Rating: 
Summary: Charming Fairy-Tale
Review: I really think this film is one of those that you need to have grown up with to fully appreciate. A few things have dated noticeably (oh boy, has technology come a LONG way) but in essence it's still a great movie to stick the kiddies in front of. Although, those Skeksis are pretty nasty-looking.
One thing that is near impossible to avoid and has probably been mentioned before by many reviewers is the ABYSMAL voice acting. I mean, it's really quite hideous. Most video games have better voicing. The dialogue is not that great to begin with, but you really notice it when those little puppets start whining away.
That said, the puppetry is awesome, an incredible feat. Brian Froud's design work is wonderful, as is to be expected. I kind of wish there were a few more of these kinds of films about these days, but I suppose people can't be bothered, or today's youth are too hardened and desire bloodier entertainment.
Anyway. My advice is, if you didn't watch it as a kid, stay well away. But if you have littl'uns of your own (I reckon under 8 yrs old), let them watch it. There aren't many new fairytales, but this is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: I may be being too harsh...
Review: Ok... there were a few idiosyncrasies in this movie that really bothered me. First of all... was the idiotic dialogue which ran through the entire movie. The fact that it incorporated very little feeling... and the awful dynamics and pitch and the background dialogue was stupid, a script written for little kids. Then the unbearable decision to have characters constantly making background noises for no reason, except for the fact that they're there.Then you have the irritating movement of the muppet characters themselves... just the heads twisting and flying everywhere... looking completely unrealistic and uncontrollable. But... this movie had some really good traits to it as well. The originality of the storyline was quite enjoyable... as was most of the humor. It has plenty of interesting concepts incorporated into it. I think this movie, if it were redone today, would completely overblow Harry Potter.
Rating: 
Summary: well made, great for all ages!!
Review: This movie is fun and exciting to watch! there are so many different creatures in the movie that for an older movie are really impressive. As with all of Jim Hensons work this movie is well put together and exciting. It's hard sometimes to focus on what is going on because everything in the movie is so great. All of the characters in the movie are made so well. Like I said this is an older movie but you really can't tell because the special effects are great. Grab a copy, some pop corn and enjoy yourself really watch the movie the sets, and creatures are amazing. Enjoy!!
Rating: 
Summary: "Collector's Edition" not worth $50
Review: This movie is one of my favorites, but there just wasn't enough "extra" features to justify the Collector's Edition price.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it (but I'm biased ;) )
Review: To the person complaining about being too cheap to hire actors... first off, it took you FIVE MINUTES to realize they were puppets??? I can't believe it took you that long. It was never intended to be a conspiracy that they were puppets. I bet anime pissed you off after (5 minutes into it) you noticed the "actors" were drawn. I can just imagine how pissed you were when you noticed (taking probably at least 30 minutes this time) the "actors" in Final Fantasy were CG. I mean, are these people out to deceive the world with their fake actors??? Who the hell do they think they are??!!! :rolleyes: Anyways, this is one of the favorites from my childhood, so I'm more than a little jaded about it. That being said though, I do still watch this while there are many other movies I used to watch as a child that I can't without bursting in to fits of laughter. Pretty much if you liked any or all of these, you'll like this movie: Secret of NIMH, Legend, Labrynth. Especially Labrynth of course. One of those movies you can feel good about letting your kid watch (and you can enjoy too), as it won't rot out his/her brain like so many other movies geared towards children.
Rating:
Summary: Great film, but overall DVD CE package was lacking.
Review: I really won't rehash the story here as it can be read in the editorial or other reviews, but I will simply comment on the Collectors Edition DVD and complete package instead. Foremost, the widescreen transfer was pretty good, but seemed to be lacking the extra re-mastering touch. I think today we expect DVD CE's to be re-mixed and re-mastered for a crisp picture, brilliant color, and over all visual enhancements. However, even though the transfer was good, I thought the colors could have been more brilliant at times. The enclosed 'notepad', while a neat idea, was a little disappointing. It is a small scale reproduction of some of Jim Henson's notes for the movie during production. For me, it was a little small to read or enjoy, and most of 'notes' where very fragmented, and maybe only Jim Henson would be able to decipher their actual meanings. The enclosed film frame is pretty cool. It is a single frame of the movie sandwiched and framed in very decorative heavy card stock. But it is also very small and not really for young children to enjoy. DVD Extras and presentation: 1) Documentary was about an hour long and very interesting. It was a very nice addition to the CE disk. It was very deep into showing the viewer the movie from concept and design to actual shooting. Very informative and revealing. 5 stars. 2) Illustration Gallery. A few nice pics and illustrations, but not really enough to warrant this a special feature. There may have been all of 8 stills, and with no accompanying text, music or captions, it was nothing special. 1 star. 3) Audio setup: Beware, the default audio setting was 2 channel stereo, which is unusual. It was only after I watched the movie, and went into the audio menus did I find a 5.1 Dolby track. Most DVD's today use this as the default or standard. I thought it was strange that the CE disc used 2 channel as a default. 2 stars. 4) Deleted Scenes: there were a few and they were interesting but not spectacular. 3.5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: MORE BAD 80s FANTASY!!
Review: Wow. How many bad fantasy movies can you make in one decade?! i first became intrested in this jenre cuasa Peter Jackson :) and his *brilliant* Lord of the Rings series of films. So i thought id take a lil' history lesson and watch all the 'classic' fantasy/mythology flciks that are out there. Thing is: PJs a *genius* these guys were all hacks. Case in point: this stupid movie. The filmakers were obviously too cheap to hire real acters to play the parts so they did it all with PUPPETS and thought no one would notice! I'm NOT kidding you! It took me about five minutes to notice that i was watching a bunch of hand puppets. Besides that the plot, characters, story, and special efefcts are all cheap and stupid. The music is the WORST i have ever heard. Don't waste your money on these old movies made before anyone knew how to make a movie worth watching. i mean it was ok back then but no one knew any better but now there is NO excuse! unless your to lazy to use your brain and rent a REAL movie like Lord of the Rings in which case enjoy this cuz its perfect for you!
Rating:
Summary: The Dark Crystal
Review: I bought this DVD off ebay a year or so ago, I was so happy to get it since it was a movie I cherished when I was a child. The only problem is I'm not a child anymore, the movie didn't do for me today what it did years ago, it was hard for me to follow the story. Most of the characters seem creepy now, and I couldn't make head or tails of what most of the characters were saying, although I remember everything making perfect sense to me when I was a child. It kind of makes me wish I would have left it in my memories as this wonderful visualy stunning movie I remembered from my childhood, rather than the way I view it now as an adult.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Movie... disappointing Collector's Edition
Review: I'm a huge fan of The Dark Crystal (it and Labyrinth are my favourite movies of all time ever) so I was of course thrilled when a special collector's edition was released. However, I'm disappointed in the "features". Pretty much everything on the disc is the same as what's on the non-collector's edition. The few new things to me aren't worth it. Character Illustrations and storyboards are nice and all. I was excited about "The Mithra Treatment", which I thought was the original print of the movie...where the characters speak their own language and not English (you see some of this in the deleted scenes on the disc). It is not. It is simply screens and screens of Henson's original notes. Interesting yes... but I'd rather have that in a booklet, not in screens on my TV. Then again, the fact that it was only 1 disc should have tipped me off. The packaging is nice, the replica of Henson's notepad detailing the original ideas which would become the movie is very interesting... but in my opinion, not worth the $35 or whatever I just shelled out for this. I'm very disappointed in the amount of "exclusives" on this DVD. The original print of the film would have been *amazing* to see, to see how Henson and Co. originally viewed the film. Maybe some new interviews with some of the other players (Oz and Froud for sure) as they look back on the movie, its box office disappointment but almost cult success. Or even a nifty booklet with a lot of these extras in it. I hate sitting in front of my TV trying to read screens of information or look at drawings which I'd rather have on paper so I can see the detail better. So to make a long story short... if you like the movie, get the regular edition and not collector's. If you're a fanatic like me, bought the re-issued World of the Dark Crystal book and even considered shelling out a few hundred for the original pressing... and somehow MISSED buying the first DVD release of this movie, well then this is probably for you. But if you already own the DVD that came out a few years ago... I'd think very heavily on it, unless you are a fanatic. Even as a fanatic, you probably won't find any new material here (especially if you own the aforementioned book), and I'd save the $35. Or try to recoup some of your "loss" and sell your other DVD somewhere (like I'm going to try and do). I hope that if Henson and Co. decide to do a Collector's Edition of Labyrinth they put a little more work into it. I have to say, I'm disappointed with how the kids have carried on Jim's legend.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfull!
Review: This film was the first film Jim Henson did outside of the muppets and this film is in no way related to that except for the Henson. What's also unusal about this film is that there are no human characters, something we've been used to since the muppet movies and TV shows. It is orginal! Jen is the last of his kind, a Gelfling. His race was mass murdered by the Skexis, a race that looks like a cross between lizards and spiders, because of an ancient prophecy that says a Gelfling will destroy their race. Jen is taken in by the race of mystics, six armed creatures who are pacifistic wizards. Their leader tells Jen of the prophecy and of how he has to heal the Dark Crystal in order to keep the world from going into darkness forever, sounds Tolkien-ish huh? Wonderful production design and concepts by Brian Froud make this movie a feast for the eyes. The swamp scene, which is my favorite scene and where Jen meets Kira, reminds me of the Tulgy Wood scene in Alice in Wonderland in the sense that everything is alive! This movie is mesmerizing. I watch it today with the same awe I had when I was a kid!
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