Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Labyrinth arrived in 1986 from Tri-Star Pictures, a Jim Henson production co-written with George Lucas that fused elaborate puppetry with musical fantasy. It underperformed on release but grew into a cult classic through home video, prized for its practical effects, Henson's creature workshop, and David Bowie's genre-defining performance. The film now stands as a touchstone of eighties fantasy cinema, remembered as much for its ambition as for the star power that anchored it.
This cell centers on Jareth the Goblin King, the film's ruler of the labyrinth and its most iconic figure, played by David Bowie in a role inseparable from his own persona. Collectors seek this character above all others in the film, since Bowie's presence turned a children's fantasy into something stranger and more magnetic. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves a fragment of that screen presence directly, a physical remnant of the performance that defined the picture's identity and lasting appeal.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour optical theatrical release print of Labyrinth (1986).
Gauge
35mm; the strip holds three frames, each with four perforations visible on both edges.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack runs along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two bilateral tracks with a visible waveform pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at the resolution and angle shown.
Base & colour
The base shows a pale yellow-amber tint consistent with an acetate safety base; the dye image reads as a warm, colour-positive print with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the content is consistent with a live-action fantasy feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, acetate base tint, and colour positive stock are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the mid-1980s production period of the film on record.
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 000063045
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
