Happy 40th Anniversary, Labyrinth!

The other weekend my sister and I went to see Labyrinth at the Revue, a screening of the 4K remastered re-release for its 40th anniversary. It was a sold-out show filled with the expected nostalgic adults but also a fair number of kids seeing it for the first time, including four or five directly behind us. (The person introducing the show asked newbies to identify themselves with a show of hands.)

It's a deeply puzzly movie, with a liar puzzle, hidden pictures (many instances of David Bowie's face hidden in the scenery), and of course the Labyrinth itself. It's also about growing up and entering into the terrifying maze of adulthood, and how you don't have to let all the magic of childhood go as you do. I first saw the film as a pre-teen, and it felt like it had been made for me--a bookish, fantasy-loving, maze-obsessed girl just starting to feel the bewildering/exciting effects of puberty.

Maybe that's why my tears instantly welled up as the opening credits began, with the 80s vibes of "Underground" and the swooping digital owl immediately bringing back a flood of memories from that time. I did manage to get over myself, though, and grinned like an idiot through the rest of the screening. In this age of AI slop, the beautiful human talent and care and craftsmanship and intention that floods your senses from every frame of this movie is nothing short of a balm to the soul.

I was a little concerned that the younger audience members would be bored by the slower pace of a 40-year-old film. I shouldn't have worried. The group behind us sat in rapt silence the entire time (yes, I peeked), aside from the odd gasp and a whispered "yessss!" from one when Ludo calls the rocks in Goblin City--not to mention laughter at the farting sounds from the Bog of Eternal Stench. Jim Henson's magic endures.

Catch a screening if you can! And if it puts you in the mood, you could check out my Labyrinth tribute, a Puzzled Pint set from September 2018. It's eight years old now but I'm still proud of it. I think we do our best work when it comes from a place of love.