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The 1982 Jim Henson, Brian Froud and Frank Oz dark puppet masterpiece hits Blue-Ray, and we all rejoice!

The planet of Thra has three suns and two races: the Mystics, large, sloping creatures who possess wisdom and a connection with the planet that is deep and powerful, and the Skeksis, sharp bony creatures who fight over power ad a connection with a large and fractured crystal that is infused with an unknown power. The Skeksis rule Thra with a cruel hand, and their first order of business was to wipe out an elfin race called the Gelflings so they couldn’t fulfill a prophecy that they would bring about the downfall of the malicious Skeksis.

But there is one Gelfling left, and his name is Jen. He was raised by the Mystics, and at the opening of the film he is attending the deathbed of his master, who tells him that he will be the one to heal the Dark Crystal with a shard that can be found in the possession of a scholar prophetess named Augra who lives in a mad observatory. Jen’s master dies, and with him the Emperor of the Skeksis. Now the battle is on for the new emperor, and two Skesis come forth - Chamberlain of the many strange noises and the General. The General is the victor, and Chamberlain is stripped of his clothing and tossed out of the castle. 

Jen finds Augra and the shard, but disaster strikes: the skeksis army intrudes and Jen must run for his life. He wakes up the next day when an irritating little dog thing discovers him. The creature, a Fizgig, is the pet of another Gelfling that Jen never knew existed - a girl named Kira. Together they take on the mission to heal the crystal and end the rein of the evil Skeksis.

The Dark Crystal is famous for the incredible animatronics, cutting-edge at the time it was made. And though the film was created by the two masterminds behind The Muppet Show, it was much darker in tone than anyone expected, thanks to the concept art by the master of fairies, Brian Froud. The story is a beautiful, pure fantasy, the likes of which we rarely get in film.

This Blu-Ray release comes with a new set of bonus features as well as original special features: the former include a trivia challenge, a picture-in-picture storyboard track, a new introduction from the screenwriter on the original Skeksis language and something called “The Book of Thra” which is a little collection game you can play while watching the film. The latter’s bonus features include commentary from Brian Froud, a featurette on the world of The Dark Crystal and “Light on the Path of Creation” and “Shard of Illusion”, as well as deleted scenes and test scenes.

A beautiful film in a beautiful format with more bonus features? This one is a no-brainer.

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