The Making of The Dark Crystal, C. Finch
Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1983
96 pp, numerous color & b/w photos
Jim Henson’s penultimate film puppet endeavor was 1983’s full length hero adventure, The Dark Crystal. Five years in the making, the film, and its visual and story-telling qualities, have held up well. With a well-tuned good vs. evil theme, The Dark Crystal is, for many generational viewers, most memorable for the appearance of the foul, hideous, cackling Skeksis anti-hero cartel.
They still give me the creeps…
With all the complexity and coordination this film required, it has not been well represented in book form. Still, within a slender 96 pages, we can a revealing glimpse into Henson’s (and his associates) creative process, along with a peek at the technical ingenuity required to bring a full cast of puppet beings to life. It’s really surprising how many human hands were needed to bring many
of these characters to life.