Labyrinth: Steelbook Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
Rarely do we see multiple 4K releases (outside of simply reprinting discs) for 4K UHD sets these days, let alone having Sony do magnificent jobs only to sell the rights to another boutique studio to release special editions on. Yet here we are with both Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, both of which got fantastic releases from Sony (with Labyrinth getting a 2nd release from Sony in Digibook form AND an upgrade to Dolby Vision). Now Shout Studios got the rights to release their own 4K UHD set, releasing separate Wal-Mart exclusive steelbooks as well as broad release special “box o’ swag” editions that are fully decked out with physical extras.

Labyrinth marks the final feature film of the late great filmmaker, Jim Henson. Filmed just 4 years before his death, it marks the end of a generation of puppet-created wizardry that is incredibly loved to this very day. While not as deep or introspective as “The Dark Crystal”, or as intrinsically childlike and goofy as “The Muppets”, Labyrinth is still one of his most famous movies. My wife has seen the stinking thing so many times that this is now the 5th edition of the movie that has graced my humble shelves. Her love is so much so that her 30th birthday party was a Labyrinth-themed costume party, wherein she played a gender-bending version of the Goblin King herself. My love is not AS strong as My Lovely Bride’s is, but I still have to say that the movie holds a special place in my heart, as I grew up as a young child watching it over and over on VHS and TV.

Young Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) finds that her life is not exactly what she wanted. 17 years old and living with her father and stepmother, she selfishly longs for the days when she was the center of attention. Loathing the focus that her baby brother Toby (Toby Froud) gets, Sarah, in all her overly dramatic ways, wishes that the Goblins (characters in a fantasy she’s obsessed with) would come and take him away. Lo and behold, her wish is granted. Only she finds out that maybe, just maybe, she really didn’t want him gone. Now the only thing she can do is follow the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) back to his world and make her way through the giant Labyrinth surrounding his castle in order to bring Toby back to her world before he’s turned into a goblin himself.

But getting through the Labyrinth isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside. The maze is gigantic and full of traps, not to mention the fact that it changes its patterns seemingly at a whim. The only way through the labyrinth happens to be Sarah letting go of her arrogance and pride, and trusting a few friends along the way. Meeting up with a grump dwarf named Hoggle (Brian Henson), a “thing” called Ludo, and a posh British-sounding fox named Didymus, she just might make it to the Goblin King himself before it's too late.

Labyrinth is a delightful fantasy romp that follows the usual Jim Henson pattern of intertwining something more adult with the obvious child audience of the outer trappings of the film. On the surface Labyrinth is nothing but a children’s fantasy, much like “Wizard of Oz” and the like (well, that and an excuse to have the then incredibly popular David Bowie singing his heart out). However, under the surface, we have a coming-of-age story where Sarah learns about actually growing up. In the beginning, Sarah is wildly selfish. Putting her needs above Toby’s and self-pitying, she causes this whole mess by summoning the Goblin King. However, as she progresses throughout the movie she has to learn humility, kindness and realizing that the childish things that she put so much love into at the beginning were just junk in reality. HOWEVER, in true Henson flair, Labyrinth does not condemn everything in our childhood. No matter how much we grow up, there is always a place in our hearts for fantasy and adventure. Something that is driven home with the final scene of the movie.

While the love for Labyrinth is strong, it also is the least polished of all of Henson’s work. However, that is not in any way diminishing the fantastic work that it is. The movie has a decidedly dated feeling to it, especially for those of who grew up in the 80s and looking back can acknowledge the fact that many of the elements that made the film so great to us were relevant mainly IN the 80s. The constant use of David Bowie as a walking music video was very popular back then, and seems kind of cheesy nowadays, not to mention the coming-of-age story was also something that thrived in that past decade as well. The movie is simple and sweet, but simple nonetheless. Still, despite the obvious 80s tropes and dating, it is a fun movie that still is a blast to watch some 30 years later, and I love introducing new people to the film and watching them fall in love with it the same way I did as a kid.




Rated PG by the MPAA, Parental Guidance suggested




4K Video: Video:

Sony once more MOST LIKELY provided the already struck master to Shout! Studios, especially since Shout didn’t announce a “new 4K master!” in the press release. But of course, that’s not exactly a bad thing as Sony’s master used for the 2021 disc was DIVINE (and the same with the 2016 disc actually). Unlike The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth got a 2nd 4K release from Sony in 2021 that added Dolby Vision to the mix, so this steelbook release sports the same Dolby Vision encode that we got before. A/Bing the two discs back and forth I have a hard time telling them apart. Sometimes I swore the Sony disc looked better, and other times I swore the Shout! The disc looked a tad better.

HOWEVER, I did notice something (which I confirmed with a couple of other reviewers) there is a pixelated glitch for about a second around the 21-minute mark where the worm tells Sarah of the entryway. The image glitches and pixelates HARD for roughly a second and then goes on like normal. At first I thought my disc was bad, but after looking around online and confirming with a few other reviewers it appears that the disc had an error in the encode. An error that Shout! Admitted, and has created a disc replacement program by contacting them at infor@shoutfactory.com







Audio:

As with The Dark Crystal I found that the Dolby Atmos track that Shout! has for this edition sounds to be identical to the Sony Atmos track from 2021, thus my comments below are going to mirror that 2021 review.

It goes without saying that Labyrinth was never mixed with Atmos in mind. The 2009 disc was given a very very nice 5.1 Dolby TrueHD encode (actually it had TrueHD in several languages, something that is only given to the English track in this instance), but one that was enhanced by the remixing into an Atmos track (or 7.1 TrueHD if you don’t have the appropriate Atmos gear) for the 4K disc in 2016, and re-replicated here.. Dialog is always crisp and clear, while the surrounds get a HEFTY workout from the maze and the associated traps, characters and settings within. The bog of eternal stench is alive with the sounds of little farts, or the clattering of rocks that Ludo calls down upon the goblin army at the end. Sadly we don’t get a lot of height action, but there is some use with David Bowie music strewn throughout. LFE is tight and punchy, adding mild weight when needed, but then expanding into a powerhouse during certain scenes. The bog of eternal stench where the rock falls from underneath Hoggle, or the crashing of the giant Gollum near the end spring to mind as some of the most powerful. This isn’t the BEST Atmos track known to man, but it is a solid improvement over the old 5.1 track, and a worthwhile addition for anyone looking to collect the film.

While Sony kept in the 5.1 mix AND included the 2.0 original mix, Shout! has simply kept the 2.1 mix (the 5.1 mix isn't AS important though, as the Dolby Atmos track breaks down nicely into a 5.1 environment if you need it), and while it's no biggie, it's an example of the "give and take" with these new editions. B





Extras:

4K UHD
• NEW Fan Event Q&As with Brian Henson and Toby Froud
• NEW Contact Juggling Tutorial
• Audio Commentary with conceptual designer Brian Froud

Blu-ray
• Audio Commentary with Brian Froud
• "Reordering Time: Looking Back at Labyrinth"
• “The Henson Legacy”
• “Remembering The Goblin King”
• Labyrinth Anniversary Q&A
• "Inside The Labyrinth" Making-Of Documentary
• "Journey Through The Labyrinth: Kingdom Of Characters”
• "Journey Through The Labyrinth: The Quest For Goblin City”
• The Storytellers: Picture-In-Picture Track
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes including Audio Commentary with Brian Henson
• Theatrical Trailer







Once more, the question of “Should I get THIS edition?” is going to be contingent on what you want. The Sony 35th anniversary edition digibook is out of print, the original Sony was missing Dolby Vision, and then there’s both the steelbook (this edition) from Shout! Studios, and the gigantic box set with the glass crystal ball to consider. Video-wise, they’re all gonna be VERY similar, with the edge given to probably the Sony 35th Anniversary set and this one (as well as the box o’ swag” edition) due to the Dolby Vision. But all 4 releases are great. This new set ports over almost all the extras from the old edition, but eliminates a couple of the ones from the 35th Anniversary digibook. But to make matters more interesting, they add a couple for these Shout! Releases. So once more, give and take depending on if you need the steelbooks, the gigantic collector’s edition, OR want the extras from the now OOP 35th anniversary set.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud
Directed by: Jim Henson
Written by: Jim Henson, Dennis Lee, Terry Jones
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 2.0, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Shout! Studios
Rated: PG
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 19th, 2024