Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Labyrinth arrived in 1986 through Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture between Jim Henson, George Lucas, and director Jim Henson himself at the helm, blending Henson's Creature Shop artistry with a coming-of-age fairy tale scored by David Bowie. It underperformed on release but grew into a cult touchstone over subsequent decades, prized for its practical effects, puppetry, and the strange sincerity of its Escher-inspired world. Bowie's presence as Jareth the Goblin King gave the film a crossover appeal that outlasted its initial box office fate, and it remains one of the defining fantasy productions to come out of the Henson organization.
This particular cell preserves the picture's opening identification, the frame where the film announces itself before story begins. Such a card carries its own collector interest, distinct from character or scene stills, since it marks the threshold moment audiences crossed into Henson's labyrinth. For a production so tied to craft and atmosphere, the title card stands as a clean artifact of the film's own self-presentation, a fragment of celluloid tied directly to the picture's identity rather than any single performer or sequence.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Labyrinth (1986)
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no torn or deformed holes visible
Soundtrack
Two parallel white lines run along one edge consistent with a dual variable-area optical soundtrack; no Dolby Digital blocks, DTS timecode line, or SDDS tracks visible
Edge print
"SAFETY FILM" readable along one edge (mirrored in the capture); no key numbers or manufacturer codes legible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears pale yellow-amber; dye image shows warm reddish-copper tones on a dense black field, consistent with an intact colour dye set
Projection history
Two continuous longitudinal lines run across the full width of the strip, consistent with projection wear or gate scratches
Picture
Positive image; all three frames show the same title card composition, indicating a title-sequence section of a release print matching the film on record
Era check
Dual variable-area optical soundtrack, safety base stock, and warm dye palette are all consistent with a mid-1980s theatrical release print of Labyrinth (1986)
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 000063044
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
