and a fantasy movie for adult viewers. This only added credibility to the world he created for this story. Just for this alone he should be praised. He showed the way, a fantasy movie should be made, but nobody in Hollywood seem to have learned anything from it.
I have read that DARK CRYSTAL, was a comercial flop, because it was released during the ET days, and not many people went to see it. Wich is a sad thing, because a masterpiece like this deserved to have filled the theaters. Maybe adults thought it was just for kids and the kids wanted to see ET, so it flopped. I read that even american reviews attacked DARK CRYSTAL. Maybe it was the usual in america, when a movie can´t be put in a category, nobody makes many efforts to publicize it. And i bet this was a nightmare to some people who had to publicize it. How would they present it ?
So if, you can find it, you have to see this movie ! I f you like fantasy, you´ll go nuts with it. Only the landscapes are enough to make anyone drool. The story is very,very good and much more adult oriented than it might seem at first, the pecial effects are pefect for it, the soundtrack is excelent, and the characters are very lifelike and believable. I only don´t like very much of the hero, it feels to much like a pupet. Compared to the others is a bit strange.
It´s time DARK CRYSTAL gets the atention it desrerves, this is a brilliant movie.
- Alcaminhante
- Sep 8, 1999
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- El cristal encantado
- Filming locations
- Brimham Rocks, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, UK(Mystics travelling to the castle)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $41,613,957
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,657,335
- Dec 19, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $44,625,778
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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