Blu-ray Review: Labyrinth (1986) and The Dark Crystal

[Editor's Note: Reviews of the most recent DVD releases of these two films, which include more of a review on the movies themselves, can be found here.]

It was just over two years ago that both The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth – both classic Jim Henson films – came to DVD, the former in a "25th Anniversary Edition" and the latter simply in an "Anniversary" one. One of the big selling points of those versions, for anyone who had the earlier releases, was that the films had both been released with a new high definition film transfer. The films have now come out on Blu-ray, so they can now be watched in high definition as well.

Technically, both films look and sound very good, particularly considering that they are both more than two decades old. There are noticeable amounts of grain, but the level of detail – even when compared to the releases from two years ago – is very impressive. In Labyrinth, the "Shaft of Hands" portion stands out as a particularly fine moment – despite the darkness of the scene, the details in the myriad of hands which grab and taunt Jennifer Connelly's Sarah as she falls are abundant. Both films come with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel track, and while in both cases the track seems to favor the front speakers more than the rear ones, that complaint is a minor one. The dialogue in both is clean and the songs – again, particularly in Labyrinth with David Bowie's songs – are wonderful.

For special features, both films contain all the items that come on the recent DVD release, plus a limited amount of new features. Labyrinth's only new bonus feature is a picture-in-picture track during the main film. It features interviews with various members of the cast and crew as they recall the making of the film. The Dark Crystal contains significantly more material, including a new introduction by David Odell on the original Skeksis language (the scenes of the language were in the last release, but not Odell's introduction), a picture-in-picture storyboard track, a trivia game also plays out during the film, and something called "The Book of Thra – Dark Crystal Collector."

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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