Labyrinth, 1986. Jim Henson and George Lucas.

So, it’s been a while since my last blog, the hardest thing about a blog for me personally is finding something to write about in the first place. So, I I’m just going to write about something that has been involved in my week, be it good or bad. On Friday night for the second time in a few months I watched the film Labyrinth, and to be honest I thought it was excellent. There will be spoilers from now on, so if you haven’t seen this thirty-year-old movie I would highly recommend it.

I was quite shocked and depressed to learn this film was released in 1986. Depressed in the fact I actually went to the cinema to see the film and I maybe thought it was ten or fifteen years old at least. I was actually ten years old when it was released, sporting a full head of hair but that’s another story. The film follows Sarah Jennifer Connelly  a fantasy book lover, particularly a book called the Labyrinth.

Sarah reads her beloved book before the rain starts, good job it’s not a kindle with that storm coming.

Sarah is forced by her father and stepmother to babysit her baby brother, Toby. After checking out the wallpaper and decor in the house I think I may have started crying as well, and to top it off she has to deal with a step-mother who seems to be quite reasonable to be fair!

 Definitely the kind of house freddy krueger likes to visit on a night.

Not happy with her treatment by her parents, Sarah decides to read a passage from the Labyrinth book, in order to rid herself of younger crying brother in his cot. Once the right words has been completed, the child disappears and a shocked Sarah is visited by The Goblin King himself, Jared. Ladies and gentleman its superstar David Bowie sporting a well-groomed haircut, “least we know the rain stopped from earlier then?”

I bet Sarah feels shabby looking at that finely styled hair.

Jared informs Sarah The Labyrinth is real and he has given her the freedom she wanted from Toby, expecting to be thanked for his work he quickly finds out Sarah can change her mind in an instance and wants her younger brother back. Maybe a little puzzled by Sarah’s request he gives her thirteen hours in his kingdom and an ever-changing maze in the Labyrinth “Sarah you must have read the bloody book?” Jared explains to Sarah that she will need to get to the castle inside of the Labyrinth within the specified time so that her brother Toby can be saved from becoming a goblin.  Sarah knowing her parent’s might be slightly annoyed if she lost their son, sets out to find the little chap.

So why do I like the film? well here are a few reasons below.

David Bowie has a good laugh at the shirt and cardigan next to him.

It was directed by the puppet master himself Jim Henson, I can’t say I know a great amount about Jim Henson personally but I’m well aware of some of the great characters he created, Miss Piggy, Kermit The Frog and the list could go on. I will do some reading about him if there is a good biography about him available? If you know of any please let me know and here is the website address for his work and his company if you would to know more. www.henson.com.

Mr Star Wars himself, George Lucas, was the executive producer of this film, and at this point in his career, he could do no wrong. There was something special about the movies George Lucas made or co-directed in this era. You could guess that with Jim Henson’s character creation and George Lucas’s expertise in the effects industry, you would get something extremely unique in this film. It still looks fantastic thirty years later. For more information on George Lucas, visit www.lucasfilm.com.

Rock Star David Bowie, do I need to try to explain who David Bowie is? A real pioneer among men, I’m currently listening to Black Star. The movie soundtrack includes five songs written by Bowie. I think David would have enjoyed the cult status Labyrinth has today, just like his own legacy. What a unbelievable catalogue of music and films he has created. For more information www.davidbowie.com.

I guess Sarah felt better about herself after spending time with these heartbreakers.

My favourite element of this film is the Labyrinth itself, where everything is not all it seems. In the Labyrinth, Sarah meets Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus, each of the characters living in this upside-down maze creation. Along the way, we meet some interesting side characters, including a worm, fart stones and goblins, all giving the film its magic.

“Hello, come and have a Cup of Tea”

There are so many great moments in this film. Terry Jones of Monty Python fame wrote some of the Labyrinth screenplay. I think this movie was before its time, and I guess there are a lot of fans, just like me, who still enjoy going back and reliving the magic.

Since the film was released, we have had some follow-up material. Return to Labyrinth is a manga comic based on the Jim Henson fantasy film Labyrinth. Jake T. Forbes is credited as the creator, and Chris Lie is the illustrator. The covers for all four volumes were drawn by Kouyu Shurei and is published by Tokyopop.

There is a strong possibility of a new film already in pre-production. So I would say that interest in the movie is very much alive. So, what are you doing? Go watch Labyrinth now, even if you have watched it or not, because this film will is a classic and will be for a very long time.