By Jeff Swindoll Aug 9, 2007, 9:33 GMT
The film tells the tale of another planet where two races, the Mystics and the Skeksis, are separated because a magical crystal has been broken. It’s up to the last two remaining Gelflings to fulfill a prophecy that one of their race will heal the crystal (and hence the Skeksis, the nastier of the two races, wiped out the Gelfling population).
This fantastical world sprang from the mind of Jim Henson and Frank Oz, of the Muppet Show fame. At the time of its release the film was billed as the first motion picture without humans on screen since all the parts were played by Henson’s puppet creations.
Not only was the film a grand creation, but also the score by Trevor Jones was also atmospheric and excellent. It has long been out of print and thankfully the 25th anniversary of the film has brought it out of the vaults. A two-disc edition was released in 2003 that had every lick of music (the first disc replicated the LP and the second had every bit of the rest), but this new release only replicates what would’ve appeared on the LP.
The score is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and is truly amazing. One of my favorite tracks is “The Funerals/Jen’s Journey” when the somber organs morph into “crystal” sounds for the journey of our Gelfling friend.
The “Dark Crystal” theme pops up in many of the compositions and is truly a wonderful work. Fans of the film who missed out on that first release will be pleased to see this new one. I think that if you’re a fan of soundtracks, your collection is lacking without this fine score.
The Dark Crystal: 25th Anniversary Edition is now available at Amazon. Visit the soundtrack database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story