‘David Bowie was a crazy workaholic’: Labyrinth at 40 – an oral history
Today, Jim Henson’s dark fairytale is seen as a classic of 80s high camp. But on release, it bombed. Here, members of the cast and
Today, Jim Henson’s dark fairytale is seen as a classic of 80s high camp. But on release, it bombed. Here, members of the cast and crew remember laughter, tricky puppets and Henson’s ‘joyful magic’ Labyrinth arrived 40 years ago with David Bowie at his most devastatingly charismatic, a breakthrough performance by Jennifer Connelly, and lots and lots of puppets.
The film about the quest of stroppy teen Sarah (Connelly) to rescue her baby half-brother from the clutches of Jareth (Bowie), the nefarious goblin king, was a dark fantasy that played out like a trippy Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. As Sarah tries to navigate an ever-shifting maze, the story evolves into a thoughtful coming-of-age tale.
Director Jim Henson, the creative powerhouse behind the Muppets and Fraggle Rock, breathed life into Labyrinth, and his company Creature Shop designed a dazzling array of puppets to appear alongside the human cast. Labyrinth was visually groundbreaking, but audiences weren’t so keen – the film bombed at the US box office and some reviews were far from glowing.
It was only years later, when the film was released on home video and then DVD, that it became the cult classic it is considered now. Continue reading...
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