The Dark Crystal
A young Gelfling races to find the lost shard of a powerful crystal and mend his fractured world before the malevolent Skeksis seize it for their own dark purposes.
“Another world, another time... in the age of wonder.”
Synopsis
In a distant past on another planet, a Gelfling undertakes a quest to locate the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore balance to his world before the grotesque Skeksis race discovers and misuses the crystal for their own purposes.
Credits
- Jim Hensonas Jen, a Gelfling (performer), High Priest, Ritual Master (performer)
- Kathryn Mullenas Kira, a Gelfling (performer)
- Frank Ozas Aughra, a Keeper Of Secrets (performer), Chamberlain (performer)
- Dave Goelzas Fizzgig, a Friendly Monster (performer), General, Garthim Master (performer)
- Steve Whitmireas Scientist (performer)
- Louise Goldas Gourmand (performer)
Related titles
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 417+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Ralph KemplenShot by Oswald MorrisScored by Trevor JonesDesigned by Harry LangeSound by Bill Rowe Nm0746477Costumes by Brian Froud
Box Office
1982 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.0× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$44.6M
US & Canada: $40.6M — 91% of worldwide · International: $4.0M (9%)
Opening weekend: $4.7M — 11% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $7.4M — 18% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 858 theaters
Re-release box office
- 2018616 theaters
- $1.7M($2.3M today)
Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation
Also known as
- Der dunkle Kristallde
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Cast & Crew
417 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Jim Henson
as Jen, a Gelfling (performer), High Priest, Ritual Master (performer)
Kathryn Mullen
as Kira, a Gelfling (performer)
Frank Oz
as Aughra, a Keeper Of Secrets (performer), Chamberlain (performer)
Dave Goelz
as Fizzgig, a Friendly Monster (performer), General, Garthim Master (performer)
Steve Whitmire
as Scientist (performer)
Louise Gold
as Gourmand (performer)
Brian Meehl
as Ornamentalist (performer and voice), Urzah (performer), Dying Master (performer and voice)
Bob Payne
as Historian, Scrollkeeper (performer)
Mike Quinn
as Slave Master (performer)
Tim Rose
as Treasurer (performer)
Jean Pierre Amiel
as Mystic Weaver (performer)
Hugh Spight
as Mystic Cook (performer), Landstrider (performer)
Supporting cast
48Robbie Barnett
as Mystic Numerologist (performer), Landstrider (performer)
Swee Lim
as Mystic Hunter (performer), Landstrider (performer)
Simon J Williamson
as Mystic Chanter (performer)
Hus Levant
as Mystic Scribe (performer)
Toby Philpott
as Mystic Alchemist (performer)
David Greenaway
as Mystic Healer (performer)
Richard Slaughter
as Mystic Healer (performer)
Kiran Shah
as Additional Performer
Mike Edmonds
as Additional Performer
Peter Burroughs
as Additional Performer
Malcolm Dixon
as Additional Performer
Sadie Corre
as Additional Performer
Deep Roy
as Additional Performer
Jack Purvis
as Additional Performer
Gerald Staddon
as Additional Performer
Mike Cottrell
as Additional Performer
John Ghavan
as Additional Performer
Annie Jones
as Additional Performer
Natasha Knight
as Additional Performer
Lisa Esson
as Additional Performer
Stephen Garlick
as Jen
Lisa Maxwell
as Kira
Billie Whitelaw
as Aughra
Percy Edwards
as Fizzgig
Barry Dennen
as Chamberlain, Podling
Michael Kilgarriff
as General
Jerry Nelson
as High Priest, Dying Emperor
Thick Wilson
as Gourmand
John Baddeley
as Historian
David Buck
as Slave Master
Charles Collingwood
as Treasurer
Sean Barrett
as Urzah
Miki Iveria
as Podling
Patrick Monckton
as Podling
Susan Westerby
as Podling
Joseph O Conor
as Narrator, Urskeks
Sherry Amott
as Additional Performer
David Alan Barclay
as Additional Performer
Cheryl Blaylock
as Additional Performer
Lyle Conway
as Urskeks
Michael Earl
as Additional Muppet Performer
Okon Jones
as Garthim
Rollin Krewson
as Additional Performer
Wendy Midener
as Jen's right hand
Grant Olding
as Additional Performer
Kelly Silver
as Additional Performer
Melissa Whitmire
as Kira's right hand, Urskeks
Mak Wilson
as Additional Performer
Directors
2Writers
2Producers
8Other crew
365Charles Stoneham
additional matte artist
Michael Earl
additional puppeteer (uncredited)
Barbara Harris
adr voice casting (uncredited)
Brian Ackland Snow
Art Directors
John Marshall
Art Directors
Malcolm Stone
Art Directors
Terry Ackland Snow
Art Directors
Marcel Durham
assembly film editor
Jill Bennett
assistant accountant
Fred Evans
assistant art director
Katharina Kubrick
assistant art director
Richard Dawking
assistant art director
Parents Guide
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