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PRELUDE
It is December, 1982. In the back of a limosine sit Jim Hensen, Brian Froud, and Froud's new wife Wendy. The three had just attended a San Francisco screening of The Dark Crystal. An incredibly ambitious fantasy epic, The Dark Crystal pushed Hensen's creature shop further than ever before, and created a motion picture unlike anything the world had ever seen. The film project that began in 1978 was now finally only days away from wide release. Hensen addresses his two companions with a question that takes them both by surprise.
"Well, should we make another movie?"
It is June, 1986. Labyrinth opens in the US at #8 at the box office, almost unnoticed behind Ferris Bueler's Day Off, The Karate Kid Part II, Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School, Danny DeVito's Ruthless People, Schwarzenegger's Raw Deal, Billy Crystal's Running Scared, and The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The 25 million dollar production would go on to make only a little over 12 million in it's theatrical run, and recieve mixed to lackluster critical response.
It was to be the final film Hensen directed before his untimely death in 1990.
It is April, 1992. David Bowie states in an interview with MTV that he is most recognized, not for his musical career, but by a "crop of new children every year who say 'Oh! you're the one who's in Labyrinth!'"
It is October, 1997. In an interview with Entertainment magazine, Brian Hensen states that when his father died in 1990, both the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth had already started to enjoy a cult following.
"He was able to see all that and know that it was appreciated,"
It is February, 1999. Labyrinth is released on DVD for the first time, and is the best-selling DVD of the year, making an estimated 65 million in sales.
It is January, 2007. Labyrinth is released on DVD for the 3rd time, in a "20th Anniversary Special Edition". It is estimated that home video sales for the film since 1987 have exceeded 500 million. It is currently considered one of the Jim Henson Company's most successful films.
It is June, 1986. I am six years old. My mother takes me and my sister to the theatre in Kingston, Ontario to see Labyrinth. It is an experience that I will remember clearer than any other event that year. For the next 34 years, it will remain one of my favourite films, and is instrumental in inspiring a lifelong fascination with European folklore in general, and studies of the Faery Mythologies in particular.
PART I - PRESENTATION
The Labyrinth Adventure Game is a 6x10" 295 page hardcover published by River Horse Games, written by Jack Caesar and Ben Milton (with numerous "guest authors" who contributed individual Scenes). It comes with a very thick cardstock dustcover featuring a reproduction of the original US theatrical poster painted by Ted CoConis. Removing the dustcover, the book is a red cloth bound reproduction of the Labyrinth book owned by Jennifer Connelly's character Sarah Williams in the film itself. It is perfect bound, and features three integrated silk bookmarks, black, yellow, and red in colour. Included is a bookmark with a summary of the rules.
The pages are a high quality matte ivory. It is full-colour and heavily illustrated, featuring art pieces by Brian Froud from the film's production and his follow-up book, Goblins of the Labyrinth, along with additional illustrations by Chris Caesar, Johnny Fraser-Allen, Ralph Horsely, Rebecca More, Dan Mumford, and Jeff Stokley. There are also 15 pages of stills from the film and promotional material.
The most unique feature of the volume, however, is a small, roughly 1 x .5" hole running through the majority of the pages that houses two custom 6-sided dice for use playing the game. The dice are red with white pips and an owl symbol replacing the "ones". I'm not aware of any other RPG book with this feature in the hobby's history.
It was an odd choice. It mainly means that every time I want to read the book I have to take the dice out and set them aside. Not a big deal, but I would not call it an innovation so much as an inconvenience. Luckily, it appears that this feature does not hurt the integrity of the pages themselves (I was initially worried that this hole would be prone to rips).
Overall, the presentation is nothing short of luxurious. I have possibly never seen another RPG book of this level of production value, and it's clear that love and attention was devoted to every aspect. The only thing holding it back from perfection is that some of the contemporary art included is of a much lower quality than I'd prefer. There is one artist among those listed whose art is...while not bad...not especially good, and suffers in comparison from the juxtoposition of Froud's amazing work. This is a minor niggle at best, however, and does not overmuch detract from the presentation as a whole. It is likely this bothers me more than it would most readers.
Final Score: A
It is December, 1982. In the back of a limosine sit Jim Hensen, Brian Froud, and Froud's new wife Wendy. The three had just attended a San Francisco screening of The Dark Crystal. An incredibly ambitious fantasy epic, The Dark Crystal pushed Hensen's creature shop further than ever before, and created a motion picture unlike anything the world had ever seen. The film project that began in 1978 was now finally only days away from wide release. Hensen addresses his two companions with a question that takes them both by surprise.
"Well, should we make another movie?"
It is June, 1986. Labyrinth opens in the US at #8 at the box office, almost unnoticed behind Ferris Bueler's Day Off, The Karate Kid Part II, Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School, Danny DeVito's Ruthless People, Schwarzenegger's Raw Deal, Billy Crystal's Running Scared, and The Adventures of Milo and Otis. The 25 million dollar production would go on to make only a little over 12 million in it's theatrical run, and recieve mixed to lackluster critical response.
It was to be the final film Hensen directed before his untimely death in 1990.
It is April, 1992. David Bowie states in an interview with MTV that he is most recognized, not for his musical career, but by a "crop of new children every year who say 'Oh! you're the one who's in Labyrinth!'"
It is October, 1997. In an interview with Entertainment magazine, Brian Hensen states that when his father died in 1990, both the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth had already started to enjoy a cult following.
"He was able to see all that and know that it was appreciated,"
It is February, 1999. Labyrinth is released on DVD for the first time, and is the best-selling DVD of the year, making an estimated 65 million in sales.
It is January, 2007. Labyrinth is released on DVD for the 3rd time, in a "20th Anniversary Special Edition". It is estimated that home video sales for the film since 1987 have exceeded 500 million. It is currently considered one of the Jim Henson Company's most successful films.
It is June, 1986. I am six years old. My mother takes me and my sister to the theatre in Kingston, Ontario to see Labyrinth. It is an experience that I will remember clearer than any other event that year. For the next 34 years, it will remain one of my favourite films, and is instrumental in inspiring a lifelong fascination with European folklore in general, and studies of the Faery Mythologies in particular.
PART I - PRESENTATION
" 'Ello."
"Did you say 'hello'?"
"No, I said "Ello", but that's close enough."
"Did you say 'hello'?"
"No, I said "Ello", but that's close enough."
The Labyrinth Adventure Game is a 6x10" 295 page hardcover published by River Horse Games, written by Jack Caesar and Ben Milton (with numerous "guest authors" who contributed individual Scenes). It comes with a very thick cardstock dustcover featuring a reproduction of the original US theatrical poster painted by Ted CoConis. Removing the dustcover, the book is a red cloth bound reproduction of the Labyrinth book owned by Jennifer Connelly's character Sarah Williams in the film itself. It is perfect bound, and features three integrated silk bookmarks, black, yellow, and red in colour. Included is a bookmark with a summary of the rules.
The pages are a high quality matte ivory. It is full-colour and heavily illustrated, featuring art pieces by Brian Froud from the film's production and his follow-up book, Goblins of the Labyrinth, along with additional illustrations by Chris Caesar, Johnny Fraser-Allen, Ralph Horsely, Rebecca More, Dan Mumford, and Jeff Stokley. There are also 15 pages of stills from the film and promotional material.
The most unique feature of the volume, however, is a small, roughly 1 x .5" hole running through the majority of the pages that houses two custom 6-sided dice for use playing the game. The dice are red with white pips and an owl symbol replacing the "ones". I'm not aware of any other RPG book with this feature in the hobby's history.
It was an odd choice. It mainly means that every time I want to read the book I have to take the dice out and set them aside. Not a big deal, but I would not call it an innovation so much as an inconvenience. Luckily, it appears that this feature does not hurt the integrity of the pages themselves (I was initially worried that this hole would be prone to rips).
Overall, the presentation is nothing short of luxurious. I have possibly never seen another RPG book of this level of production value, and it's clear that love and attention was devoted to every aspect. The only thing holding it back from perfection is that some of the contemporary art included is of a much lower quality than I'd prefer. There is one artist among those listed whose art is...while not bad...not especially good, and suffers in comparison from the juxtoposition of Froud's amazing work. This is a minor niggle at best, however, and does not overmuch detract from the presentation as a whole. It is likely this bothers me more than it would most readers.
Final Score: A