Labyrinth

I think for the bulk of my generation that were fans of the one and only David Bowie, if we had to pinpoint what our introduction to him was, the answer would invariably be Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Populated with infectiously fantastic songs from the actor, as well as him in a starring role, this was Bowie's movie through and through and he rocked every scene he was in, both literally and figuratively.

Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) is a sixteen year old girl who is perfectly content living in her own little world of her own imagination. One night while stuck at home babysitting her infant brother, a crying little brat named Toby, she recalls a passage in a favorite book of hers and calls upon the Goblin King to take her brother away. Much to her shock, Jareth the Goblin King (played by David Bowie), appears and takes him away thereby giving Sarah her wish. Immediately regretting what she said, Sarah pleads with him to give her back her brother. He declines to return the child, but issues a challenge instead. Sarah has thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth that leads to his castle and rescue the tot. If she fails, he will be turned into a Goblin and reside in the Goblin City forever. With no other choice, she sets out to solve the Labyrinth, storm the castle and rescue her brother. Along the way, she picks up some friends such as the dwarf Hoggle (voiced by Brian Henson) and Ludo, a kind-hearted giant beast, who assist her in finding her way through the Labyrinth and deal with the various surprises and colorful characters that reside in it.

I'm still a bit stunned that Labyrinth was a box office flop when it was first released in 1986. It has such imagination behind it in the way everything is rendered as well as an array of various creatures, all beautifully rendered by the Jim Henson company. It also has a cheeky sense of humor to it and a witty script that was initially written by Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame). Subsequent drafts were added to by the likes of Laura Phillips, George Lucas, Dennis Lee and Elaine May. The film is wonderfully directed by Jim Henson, who creates a unique and imaginative fantasy world filled with all sorts of fantastic and original creatures. The special effects are at times a bit dated, but there is one sequence that to this day absolutely blows my mind. It's the final confrontation between Jareth and Sarah at the climax in the film and it takes place in a cinematic variation of M.C Escher's painting "Relativity." Within this sequence, we have Sarah chasing after the baby Toby, while Jareth walks around taunting her, seemingly defying gravity, as he walks on various upside down staircases, ceilings and even at one point is walking underneath Sarah and then flips up around the end of a walkway and winds up right in front of her. It's nothing short of amazing and I still can't figure out how they pulled it off. 

Anchoring the film, we have two great performances by both David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly, both of whom work quite well with the various puppets and animatronic characters that otherwise populate the film. Both give such natural performances that only help the other characters seem that much more real. Sarah starts off the film as being a bit bratty, but over the course of the film comes of age and finds her inner strength, growing in the process, which Connelly captures quite well. For someone that has to anchor the film, she does a magnificent job.

As for David Bowie, his turn as Jareth is incredibly charming, slightly spooky, and surprisingly sympathetic. In fact, I think he may be the most sympathetic villain in a film that I can recall. He even states quite openly to Sarah that everything he did he only did because she asked him to. His only crime was loving her and doing what she wished and all he gets in return is exasperation as she changes her mind. In fact, one can argue that his attempts to thwart her getting through the Labyrinth have less to do with keeping her brother and more with wanting her to stay. Outfitted in various garish and at times quite revealing costumes, it's no wonder Jareth found his way into a generation of young girls (and probably some boys, it is Bowie after all) hearts. Yes, there is a certain ick factor to a then 39 year old David Bowie chasing the affections of a sixteen year old girl but yet somehow Bowie gets away with it, if only on the fact that you get the sense that with Bowie's rendition of Jareth that the poor guy is just really lonely.      

David Bowie also contributed five songs to the soundtrack of the film, from the main theme "Underground" to the infectious "Magic Dance" and the haunting "As the World Falls Down" and "Within You," the soundtrack remains one of my all time favorites and I am in fact listening to it as I write this retrospective review right now. 

Overall, Labyrinth has gained a healthy cult following over the thirty years since it came out and will continue to live on for much longer. After initially flopping in theatres, it is nice to know it finally found it's audience. And, of course, this film will lead new audiences to discover the rest of David Bowie's expansive and impressive body of work, just as my generation did.