Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Dark Crystal Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 18, 2018

Sony has re-released the fan-favorite Jim Henson/Frank Oz film The Dark Crystal to Blu-ray. This new release comes housed in attractive DigiBook packaging and features new 1080p video and DTS 5.1 soundtrack presentations as well as a few new extras. A companion UHD has been released alongside, which offers superior video and audio.

For a full film review, please see the page for the 2009 Blu-ray release, found here.

The Dark Crystal Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Dark Crystal looked good in 2009 and the UHD blows everything away in 2018, leaving this newly released and remastered 1080p Blu-ray somewhere in the middle. It's a fine image to be sure, but coming off a watch of that UHD, which is heads and shoulders better -- and it's not even close -- this Blu-ray comes across as fairly drab in comparison. It lacks the exacting sharpness the UHD offers. Colors are absent the vastly superior depth and punch the HDR provides. Black levels appear a bit pale in comparison. Grain is far less pronounced on this version. Generally speaking, analyzing this release in a vacuum, it offers good colors, even if the black depth appears too pale at times, and good essential detailing on the ornate and intricate costumes, the wrinkly and worn Skeksis skin, and various environments that all find pleasing clarity and filmic richness. Optical effects, as they do on the UHD, stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. All that said, this Blu-ray delivers a fairly substantial upgrade in clarity and sharpness compared to its 2009 predecessor. It's much more organically filmic. Details are much firmer and colors are significantly more robust as well as more deeply, intensely, and accurately saturated as well a what appears to be altered color timing. but it simply cannot match the output the UHD has to offer.

The Dark Crystal Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2009 Blu-ray featured a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack and the newly released UHD has a Dolby Atmos soundtrack on offer. This Blu-ray has neither. It instead contains the now standard-for-Sony-Blu-ray DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's a good track, nicely detailed and doing well to carry the film's sound needs but, again coming off a UHD watch (and a listen of that awesome Atmos track), this one is just lacking in comparison. It's not as triumphantly large, not as precisely powerful and stage-enveloping, with noticeably less pronounced low end support during the Garthim attack at Aughra's place. That said, essentials are handled well. Musical clarity is fine, as is spacing. Bass adds a sufficiently powerful heft to the proceedings. Ambient effects are pleasantly enveloping, and dialogue is clear and precise. It's a modest upgrade in terms of basic clarity, positioning, and stage immersion compared to the aging Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, but it's again a fraction of the track that is the vastly superior Atmos presentation.

The Dark Crystal Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This new Blu-ray release of The Dark Crystal does come with a few new supplements but it also removes several. For reviews of previously released supplements, simply listed below, please click here. New content is reviewed, and removed special features are named in a separate list below. The DigiBook packaging is handsome, featuring a sturdy outer shell and many pages of glossy goodness inside. Beyond the usual allotment of color images and black-and-white still photos from the set are a hand-drawn world map, a Lisa Henson introduction, an essay entitled "The Dream World of Jim Henson," a piece titled "The Story of The Dark Crystal that offers a year-to-year breakdown from 1977 to film's release, a closer look at creatures, and more, including sketch work, promotional images, and quote boxes. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Audio Commentary: With Brad Froud.
• Storyboard Track
• NEW! The Myth, Magic and Henson Legacy (1080p, 10:27): Lisa Henson discusses her father's work on The Dark Crystal, including his collaboration with Brian Froud (whose son also contributes to this piece), character design and evolution, Jim Henson and Frank Oz's direction, puppets and animatronics design and operation, evolving character language and dialogue delivery, and more.
• The World of The Dark Crystal
• Reflections of The Dark Crystal
• Deleted Scenes
• Original Skeksis Language - Test Scenes
• NEW! Storyboards (1080p): Ten images presented in a small frame center screen.
• NEW! Photo Galleries (1080p): A trio of galleries again presented in small frames center-screen. Included are Character Illustrations, Character Drawings & Profies: The Ur-ru, and Character Drawings & Profiles: The Skeksis.
• NEW! Teaser Trailer (1080p, 0:37).
• NEW! Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:19).

The following extras/features have been removed from this release that were included on the 2009 disc.

• The Book of Thra - Dark Crystal Collector
• SkekTek's Crystal Challenge
• Previews
• BD-Live Funtionality

The Dark Crystal Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This release of The Dark Crystal pales, technically, compared to the UHD disc, which offers substantially improved video and Atmos audio. It's a bit better than the aging 2009 release, and it does come bundled in attractive DigiBook packaging. For that, and given the relatively low price, it's a worthwhile add to the collection. Still, the UHD -- which includes this disc -- is the better buy, even for fans who have yet to make the jump to the 4K format. Better to plan ahead and have what is one of the best-looking discs on the market ready to go for day one.