Jim Henson's the Dark crystal The ultimate visual history

*Starred Review* Such a gorgeous book, and such an exciting one. The Dark Crystal (1982), codirected by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, was a daring, experimental film from the folks behind the Muppets. The characters were more realistic in appearance, the world and story were darker, and the production design was more elaborate. Not enthusiastically received by audiences or critics when it was released, the movie has since acquired a reputation, not just as a cult film, but also as a landmark achievement. In this making-of book, Gaines makes fans of J. W. Rinzler's encyclopedic treatments of the Star Wars films proud; using a mixture of interviews with key people, previously published sources, and proprietary documents supplied to him by the Jim Henson Company, Gaines goes behind the scenes to chronicle story meetings, character and set design, filming, and so on. The book is printed on thick, glossy paper and is lavishly, beautifully illustrated in full color, with sketches, production stills, or behind-the-scenes photos on every page. In addition to all that, the volume features reproductions of original hand- and typewritten memos and story pitches, attached to the pages as though the original documents had been stuck inside as placeholders or bookmarks. A spectacular, visually thrilling celebration of The Dark Crystal's thirty-fifth anniversary.--Pitt, David Copyright 2017 Booklist

This lavishly illustrated book chronicles the making of Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 puppet-starring fantasy film The Dark Crystal. Gaines (Back to the Future: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy), tells the story behind the ambitious project from Henson's first sparks of inspiration, during production on the first season of The Muppet Show, through scripting, character design and fabrication, filming, postproduction, and release. As much as the book is a tribute to Henson's creative genius, it also speaks to the prodigious talents of artist Brian Froud, who worked closely with the Muppets creator on every aspect of the design of the film. The Dark Crystal features no human characters but is instead populated by the gentle Gelfling race, the villainous Skeksis, and the wise urRu mystics, all portrayed by highly complex and lifelike puppets. Gaines has included many hundreds of production sketches and behind-the-scenes photos. Also included are miniaturized facsimiles of script treatments, memoranda, pages of Henson's character notes, and a lovely reproduction of a small illustrated book used to woo investors early in preproduction. Gaines's stuffed-to-overflowing approach of presenting one film's production history is not unlike the rich journey of The Dark Crystal itself, which is to say it's a delight. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.