Labyrinth: Not Just For Children

If I could sum up my childhood with one movie, it would be Labyrinth. Every chance I got, I was watching that movie, and still to this day, it is one of my favorites. It explores a fantastical world of goblins and magic, all created by the power team of director Jim Henson and producer George Lucas. This movie also has a dream cast of Jennifer Connelly and the infamous David Bowie. If you are not familiar with the movie, it is about a young girl names Sarah who dreams of a world where she does not have the responsibility of her annoying baby brother and she is the ruler of her own world. When she wishes upon the Goblin king to come take her brother, she finds that she gets more than she bargained for. Jareth, played by David Bowie, swoops in to capture the child, and says that the only way for Sarah to get her brother Toby back is to find her way to his castle hidden somewhere within a magical labyrinth. On her journey, Sarah meets an eclectic cast of characters, all of which are puppets created by Henson himself.

The beauty of this movie truly comes from the set, costumes, and puppets. The viewer is transported to a magical land that is both fascinating and a bit frightening, especially to a young child. There is a dream sequence in this movie that I believe is beyond beautiful. It involves Sarah at a masquerade party and Bowie singing as she gets lost in the crowd of beautiful costumes and strange masks.

Of course the scene is very 80’s, (1986 to be exact) but who doesn’t love a romantic 80’s scene now and then.

Labyrinth is a movie that I will watch over and over again. I would recommend it to everyone, if not for the story, at least for the creative characters from the mind of the brilliant Jim Henson. And if you are still not into any of those things, at least you can be mesmerized by the voice of musical icon David Bowie.

Labyrinth

Being at home for fall break has put me in a nostalgic mood so I thought I'd write about Labyrinth. It was a favorite of mine when I was little and apparently it was the first non-animated film that I had watched as a child.

Labyrinth is a coming of age story about a girl, Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly, who wishes for her baby brother, Toby, to disappear. Jareth, the Goblin King, played by none other than my favorite artist: David Bowie, grants Sarah's wish by kidnapping the baby and taking him to the Goblin City. Once Toby is actually gone, Sarah realizes her mistake and wishes to have her brother back. However, in order to bring her brother home, she has to make her way through the Labyrinth and surpass all of the plots and schemes devised by the persuasive Goblin King who tries to distract her from her objective. Jareth does this by offering her a crystal ball which would show her her dreams, sending Hoggle to misguide her through the Labyrinth, making her solve logic puzzles, changing the Labyrinth's orientation, and trying to seduce her during a masquerade ball.
While on her quest, Sarah realizes very quickly that things are not always what they seem and advances through the Labyrinth until she storms the Goblin City with the help of her friends Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. At the end of the movie, Sarah must face Jareth herself and decide whether to return home with her baby brother or stay with the Goblin King who offers to give her everything she's ever dreamt of.
One of my favorite scenes of the movie is the scene leading up to the finale where Sarah is trying to retrieve her brother from a room that was closely based off a lithograph by M.C. Escher called 'Relativity,' shown below.

In this scene the set design, special effects, and camera angles completely disorient the viewer, which helps to show Jareth's wavering hold on Sarah and her persistent determination and frustration with wanting to retrieve her brother and finally return home.

Although Labyrinth only made about thirteen million in the box office from the U.S. theatrical release, it has become a cult classic that has been adored for decades. With Jim Henson as the director and the person who was responsible for the incredible puppeteering, George Lucas as the producer, Terry Jones, from Monty Python, as the head writer, and David Bowie as a lead actor, it is unfortunate that it did not have more success in the box office.
Labyrinth is a cute movie and I would recommend it if you like The Dark Crystal or Princess Bride.

A Beautiful Mind

Sticking with Russell Crowe I am going to switch to another brilliant performance in A Beautiful Mind.  Russell Crowe was nominated for best actor in this role in which he played John Nash.  This was the third year in a row he was nominated for Best Actor following his roles in the Gladiator and The Insider.  A Beautiful Mind won both Best Picture and Best Director and it was well deserved.  It is a true story that is told beautifully by Ron Howard.

A Beautiful Mind follows the life of John Nash it starts at his college life and goes until the end of his career.  Russell Crowe is perfect in the role as he brilliantly performs the trying life of John Nash and the many troubles he had despite being a brilliant mathematician who went to Princeton.  Jennifer Connelly played John Nash's love interest in the movie and she also did a brilliant job and earned an oscar for her performance.

Together they tell the story together beautifully and they give you a haunting vision of the life of John Nash.  I would talk more about the actual story, but if I get more into it I will start giving away some serious spoilers.  All you need to know is the movie is fantastic and worth watching and there is even a scene of the real John Nash at the end that is very touching.  This is Russell Crowe in another must watch performance.