Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Labyrinth arrived in 1986 as a Jim Henson production for Tri-Star Pictures, pairing Henson's puppetry with the presence of David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King. It underperformed on release but found a devoted audience through home video, becoming one of the defining cult fantasy films of its decade. The combination of practical creature work, musical interludes, and a teenage heroine navigating a world of riddles and shifting corridors has made it a touchstone for collectors of 1980s fantasy cinema, and surviving 35mm material from the production carries particular weight given how much of the film's identity rests on physical effects rather than optical trickery.
This cell carries the name Firey, one of the film's rowdiest creations, a band of detachable, self-dismantling puppet creatures who appear during Sarah's journey through the forest. The Fireys were among Henson's workshop's most technically demanding puppets, built with removable limbs and heads to allow their anarchic antics, and they remain favorites among collectors for representing the practical ingenuity that defined the production. A cell bearing this name documents a piece of that sequence, a fragment of film stock preserving one moment from a scene built almost entirely through hands-on puppetry rather than illusion.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical-track release print of Labyrinth (1986).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running as two parallel wavy lines along one edge, consistent with a dual bilateral or stereo variable-area format; Dolby Digital, DTS, or SDDS elements are not visible in this capture.
Edge print
The text 'FILM' is legible along the lower edge, reading in reverse as printed, indicating emulsion-up presentation; no key numbers or safety designation are visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm cream-yellow tint typical of acetate safety stock; the dye image reads as a fully saturated colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the creature character visible is consistent with the fantasy puppet content of the film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical track, warm acetate base, and saturated Eastmancolor-type dye image are all consistent with a mid-1980s theatrical release print of a major studio production.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063029
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
