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Brian Froud

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The World of the Dark Crystal: The Collector's Edition Hardcover – May 1, 2003

by Brian Froud (Author)

4.8 221 ratings

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Drawings depict the inhabitants and ancient culture of an unusual fantasy world.

From Publishers Weekly

This lavish, oversized picture book revisits the collaboration between Froud, prominent fairy artist, and Jim Hensen, Muppeteer, in the creation of their cult favorite The Dark Crystal. Reissued after 20 years, this portfolio of sketches and backdrop paintings retains a certain mystique, crammed to the margins with moss-covered runes and medieval diagrams, and peopled by the movie's menagerie of grotesque, shambling puppets. Unfortunately, the narrative fails to support the elaborate art direction, offering a dim echo of the Lord of the Rings with none of the complexity or scope. The long-nosed Gelflings and vulturish Skeksis-as well as the whole hodge-podge of occult symbols and carefully antiquated tools-come across as strangely arbitrary, constantly reaching for a profundity that never appears. But for the many fans of the movie and young children interested in fantasy-adventure, the book will satisfy greatly. Also included in the package is a preliminary 20-page sketchbook for the production, unseen until now.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Brian Froud has created some of the most respected and highly acknowledged mythic artwork of our time. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Original Artwork.

Print length

132 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Abrams
Publication date

May 1, 2003
Grade level

8 and up
Reading age

13 years and up
Dimensions

13.2 x 0.8 x 16.3 inches
ISBN-10

0810945797
ISBN-13

978-0810945791
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abrams; First Edition (May 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 132 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0810945797
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0810945791
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.2 x 0.8 x 16.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,644,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,707 in Movie History & Criticism
- #17,066 in Performing Arts (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 221 ratings

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Brian Froud

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Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator. He lives and works in Devon with his wife, Wendy Froud, who is also a fantasy artist. The landscapes in his paintings are frequently inspired by Dartmoor.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Luigi Novi [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

221 global ratings

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Inspector Gadget

Essential for anyone who loves The Dark Crystal

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2005

Verified Purchase

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.

39 people found this helpful

Helpful

Great supplement to the movie

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2012

Verified Purchase

If you're a fan of the movie Dark Crystal, you'll love this book. It contains a lot of background to the story we saw in the movie, vastly expanding upon the world of Thra. The artwork is concept art Brian Froud drew for the movie, but rather than just create a "making of the movie" book, this book integrates the art into the story. The text comes from the background material Jim Henson and Brian Froud drafted when writing the script. We learn more about the urSkeks and why they split into the urRu and Skeksis. A lot of the text describes the symbols in the movie, circles and triangles. I didn't find these parts of the book as interesting, although I was impressed with how much though Froud and Henson gave to creating a world. I did really enjoy the brief character sketches of each of the urRu and Skeksis. They're given more personality than what we get to glimpse into the movie.

Unfortunately, this book is very hard to find nowadays. It costs a small fortune in the secondary market. As such, I'd really only recommend it for diehard fans of the film. If you just want more stories from Thra, also check out the new Myths of Darth Crystal comics.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

A gorgeous book

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2008

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This book is an amazing tome for anyone who grew up in adoration of The Dark Crystal. Brian Froud's illustrations and concepts are gorgeous and so incredibly creative. This book is delivered as a history of the World in which the film takes place. It is narrated by Aughra, "...the first and last," who witnessed thousands of years of creation and destruction. She monitors the cyclical suns, a spectator of the conjunctions that bring the wise urSkeks, and their division a thousand years later into the cruel Skeksis and the mystical urRu. Aughra alone knows the long history of the crystal and throughout the pages, describes life throughout the ages. There are so many subtleties that the book describes that I can't wait to watch the film again, knowing the significance of the shapes of rocks, the intricate details of the clothes the characters wear, and the elaborate symbolism peppered throughout. The art is gorgeous and the insights into the World of the Dark Crystal shed a new light on the film and its philosophy. Bravo!

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J. Colon

I liked this book better than the movie!

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2007

Verified Purchase

I didn't grow up with "The Dark Crystal" like most others who bought this book. I watched it for the first time in 2007. While I found the movie charming, it didn't leave much of an impression. Still, I was fascinated with just how so powerfully so many people love this movie. The film has such a following that a sequel is on the way after 25 years. So, I bought this book to see what it was I was missing. This book is mostly written from the point of view of Aughra, one of the main characters in the film. The art is fantastic but what I adored was the mythology I found within these pages. In this book is a vivid history of the world of the Dark Crystal, complete with philosophical and religious ideas that have a strong connection to the events of the film. If you wish to understand the films themes and events better, there is no better book than this. A MUST for all fans of "The Dark Crystal"

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Deeper than you think

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2012

Verified Purchase

The Dark Crystal is often considered a nice little kids film, with some great Hensen puppets, some interesting characters and great imagery . But the film does not show the depth and richness of the world made by Brian Froud & Jim Hensen.

Once you get this book (and it's not cheap) you will never see the film in the same way again. The book is chock full of "Oh I didn't know that!" details and background.

In many ways it shows that they did like Tolkien did- create a complete world, then do the story.

The art here is beyond beautiful and baroque. It also has a almost steam-punk feel in some ways.

For fans of the film, see the film again, then read this book. Then- watch the film one more time. You will be amazed.

4 people found this helpful

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Geoffrey Montfort

A beautiful illustrated art book

Reviewed in France on January 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

The Dark Crystal is certainly the most beautiful puppets films of all times. The technical achievements done during production of the film are equal to the graphic beauties of Brian Froud's sketches and paintings. This book is full of wonderful and rare illustrations and it's for sure a must have to better understand the amazing universe of the Dark Crystal.

Tanja

Meisterwerk und Meilenstein der Filmgeschichte

Reviewed in Germany on February 28, 2017

Verified Purchase

„Der Dunkle Kristall“ ist einer jener Filme, die mich in meiner Kindheit/Jugend nachhaltig beeindruckt haben. Nicht nur wegen der unglaublich reichhaltigen Ausstattung sondern auch wegen der lebendigen und vielschichtigen Charaktere, seien es die Gelflinge Jen und Kira (und Fizzgig), die Uru oder besonders die Skekse und auch Aughra. Als der Film auf DVD erschien, war er sofort in meiner Sammlung.

Diese Sammler-Edition habe ich mir vor kurzem gegönnt und es ist eine unglaubliche Freude, darin zu blättern. Die Bilder von Brian Fround lassen die Welt Thra lebendig werden, mit all ihren verschiedenen Lebewesen, Pflanzen und Tieren. Es finden sich darin die Symbolsprache der Uru, die Uru und ihre verschiedenen Aufgaben innerhalb ihrer Gruppe, die Geschichte von Thra aus der Sicht von Aughra, die Hintergründe der Skekse und vieles andere mehr. Einzelne Seiten sind auf hochwertigem Transparentpapier gestaltet, beispielsweise in Grafiken über die große Konstellation.

Die Welt des Dunklen Kristalls ist mehr als nur eine Hintergrundwelt für die Menschen, die den Film realisiert haben. Es ist eine eigenständige, fantastische, lebendige Welt in der nicht so ist wie es scheint. Dieses Buch ist ein Muss für jeden Fan.

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Mistress Nicole van Kuppeck

As good as I remembered it

Reviewed in Spain on December 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

in my late teens I borrowed the original book from the library and it inspired Me profoundly.

I was afraid it wasn't going to be as good in the "New" version, but I LOVE it.
The extra facsimile inside is a wonderful plus to it.

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

Beautiful images and a great collector piece. A great item to have for fans of this movie and artist.

Susina

ottimo

Reviewed in Italy on March 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

Tempi di consegna rispettati. Volume in ottimo stato e in ottimo stato anche la modalità di imballaggio. Sono molto soddisfatta

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