Brought to us by Jim Henson and Frank Oz over 20 years ago, The Dark Crystal was a fresh new approach to puppetry in the movie industry. 20 years after it graced the big screen, we've been blessed to receive a Collectors Edition with a statement in it from Craig Henson, the late Jim Hensons son.
This
is not a flashy CE, but it sure does look nice. The box is roughly
the size of a standard DVD case, but deeper, with a 3/4 inch spine.
Wrapped in a dark, textured paper, it gives off the look of some
sort of cured animal skin. It would have been fantastic if this
set HAD been covered in something other than paper, but the paper
is nice, and the build is solid. The
cover showcases the main characters in the movie, has the title
and states that this is indeed a collectors edition. The back has
a piece of paper glued to it (only the top portion is glued), that
lists the details of the movie and the sets contents. You can lift
this paper to view the back of the box, which simply has the Dark
Crystal logo on it.
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The set opens much like a book does. More standard movie information is on the inside of the front cover, and the first thing you see when opening the set is the forward written by Craig Henson. Below the sheet rests the limited senitype, a recreation of Jim Hensons notepad, and finally the single DVD that comes with the set. |
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The sheet is made of stiff vellum, and is single sided. To make the paper appear aged, and to have it match the overall look of the set and the movie itself, there is a nice brown border around the main letter. The font is a relaxed italics, and the edging of the white area it's printed on is rough, as if to replicate an old sheet of paper. Although this is only a single sheet of paper, it's a nice touch to this set. Craig Henson not only gives some background to this collectors edition, but he also describes the relevancy of the recreated notepad that is in this set. |
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The senitype is fairly standard, meaning it comes sandwiched between two sheets of thick card stock paper that are pressed together. Interestingly enough, the senitype is a 35mm frame taken from a CGI version of the movie...which although it's spelled out on the back of the senitype what this means, it is oddly confusing. The top part of the front of the senitype is a color reproduction of the senitype itself. On the back is a short description of both the movie and the included senitype. It's numbered as well, but wow, what a high number! I have number 110,676! If anyone else out there has this set, let me know what number your senitype is. |
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And now the coolest part of this edition, a recreation of Jim Hensons notepad! I'm assuming this has been shrunk to fit in the set, since it fits perfectly into the box, yet looks like it was once a full size notepad. It's been lovingly recreated, and has an absolutely authentic feel to it. Jim Hensons sketches and notes are on each page, even on the back of some pages. It's great to see his actual handwriting, and to get a sense of his thought process as he sat, over 20 years ago, and began to create and jot down creatures, races, characters, plot points...etc. The notepad feels just like a notepad, meaning the back has a stiff cardboard back, the pages are standard, if a bit thicker than regular paper, and the top part is glue bound. A great extra in this set that is worth a solid read through. |
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Juice's Verdict
Build
Quality: 7
I couldn't find anything wrong with this set. It's built well, opens without
exposing any tear points in the paper, and is constructed to withstand
most bumps and dents. Higher quality than just a standard thick paper
or cardboard box, so I'm bumping up the score a bit here.
Content
and Extras: 7
This set isn't stocked full of extras, all we get is a introduction sheet,
a senitype, and a notepad. But the notepad is so relevant to the movie
that it deserves a point upgrade.
Overall
Rating: 5
Here
comes the tough part. Even though I've given this two 7's, this set is
roughly $45 US, compared to the previous version, which is only $10 US
for the same disc. $35 extra dollars for the three extras and a new case
is a bit steep. A buy that's on the cusp of being worth it, even for a
collector. If you're just a fan of the movie and want to watch it, I'd
steer you towards the original non-collectors edition.
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All rights reserved.