Where everything is possible and nothing is what it seems. (Labyrinth (DVD))

Member Name: linzeelou

Product:	Labyrinth (DVD)
Date:	02/08/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All of it, i love every minute

Disadvantages: Some slight filming mistakes...im just picky

Labyrinth was released in 1986 (the year i was born :D) and is a fantasy film. It was directed by Jim Henson and produced by George Lucas, two big names so you know it's going to be good. Labyrinth was the last film made by Henson before he died in 1990. The film is rated U and only has some mild fantasy violence and is 101 minutes long.

Although Labyrinth had a $25 million budget, it only made nearly $13 million at the box office. It is now a major cult classic and did a lot better with DVD and VHS sales. Even though it didn't do too well, merchandise such as video games and figures have been made as tie ins to the film.

Cast/ Characters and Plot

Sarah - Jennifer Connelly
Sarah is a very imaginative teen who loves all things fantasy. Right at the beginning of the film we see her practising lines from the book, Labyrinth in the park before realising she is going to be late getting home to baby sit. Labyrinth is a tale of a girl who hates her life and wants her crying brother to be taken away by the Goblin King. When she does get home, soaking wet, she gets into an argument with her step mother about baby sitting all the time. As the night goes on, Toby, her brother is restless and wont stop crying. Sarah seeks inspiration from her book, trying to help Toby sleep but instead she says the words the real Goblins so desperately want to hear. All the lights go out and when she goes back into the bedroom, Toby is gone.

Jareth the Goblin King - David Bowie
As a barn flutters into the room, it transforms into Jareth, the Goblin King. He is quite cruel to Sarah, although he tells her he's only giving her what she wished for. He wont give Toby back unless she completes his Labyrinth in time, otherwise he will be gone forever. He puts Sarah at the beginning of the Labyrinth and tells her time is ticking. He tries to throw her off course every time she's doing well, producing small orbs that are used for magic. Later in the film, he asks Sarah to stay in the Labyrinth as his bride, which she refuses to do.

Hoggle - Shari Weiser and Brian Henson (voice)
Hoggle works for Jareth and although he seems to be Sarah's friend for a while, he's also being told to throw her off track and make things difficult. We meet Hoggle very early on in the film and he makes reappearances thoughout at several intervals. Sarah calls him a coward after not sticking up for himself and doing things he didn't really want to do. Hoggle loves all things plastic and shiny, and Sarah uses this fact to bribe him into helping her. At the end of the film, he risks his life for Sarah, proving he really is her friend.

Ludo - Ron Mueck (voice)
Sarah rescues Ludo after he is being tormented by some Goblins and he joins her on his quest to save Toby. Although Ludo is quite huge and beefy, he's also a scardy cat and doesnt seem to like anything confrontational. He comes across as very simple and can't form sentences. By howling, Ludo can also summon boulders whenever he likes.

Sir Didymus and Ambrosius - David Shaughnessy and Percy Edwards (Voices)
Sir Didymus and his pet dog Ambrosius guard the Bog of Eternal Stench and must protect a bridge there! Sir Didymus is a fox-terrier and Ambrosius is a sheepdog that's identical to Sarah's own pet. Amrosius is a big wimp and runs away from any kind of trouble whereas Sir Didymus is fearless and ready to take on anything that comes his way.

Even though Sarah has made all of these friends along her journey, they dont seem able to help her too much until near the end of the film. The Labyrinth is full of twists and turns, to stop everyone getting to the castle. The logic of solving the puzzle confuses Sarah and with time running out, she wonders if she will ever be able to do it. Jareth watches Sarah the whole time, knowing how well she is doing and throws a lot of obsticals in her way.

Some trivia about the film
- Some of the puzzles and riddles in the Labyrinth are inspired by Raymond Smullyan
- The filmmakers acknowledged inspoiration from different films and writers like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- Some of the characters, including Jareth where somewhat influenced by David Bowie's nightmares as a child
- Many of the characters in the Labyrinth are also seen as figurines or toys in Sarah's bedroom back in the real world
- Toby is played by the son of the man who did the character designs
- The shaft of helping hands was made up of 350 hands, 150 real and 200 rubber
- In Sarah's room, there is a picture of her biological mother and new husband, also David Bowie as the alter ego to Jareth
- Jareth's face can be seen in many scenes as he is watching over Sarah and her progress.

Mistakes in the film
- The wires Sarah is suspended from are visable in many scenes
- A boom mic is visable when they almost fall into the bog of eternal stench
- When Hoggle pees in the pond, the water immediately settles
- Toby is replaced by a doll during the Magic Dance scene and is clearly visable
- A sundial that reads 10 in one scene, reads 8 a couple of seconds later

There are quite a few more mistakes but i'm not going to list them all.

Most of the songs are written and performed by David Bowie apart from 1 and they are all very catchy. I find the Magic Dance song stuck in my head for days after watching this film. Bowie performed each song amazingly and with a lot of life and passion behind the words. He made each song fun and extremely memorable.

All of the cast were good in this film, especially Jennifer Connelly. For a young actress she did an amazing job and i'm glad to see her making it big and back on our screens now. David Bowie was a little flat at times, but not much. Throughout the film he comes across as quite sleazy and mysterious but thats what Jareth is all about. He certainly is interesting to watch and I think the film wouldn't be nearly as good without him. The thing that gets me now everytime I watch this is I can't help looking at the bulge. Not that I didnt notice before, but one of my friends was talking about it not too long ago and now it's all I can pay attention to. As a Goblin King, you would expect a short, ugly thing, but Jareth couldn't get much further from that. Bowie is hot in this film (he was 26 at the time) and the costumes and make up for his character were great.

My favourite scene is the one with the Fireys. I don't know what it is I love about them but they make me giggle all the time. One of my friends can't watch this part though, she says it creeps her out everytime so she skips the scene.

Labyrinth is very amusing and entertaining and well worth a watch. It was made in 1986 so you cant expect the visuals to be anything like today's standards but as it is a film by the legend Jim Hensen, it certainly isn't dissapointing at all. A lot of time and effort was put into the characters and their visuals and it really paid off. I've had this DVD for years now and would be distraught if anything happened to it because I tend to watch it at least once a month. I actually think this would make my top 5 after writing this review about it. The DVD has some fantastic extras, which is really nice to see as some films dont have any.

Summary: A classic film for all ages