Introduction

In 1977, Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, began work on a film project of startling originality. It was to be an adventure story set in another world and another time that married film and fantasy in a way never before attempted. There would be no "reality" as we know it, either human or natural, and yet everything would be totally, palpably "real."

It was a project for which Henson was uniquely suited, for he brought to it 25 years of experience in creating entertainment magic: through film and television his creatures of foam and fabric had become tangible heroes to millions around the world. To invent an entirely different look for this story, he brought on as conceptual designer Brian Froud, an English artist whose work Henson felt was akin to his own vision of this fantasy world.

Frank Oz, premier puppet performer and his long-time associate with the Muppets, joined him as co-director, and Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, as co-producer.

Under their direction the brilliant performers, designers and technicians of the Henson organization set to work to push the state of their own past all known boundaries.

The result of this collaboration is an astonishing visual experience; a beautiful and revolutionary work that brought new dimensions to our perceptions and our dreams, and that was seen as a remarkable advance in the use of the film medium.

One thousand years ago, a mighty convulsion shook the universe.

The great Crystal, glowing with the power of the world's Three Suns, cracked and darkened; the rich and beautiful land became barren and the evil reign of the Skeksis, protected by fierce, armor-plated Garthim mercenaries, began.

Now, the time when the Three Suns become one approaches. If the Crystal remains dark, corruption will endure through eternity.

It is written that only a Gelfling, one of that gentle elfin race, can restore the Crystal's light, and this must be done at the moment of the Great Conjunction. But the Skeksis, mindful of the prophecy, have systematically slaughtered the Gelflings.

Or so they believe.

One still lives. The boy Jen. Raised by the Mystics, gentle philosophers of the Valley of the Stones, he must now fulfill his destiny. His quest takes him through forest and swamp, where strange creatures hop, crawl and skitter, conversing in unknown tongues, where waters murmur music of forgotten days, where vegetation is sensually alive.

He encounters magic, danger, betrayal, temptation, and learns to his joyous amazement that he is not --as he was told -- the last of his species.

The Three Suns come closer together. The moment of cabalistic conjunction draws near. Jen, armed only with a slender silver shard, reaches the shadows of the castle where the secret of the Dark Crystal waits.

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This is an unofficial DARK CRYSTAL website.  THE DARK CRYSTAL, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of The Jim Henson Company.  © 2001.  Artwork by Brian Froud.  Visit the official website at www.henson.com.