Undescribable Perfection

Simply A Masterpiece

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

If you check out Inside the Labyrinth, which is a behind the scenes documentary about the Jim Henson film with Jennifer Connolly and David Bowie, you may not get anything too special as far as the quality of the direction of it. It shows you talking heads and it doesn't go into any of the real nitty gritty of things that happened behind the scenes (for example, Terry Jones was one of about ten writers on the film, and Jones happened to get the final screen credit, and Connolly was one of many possible actresses for the lead). But the reason why it is something of a must see is simply because you get to see Jim Henson talk about and show what the process was to create so many of the delightful Muppet effects - the animatronics in large part, but the great variety of approaches, from the mouth-puppeting (thanks to Terry Jones's idea in the script) to the largest puppet that the Henson company created at over 15 feet tall - and how his performers pulled it off. It took a lot of trial and error at times to make Labyrinth, and however you feel about the movie, classic or folly (some critics panned it upon original release), it has so much innovation that it builds upon the already wonderful stretches into puppeteering that the Dark Crystal made (also collaborated and designed with Henson by Brian Fraud). So no matter how standard the presentation might be, it's the substance of it, how every decision got made, what you see with the rehearsals of the performers, how a dance sequence is put together, how computer effects and carefully choreographed black-suited actors, etc etc, gets pulled off, that makes this so essential viewing. Hell, you even see David Bowie recording one of his songs and acting opposite a baby (and that baby is one of the few things to cause Henson a headache here)! It made me respect the movie more.

This 56 minute, 24 second documentary can be located on the special edition DVD of the film "Labyrinth". It covers the conception of the film (they made the right choice in Bowie, as Micheal Jackson would have been a disaster). It also goes into the sketches for the various Muppet characters and features interviews with various cast and crew members. I would have enjoyed a fairly more recent retrospective documentary on the film, but for a documentary that came out around the same time as the film, this doesn't feel as fluffy and just used to drum interest into ticket sales for the film as much as other documentaries of it's time. That said, at almost an hour, this is still too long by a good 20 minutes or so.My Grade: C

"Inside the Labyrinth" is a REAL treat for ALL "Labyrinth" obsessed cult followers (like moi) who can't just get enough of the great fantasy classic. This documentry explains how the most surrealistic place beyond anyone's imagination went from Jim Henson's thoughts and onto the silver screen!What you get is an interesting look behind the film from the "swiss cheese-like" setting of Jareth's chambers to the romantic ball room scenery (and the versatile costumes worn by David, Jennifer, and the dancers!) to the creation of Hoggle and Ludo to the fancy juggling of Jareth's crystal balls. That is what you see when you watch the DVD version of "Labyrinth". The video re-release has a small featurette of the documentry which features very little. I.E.: How Jim Henson and his crew chose David Bowie as Goblin King over Sting and (who knows why?!) Michael Jackson. (If MJ was chosen, he'd be moonwalking and grabbing his crotch during the "Dance Magic" part and the ball room scene). And - unfortunately - very little more. But hey...even if it is just a small featurette on the video, at least you saw a peek at the documentry, which is no longer in print! :) But yeah...I still recommend the DVD! Sorry.It's weird though...just like the "Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Labyrinth" has become an instant pop culture classic as far as I know. (Not bad for a movie that's 14 years old!). I mean...I do not know one person (who saw this movie) say they hated it! When I watch it today...I still feel like that ten year old little girl who watched it the very first time during "Movie Time" back in elementary school in Mrs. Sample's class! :) Never did I once think that I could relate to Sarah's feelings about life and other hidden feelings (according to "Labyrinth" fans if you read the fan fiction on web sites - they have very convincing points by the way!) which is kind of overshadowed by her eagerness to rescue Toby.Jim Henson's wild imagination....David Bowie's awesome music and of course, gorgeous image as Jareth....Jennfier Connelly's talented and powerful acting....it couldn't get any better than this! And it's all seen here in this fun-for-all documentry!!! :D A must-have for ALL "Labyrinth" fans!!!!!