Labyrinth (1986) dir, Jim Henson

Rating: 4.5/5

When trusty old Roger Ebert reviewed Jim Henson's Labyrinth back in 1986, he gave it a measly 2 stars. He couldn't have know what a monumental cult fan base Labyrinth would gain, or how sloppy film making would become by comparison. Making only back half of its $25,000,000 budget, it was considered a box-office failure, but this combined-effort product of Jim Henson, George Lucas and David Bowie is $25,000,000 well spent. One scene required 52 puppeteers, 48 puppets and 10 actors, another used the largest panoramic black-cloth ever made, an entire forest, labyrinth and castle was recreated at Elstree, and five people worked together to perform Hoggle. Labyrinth is Jim Henson at his very best: visually it is mindbendingly stunning, every character is beautifully defined, and absolutely no detail was spared. 

If there really is anyone out there unfamiliar with this cult classic, a brief synopsis: Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is  a fantasy-fueled, pissed-off teenager, and is left home yet again to babysit her little half-brother. While telling the howling babe a bedtime story, she unwittingly has him taken away to the maze-entombed castle of the Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie). "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us forever," Jareth warns, "Such a pity." And off she goes, into the stony Labyrinth, where the walls and ground move while you're not looking, and everything has a glittery sheen. 

Sarah, Jareth and baby Toby (artist Brian Froud's son) are really the only humans in Labyrinth- the rest is left to the magical creativity of the Jim Henson Workshop, and the musical genius of David Bowie. The goblins sport the trademark Henson bulging eyes and fuzzy mop of hair, and again are remarkably individual. They are not a mass of extras, they are supporting characters. Jareth is sinisterly seductive, and sports one of Bowie's most memorable (but nowhere near most outrageous) outfits, while jazzing things up with a wonderfully upbeat soundtrack. I guess when Henson set out to find a rock star for the role, he had all these points in mind.

I cannot think of ensembles other than those of Henson who are so vast, yet each character so unique. Every Muppet, every Fraggle, are a being in themselves, and we know each apart from the others. Sarah's answer to a scarecrow, tinman and lion are a dwarf named Hoggle, a giant red-haired beast called Ludo, and knightly fox Sir Didymus, who supplies Toto in the form of Ambrosius. Each character has their own personality and charm. Sir Didymus is particularly great, spouting extravagant Shakespearian-style verse, and addressing Sarah as "My Lady."

There is scene after scene of magnificent sets, climaxing in The Goblin City, featuring rows of crooked little Disney cottages, which Jennifer Connelly at 5ft 6.5" has to crouch through the doors of. A huge crew of puppets and very small actors populate the City, and carry out a funky but very clumsy attack against the heroes, who storm the castle for the final 1 on 1 showdown with Jareth, in an incredible piece of set design and optical illusion.

Every single contributing artist on Labyrinth is at the absolute top of their game. Jim Henson and his crew were the creators of modern puppeteering, David Bowie is a rock legend, and Jennifer Connelly continues to be one of Hollywood's most exalted actresses. Now, some 25 years on, $25,000,000 would only buy you Mel Gibson, but in 1986, it made a whole, perfectly crafted movie, with all the necessary geniuses thrown in.Things really have gotten sloppy. Nowadays, everything seen for real in Labyrinth would be done with CGI and green screens, but no matter how much money you throw at creating things digitally, it never quite looks real. The craft and expertise that a lot of very skilled artists demonstrated in Labyrinth is something rather rare nowadays, but it perhaps makes movies like this all the more special by comparison.