Directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz One thousand years before the movie begins, a race of beings shattered a giant crystal, losing a single shard and splitting themselves into the gentle, wizardlike Mystics and the ugly, dinosaur-like Skeksis. The evil Skeksis take over the castle where the crystal hangs over a pit of fire, and they rule their world for a thousand years, turning it into a wasteland. Now, the Great Conjunction is about to take place. The planet’s three suns will converge into one and as long as the crystal remains broken, the Skeksis will live forever and continue their reign of fear over the land. The Skeksis are awaiting the death of their emperor. There is tension as they argue amongst themselves who should take up the throne, but it comes down to the whimpering Chamberlain and the gruff General. At the same time, the oldest of the Mystics is about to die as well. Because the two creatures are part of a whole, when one dies, its counterpart dies as well. The Mystics have raised a young Gelfling lad by the name of Jen; he is the last of a race of elflike people who were slaughtered by the Skeksis years ago. He is summoned to his master’s deathbed, where he is told that he must find the crystal shard at the home of Aughra…a journey he must make alone. Before the Mystic can tell Jen exactly what he will have to do with the shard, he passes away, just as the Skeksis emperor crumbles into dirt on his own deathbed. Jen is heartbroken and confused, but determined to go on his quest. As Jen draws closer to Aughra’s, he encounters some strange plants and creepy critters. He is grabbed by some vines that hoist him up into the air. As he struggles to get free, a hand with an eyeball clutched inside it pops up, sees him and we get our first glimpse of Aughra…an ugly, pissy old lady with spiral horns and one removable eye. She is reluctant to reveal who she is, or answer Jen’s questions, but she eventually orders the vines to release him and he follows her into her home…a giant glass dome with a large, moving model of the universe in the middle. Aughra says that the model has warned her of the Great Conjunction, which she calls “the end of the world…or the beginning?” She produces a box of crystal shards and dumps the contents at Jen’s feet, but neither of them knows which one he needs. After narrowing it down to three choices, he uses his flute to produce a sound made by the Mystics and the real shard glows purple. The dome is attacked by the Garthim, who start destroying everything in their path as they pursue Jen. He jumps onto the moving model to escape, clutching the shard and throws himself through a window, rolling down the cliffs into a swampland. When he looks back up at the dome, the entire thing is on fire. Jen fears that Aughra is dead. The Skeksis are enjoying a huge feast (and showing very poor table manners) when the Garthim return with the captured and very much alive Aughra. She has no qualms about giving everyone a piece of her mind, furious about the assault on her home when she would have gladly told the Skeksis about Jen and the shard if they had just asked. The General (now the Emperor) orders crystal bats to fly in search of the Gelfling; whatever the bats see is transmitted back to the castle. While Jen and Kira are canoeing down a river, Kira sees one of the bats flying overhead and hits it with a stone. It falls into the water, but is still alive and sends the Skeksis their location. Later that night, at the Podling village, the Garthim attack in the middle of a celebration, capturing Podlings to take back to the castle to use as slaves. Jen and Kira run outside and are spotted by the Garthim, who approach but are stopped by the Chamberlain. He holds up his hand, keeping the Garthim at bay and allowing Jen and Kira to escape. When they are finally safe, a tearful Jen blames himself for both attacks on innocent people and angrily throws the shard into the bushes. The next morning, Jen awakes in Kira’s arms and they explore the Gelfling ruins around them. Kira finds the shard and Jen is able to translate the writings that spell out the prophecy…that a Gelfling alone is able to heal the shattered Dark Crystal. They are suddenly confronted by the Chamberlain, who claims he wants to make peace, and offers to take them to the castle. Jen and Kira run away, and Kira calls Landstriders to take them instead. When Kira demands that Fizzgig stay behind, he has a bit of a, um, temper tantrum, so he joins her on the Landstrider. Even though Jen reminds Kira that she doesn’t have to go with him, they go on together. On the way, they encounter the Garthim with the newly captured Podlings. The Landstriders start beating the crap out of the giant beetles, but Kira is knocked off and Jen dismounts so they can free the Podlings. The Garthim kill both Landstriders, but Jen and Kira jump to safety by gliding down the cliff on her wings. (After which Kira informs Jen that only girl Gelflings have wings…he seems a bit jealous, but oh well…girl power!) The Mystics start making their own journey to the castle for the Great Conjunction (they have to leave early because, well, they walk reeeeeaaaallly slowly). Jen and Kira enter the castle through an underground opening, where they encounter the Chamberlain again. He grabs them, and Jen stabs his hand with the shard. A corresponding Mystic also receives the wound. The Chamberlain pulls part of the ceiling down on Jen; he is crushed under the rubble. Kira is pulled away while Fizzgig stays behind, hoping for the best. Jen ends up in the lab shortly after; he also runs to the chamber as the Skeksis arrive for the final ceremony. He sees Kira across the way from him and they keep silent until Fizzgig arrives and reveals their location. When the Garthim are summoned, Jen leaps onto the crystal, but drops the shard. Kira glides down to retrieve it; Jen insists he will let the Skeksis have it if they don’t hurt her. Instead, she tells him to heal the crystal, and throws the shard up to him. A lot happens in the next few minutes: Kira is stabbed by the General and dies. The three suns converge and Jen places the shard into the crystal, which turns white and blows him onto the floor with its force. The castle’s shell crumbles, revealing beautiful clear walls underneath. While the Skeksis panic, the Mystics arrive, and the two, good and bad, become whole once again. It’s the dawning of a new era, no longer ruled by darkness, but Jen is distraught over losing Kira and holds her lifeless body while the walls crumble around him. The movie as a whole might be too dark and scary for young kids, but it has a timeless lesson about good versus evil…although the triumph in the end is not of one over the other, but of the two converging to create a race that is not perfect, but a mix of the good and bad, just like human beings. In light of the supposed “apocalypse” coming on December 21 of this year, it’s a message of hope, of a new world beginning instead of the entire planet being destroyed. I had not seen this movie in many, many years, so this was a great reminder of how powerful, timeless, and technically advanced it was for its time. We recommend everyone take the time to revisit this movie. Or, if you haven’t seen it, now is the time!
