Labyrinth was originally released in 1986 and starred Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie. Directed by Jim Henson, Labyrinth became a favorite of children and adults as it brought about the same fun and whimsical humor that made films like Wizard of Oz so enjoyable. Now, 23 years after it’s initial release, Labyrinth is breathed new life via a brand new hi-def remaster.
The Movie
Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is a 15 year old small town girl with a full imagination. Sarah surrounds herself with stories of wizards, goblins and fairies as she looks to escape her mundane life as a seemingly spoiled teen who take everything in her life for granted. On a night when she is babysitting her baby brother Toby, Sarah angrily wishes that crying brother taken away by the fictitious Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie). But when Jareth appears and grants Sarah’s wish, she is forced to fight her way through an impossible labyrinth before time runs out, and her baby brother is transformed into a goblin.
Along her journey, Sarah encounters a variety of fantastic characters and is joined in her quest by various labyrinth dwelling creatures. Along for the journey are Hoggle, an ugly dwarf who is forced to betray Sarah by Jareth; Ludo, a huge furry creature with a heart of gold and Sir Didymus, a small and brave knight who rides a shaggy dog as a horse. As she journeys deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, Sarah must overcome her own self doubts, as well as help her new found friends overcome their shortcomings so they may help her.
Labyrinth is a film that I have watched countlesstimes as a child and an adult. The film is, in many ways, liek a modern day Wizard of Oz. It shares many parallels, both in terms of story and production. Both feature a young female lead on a journey to find not only their goal, but themselves. Both feature a setting where not everything is as it seems and characters who tag along in an effort to help the young female find her way. Both are also feature numerous musical numbers. But all the comparisons in the world would do no good if the film wasn’t enjoyable; and thankfully Labyrinth is. As an adult, you can see the film isn’t perfect.
Connelly is very young, and very inexperienced and it really shows in her sometimes passable, sometimes awful performance. And the older I have gotten, the creepier it is that a nearly 40 year old Bowie has fallen in love with the 15 year old Connelly. But as a child, and a nostalgic adult, that can easily be forgiven. What makes the film so fun is the amazing Jim Henson Goblin and set designs. The characters are brought to life as only Henson and company could accomplish. The backgrounds are lush and detailed, and the labyrinth is full of intricate design and detail which helps to really bring the viewer into their world.
Overall: 8 out of 10
The Video
Labyrinth is presented in a 1080p/AVC-MPEG 4 encoding. This is a movie I was initially skeptical of on Blu-Ray. The last DVD release had a very good, but flawed transfer with some noticeable edge enhancement. Thankfully, the Blu-Ray release does not suffer from this. The opening scene of the movie had me a bit worried. the Tri-Star logo presentation as well as the first outdoor shots of the movie were filled with a harsh grain. But after the initial outdoor scene, the transfer is pretty spectacular. The remainder of the film is mostly free of noticeable film grain and noise. Colors are extremely vibrant, and never over saturated. I noticed no color bleeds, which is impressive considering their are many colors that could easily clash with the earthy palette of much of the film. The transfer also really brings out the details of Henson’s goblins and creatures. Blacks are surprisingly deep and inky and highlights are never blown out.
The transfer is not perfect though, which is to be expected from a 20 year old film. There are some noticeable dust and dirt specs at times. The opening is distractingly grainy as it appears they tried to punch up the exposure a bit. And in certain scenes the film can appear a bit soft, though this may be more the fault of the film itself and not the transfer. But the bottom line is this is a surprisingly excellent transfer that is well worth seeing.
Overall: 8 out of 10
The Audio
Labyrinth is presented in a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track. For the most part the audio is decent, but unspectacular. The syn-rock soundtrack is clearly a product of its time, featuring catchy tunes by Bowie and the goblin cast. The channel mixing seems accurate with a focus on the front speakers. Dialogue can be tough to make out at times, especially during songs, as the voices seem to be a bit overpowered by the music. It’s never distracting, but it will never become an audio showcase for your sound system.
Overall: 7 out of 10
Extras
Most of the extras were originally included on the 2-disc anniversary edition DVD. They are presented in standard definition. These include:
• Audio Commentary by conceptual designer Brian Froud
• Making-of Documentary “Inside the Labyrinth”
• Journey Through the Labyrinth: “Kingdom of Characters”
• Journey Through the Labyrinth: “The Quest for Goblin City”
For the most part, these extras are fun. Particularly fascinating is Brian Froud’s commentary. This guy had a huge hand in the look and feel of the film, and he was able to give detailed information on the inspirations for the movie, the characters, everything. The making of documentary is decent, giving some great behind the scenes looks at the film. The other two are kinda fluff pieces, but enthusiasts will enjoy them.
There is one Blu-Ray exclusive extra. It called The Storytellers Picture-in-Picture. It’s actually the best extra on the disc. As you watch the movie, a smaller picture-in-picture window will display interviews with various cast members, designers, and puppeteers where they give you info on their contributions to the film. It really is quite fun to see how these characters came to life, and to see who helped create that.In the end, the features themselves are pretty darn good, it’s just a shame that so much of it comes from an already released DVD.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
Bottom Line
The Labyrinth is a fun film that reminds people of the golden days before CG took over as the primary way to get fantastical creatures. The film is enjoyable for kids and adults and it has absolutely never looked this good. However, the carry-over extras from the standard DVD may put off those who previously purchased the anniversary edition. But if you’re looking for simply the best video quality, and you think you might enjoy the excellent feature length picture-in-picture feature, then this is an easy film to recommend.
Overall: 8 out of 10
