Customer Reviews

World of the Dark Crystal

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who's seen this movie will be familiar with the breathtaking level of detail and effort that went into the production design. One could watch the film a hundred times over and still pick up on small things and be totally puzzled over the meaning of it all. When you think about it, The Dark Crystal is a small miracle. Not only is it a very grim kids film, hardly any of the mythology is explained and there's loads of subtext and hidden meanings. How many can say that about Finding Nemo?

Brian Froud has always been fascinated with faeries and goblins and such so when he was hired by Jim Henson to work on this movie it must have been a dream come true. The first section of this book covers Froud's experiences working on the movie. It's an interesting read but the remaining part of the book requires the reader to have a vivid recollection of events in the film and patience to add it all up. Not an easy read or your typical 'making of' book at all.

Two thirds of the book is told from the point of view of Aughra, the one and only of her race, the prophet born of rock and stone. She explains to us the history of her world, the great divide of the Urskeks and the creation of uUru and Skeksis.

The depth of Brian Froud's imagination is astonishing. The triangular and circular imagery of the film is spelled out so vividly that several reads of each page are needed in order to fully understand it all. The quality of the presentation is of the highest standard. The book is a huge hardback with beautiful pictures in color, black and white and daguerreotype. Some pages are translucent trace paper laid over spirals to give us a better idea of what they mean. A reproduction of Jim Henson's original presentation to potential backers of the film is included in the back page inserted in a pouch.

Investment in this book is well worth the money for fans of the film and those interested in faery mythology and even art students.

The Dark Crystal... one of the most beautiful films created by two of the most talented artists our culture has ever seen- Jim Henson and Brian Froud. I collect Froud's books, and receieved the orginal edition of The World of the Dark Crystal last year for my Winter Solstice gift. If you are a Froud or Dark Crystal collector, but you aren't quite obsessed enough to search for months for this book, and then pay [dollar amount] for it (coughcoughME)--- this book is your salvation! Not only is the artwork brighter, and the paper of better quality, but the new cover is stunning, it features a lovely new forward and the fascinating promo book in the back. However--- If you already own the orginal copy of this book, and are looking forward to the 15 new artworks that the new version promises, I must warn you: THERE IS NO NEW MATERIAL IN THIS BOOK ASIDE FROM THE PROMO BOOK. I don't know how this happened, especially since it says right in the jacket that there ARE 15 new artworks. There is work that wasn't in the book before in the forward, but the only image no one's ever seen is the photo of Jen and Kira. While the new book is certainly exquisite, I was disappointed at this. I don't regret having purchased the book, however- for I'm very adement in my Froud collecting and seek to own every bit of Froud merchandise that comes my way. :) :) :) I hope this was helpful to all of you! Blessed Be!

I never saw this book the first time it was released, so when I saw this I ordered it imeadiatly.
What a georgeous book! Lovely illustrations throughout tell the story of this delightful Hensen masterpiece. From a friend of mine who had the original she says this book has many improvements and additional material not in the original release including a lovely sketch book attached to the back cover of more of Brian Froud's conceptual art for this film. Also in this edition but not in the original are some shots from the film but they are not behind the scenes shots with people or pupeteers but just nice artful shots of the Dark Crystal characters and scenery that only enhances the beauty of this book.
If you are a fan of this film this book is worth the price and even if you still own the original this book improves on the original and is worth buying.

I have wanted this book for so long. When it came back into print I was so happy. It lived up to my expectations. The illustrations and creativity are breathtaking. The book is a must for all artist and art lovers!

Some years ago, I found a strange looking book in my favorite bookstore - it was an old paperback in a very bad condition, an oversized book almost 40 by 40 centimeters with a very beautiful, dark cover. The book turned out to be a book that was written about the movie "The Dark Crystal". But unlike other books of this kind, this book did not show me pictures of castings, stages, cameras and other about-this-movie-material - this book told me a story about a time long gone by. It had wonderful illustrations of mystical creatures and places and long stories about the creatures of the world of the dark crystal. Id did not tell the story of the making of this movie - it told me the story of the world of the dark crystal, about it's creatures and about the wonderful worlds of Brian Froud. With it's rich illustrations and stories, this torn old paperback won a special place among all my books.

"When single shines the triple sun..." Who could forget that ancient prophesy written on the wall of the ancient gelfling village? Bieng a historical account of the world of the Dark Crystal, this book is as hard to categorize as the movie that spawned it. Once again Brian Froud's artwork takes the reader into another world. Based upon the the "Book of Aughra" and told from the viewpoint of an archeologist finding an ancient manuscript, it describes the world of the Dark Crystal in exquisite detail with diagrams and artwork by Froud.. For anyone who has ever seen the movie and loved it as much as I did, this is a book that every fan must have.

This covers every aspect of The World of the Dark Crystal.

The beggining of the book has beautiful artwork and explains how the Crystal was broken and how the skeksis came to be. The story itself is pretty short, but the sidenotes are great.

The sidenotes go into detail on the timelines, the meaning of the trines, the suns, the moons, the seoeration of the skeksis, everything. It even has an additional booklet in the back that depicts the origanal story and artwork.

If you love the Dark Crystal, this book should be high up on your list.

The eyes, ears and hearts of many people have been profoundly affected by the film THE DARK CRYSTAL - and this exquisite tome reveals some of the answers as to why.

Froud and Henson did not simply think up a story based on old tales, although that was one of their sources. No--they created a new WORLD, based on ancient human sources of mysticism and cosmic law. Every facet of their art was influenced by the spiritual truths and aspirations of our planet, and by extension, these alien races as well, strange as they may appear.

To fully appreciate the brilliance of what Froud, Henson and Oz achieved, this book is vital. In loving detail, it explains the origins of the creatures of the DARK CRYSTAL world, their customs, their beliefs, the way their world's structure influences their anatomy, behavior and culture.

It becomes clear why this film, though never a box-office success, has been deemed a classic by those who appreciate high-quality fantasy, and moreover, mythology--which represents the inner truths of all sentient beings.

In short, it is of a piece with its cinematic counterpart--something truly soul-nourishing. If you appreciated the movie, I can unhesitatingly say that a copy of this should be yours, and at this (in-print) price, it is undervalued.

And you thought the movie was fantastic? HA! You haven't seen anything yet!! I didn't realize by just watching the movie "The dark Crystal" how much detail, and thought is behind this amazing story. This book takes you FAR past what you see in the movie. This book not only has a large amount of literature, it also has just as much illustration-artwork.
I couldn't possibly begin to explain the amount of information in this book, so you'll just have to see it for yourself!
A brilliant book, and a MUST HAVE for fantasy collectors!! You won't be disappointed in this one!

I just happen to own the original 1985 copy of The Dark Crystal. To be honest I never knew it's value for content and that it went right out of print. I would say if you appreciate Brian Froud or if you are a collector, I would snatch up this book for it's Brian Foud artwork and it ability to only be in print a short time the second time around too