The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film

The Dark Crystal

by Christopher Finch

A behind-the-scenes look at the technical wizardry and performing originality of "The Dark Crystal" examines the new puppetry and film techniques used to create the imaginative fantasy movie

Genres: Fantasy, Film, Art

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Christopher Finch was born in Guernsey in the British Channel Islands, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is an artist and a photographer who has had one person shows in New York and California, and he is the author of almost thirty non-fiction books including the best sellers Rainbow: the Stormy Life of Judy Garland, The Art of Walt Disney, Jim Henson: the Works, and Norman Rockwell's America. Recently he has embarked on a series of noir-inflected mystery novels set in New York in the late 1960s and featuring the private investigator Alex Novalis. The first of these, Good Girl, Bad Girl, is to be published by Thomas & Mercer in 2013. These books draw on his own experiences in the New York art world at a time when today's SoHo was an urban wilderness with rats frolicking in the gutters and artists eking out a living in barren loft spaces. He is married to Linda Rosenkrantz, an author and a co-founder of the website Nameberry.

Reviews

[Justin K. Rivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent (and I think the only) behind-the-scenes book about the making of Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal.

It features color and black and white photos of the production and design of the film. Author Christopher Finch writes with first-hand access to Henson and his associates during the production of the movie.

Very useful for any scholar of Henson or of puppetry in general. The one drawback is that, at 96 pages, it's not long enough to truly do justice to such a monumental cinematic achievement.

[Ben]

Disappointingly short, it's basically an extended magazine article. Still very enjoyable for fans of the film. Even knowledgable viewers may find something new to learn here.

[Serafima Karkkila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a holy grail for any fan of The Dark Crystal (1982). I read the book in basically one sitting and enjoyed every moment of it! I’m just so sorry that I couldn’t get my hands on it sooner! :’)

I don’t think the book’s short length is an inherent flaw. It has many amazing behind-the-scenes photos that make you want to gaze at them for hours, trying to make out every little thing in the background and foreground, as well as insightful commentary from the cast and crew. The book also tells of the circumstances and challenges surrounding the making of the movie.

I don’t know (as of yet, it’s in the mail) how much overlap this book has with the newer, The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History (2017), but from what I can tell from my standpoint right now, this book has invaluable information for those interested in the making of the landmark movie.

The reasoning for mine withholding the fifth star in the rating is quite superfluous. The content provided here was so good, that I wish there was a bit more of it, specifically in regards to hearing the voices of the creators. (Frank Oz is like the unsung brains of the whole production, and yet he is maddeningly humble in commenting on his involvement in the movie. Let us shower you with the praise you deserve, the finest puppet performer of our time!)

I especially appreciated how the author made me feel the weight of the challenge and effort that went into everything. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly admire the makers of The Dark Crystal more, here we are. <3

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really in-depth and fascinating look into the process behind The Dark Crystal from idea to finished film. I enjoyed reading about all the ideas, methods and setbacks that were eventually solved - it really shows just how immense a challenge this production was and it's a testament to the hard work of the crew that it turned out so great! It's a pretty cool book with obvious care put into it, but I found the visual layout with a lot of text walls followed by spreads of only pictures to be a bit jarring to read.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an oversized book filled with photos and information about the making of the movie The Dark Crystal. There are photos of the main characters along with photos and information on how the creatures were actually constructed. There are photos showing how Jen and Kira were originally going to look like and how they ended up. If you are interested in the behind-the-scenes information about the fantasy, then this is a good book to get.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading all about how the dark crystal movie was made. Here in the books was so many first hand accounts and details of the film, accompanied with photographs of the production from beginning to end it was fantastic.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It goes into the making of the movie The Dark Crystal. It has nice photos and drawings and interesting stories about the movie process. I would have given it five stars but it's not very long.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such cool background info about the original film (and written circa its creation) so deliciously dated. Such cool original production pictures and quotes.