r/DavidBowie • u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty • 1d ago
Why do certain Bowie fans love Labyrinth so much?
When I started learning more about Bowie’s legacy, the more I realized how massive it was/is, touching multiple mediums and culture across the 20th century.
But for a certain group/generation of Bowie fans, they know him best as Jareth the Goblin King from the 1986 film Labyrinth. Back when one of our posters was putting together the Sergeant Pepper-style Bowie collage, at least three Labyrinth characters made it on.
I’ll admit: before I fully learned about Bowie, I had the misconception that the movie was his claim to fame the way Tim Curry was known for Rocky Horror (both show and film).
But looking in hindsight with the knowledge I have now: Even though I like Jim Henson, Labyrinth seems like a relatively small part of Bowie’s work. Is it a matter of being arguably his most famous film role? (Whereas films like “The Man Who Fell To Earth or Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence were for adults?) 80s nostalgia?
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u/MorboKat 1d ago
Bowie’s acting and music. Jim Henson’s puppetry. Terry Jones writing. That cast was STACKED.
It’s a great film, you watch it on repeat as a kid and the nostalgia for it runs deep when you’re an adult.
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u/spacefaceclosetomine 1d ago
It’s a really good movie that many generations watched as kids, so there’s great nostalgia for it. The soundtrack is entertaining, Bowie and Connelly are both great in it and absolutely beautiful, the puppetry is superb, the characters are endearing, and I could go on.
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u/Choice-Valuable313 1d ago
It’s a film that grows with you.
If you saw it when you were six, say, it stood out to you for the colors and the puppets and the songs.
As a tween, it would stand out because you were starting to understand Sarah’s struggles, maybe, with family and responsibilities, and the misunderstood concepts of romance and fairness and who you are.
As a teenager, it’s the music again and the fantasy.
As an adult, when you are learning about directors and artists, as some have said here, this movie is stacked with names. And the practical effects. And the script is really well written and the actors really bring it - like when Sarah is acting badly at the start of the movie because she knows it is not real and then later in the movie Jennifer Connelly steps up and acts amazingly because Sarah is fully invested then.
And your understanding of the complexity of family and relationships and self care keep adjusting over time your understanding of the film.
That is how it has been for me, anyhow.
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u/Random-Cpl 1d ago
And in my case, at each of these ages you’re captivated by Jennifer Connelly
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u/Choice-Valuable313 15h ago
Absolutely! Just the walk around her bedroom at the start of the film reveals so much about her character and where she is coming from. Even at that age, Connelly brought so much depth to her roles.
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u/EddiePensieremobile 1d ago
He reminds me of the babe
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u/Remote-Physics6980 1d ago
What babe?
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u/EddiePensieremobile 1d ago
The babe with the power
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u/minnesota420 1d ago
What power?
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u/optimusjprime 1d ago
The power of voodoo
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u/Admirable-Divide7731 1d ago
Also love him in Zoolander
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 1d ago
That was actually my first exposure to him! Even though I didn't know anything about him (probably assumed he was a fashion designer or model), they really sold him as the coolest person in the room.
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u/Aggravating-Try1222 1d ago
Exactly. Seeing him on film made you realize it how cool he is. It happened to a generation of kids via Labyrinth.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 23h ago
I want to be clear that I don't want to shame fans who like Labyrinth. I like the film. This is more of a curiosity thread because Labyrinth seems to occupy a big place for a certain generation of Bowie fans. Whereas the Zoolander cameo was cool but I wouldn't claim it's a big part of Bowie's legacy.
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u/MrAlgeriaTouchshriek 1d ago
I think it’s generational. For a lot of younger Bowie fans, Labyrinth was the intro. I’m sure there are older fans who hold it in high regard as well, but as an older fan myself, it’s not among my favorite Bowie things. It’s ok.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 1d ago
Do you have a vote for best Bowie film role?
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u/MrAlgeriaTouchshriek 1d ago
I think Man Who Fell to Earth is iconic, The Hunger is great for the small amount of time he’s in it, and I love his performance in Absolute Beginners.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 1d ago
That is a genuinely tough question. For drama? The prestige. For fantasy? Labyrinth. Secondary for drama, merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. For comedy? Yellow beard, Zoolander
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u/Agitated_Custard_225 1d ago
It was my first introduction to Bowie. As a kid who was born in the mid-eighties with a mum who loved sci-fi and fantasy films and literature, I was introduced to the film at a really young age. Loved it, found him fascinating and loved the songs. Then my mum taught me that he was a musician too and loved him ever since
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u/shoegazerfrasier 1d ago
Yes! This was my first intro to Bowie and I’ve loved him since then! It was just the tip of the iceberg. That movie holds a special place in my heart.
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u/NYourBirdCanSing 1d ago
I would say, "childhood", but I didn't get to actually watch that movie until my mid/late 20s.
I love it dearly and show it to my kid. It's truly amazing. Literally everything about it is perfect.
Dark Crystal is the same for me. No childhood attachment. Saw it late. Still super love it.
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u/troysama 1d ago
there's an entire niche of romantasy based on that movie which I may or may not consoom
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u/Gobbo_Jareth 1d ago edited 1d ago
For me (see handle and profile pic) it's mostly that I first saw it as a kid in the 80s and fell in love with the magic and fantasy of the film before I had any idea who Bowie was. I have similar nostalgia for movies like The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, and Willow. It was a great fantasy made by the genius Jim Henson. I bought the Labyrinth soundtrack in high school because it was a novelty related to the film more than because Bowie was involved. The following summer, I watched the movie just about every day, in part to see if I could watch it 100 times before school started again. It was still not about Bowie, as I didn't know much of him beyond that.
It was only when I got to college and really started to listen to Bowie's full catalog instead of the 3 or 4 songs they used to play on the classic rock station I grew up with ("Changes", "Let's Dance", "China Girl", and maybe "Space Oddity") that I fell into deep obsession with him. Exposure to Low, Outside, Station to Station, and Scary Monsters are what made me a Bowie fan first and Labyrinth fan second, even if the order is reversed chronologically.
Now, I watch the move a few times a year, and rarely listen to the soundtrack except when the songs come up as part of other playlists or when I put Bowie's full repertoire on shuffle. I like to think I'd still have developed a love for his work in my late teens and twenties had I not already memorized every line, note, and shot in Labyrinth, but I also recognize that I was more open to listening to his stuff once I had the opportunity because I already had positive associations of him to one of my all-time favorite films (though it lost the top spot when I was ay film school and I watched a wider variety of movies.)
Yet, as I type this, I'm looking at the clock to make sure I'm not late to the 40th anniversary screening with live score performance at a local theater. So maybe I haven't moved that far past it after all.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 22h ago
(Responding to your comment here and your other reply)
Thank you for sharing your experience and journey with Bowie and Labyrinth! It puts a lot of things in context.
I suppose part of it is my bias and what works I feel more nostalgic for; maybe if Bowie was a Disney villain (I know Tamatoa from Moana was based on him) and that villain was my gateway to Bowie, that would shape my emotional attachment. Another element is I really wasn't a big music fan as a kid. So when I found out that someone was a rock star, it didn't really ring significance bells with me for a while.
I liked The Muppet characters and Jim Henson but I didn't grow up with the darker 80s fantasy films except when I was learning more about movie history and 80s nostalgia in general. I know Return To Oz is a creepy cult classic. Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, I know they were Henson's attempts at making works for slightly older audiences.
Before I became a more knowledgeable Bowie fan, I wouldn't have bat an eye at the prominence of Labyrinth among Bowie fans. It makes a lot of sense as a gateway. It only seems strange to me in hindsight knowing more about the twists and turns of his career.
In your other reply, you mentioned the trend of glam-adjacent stars playing fantasy and sci-fi villains. Sting in Dune certainly came to mind. I think he was even considered for Labyrinth but David won out because Henson's son was a bigger fan of Bowie. But I'm wondering how much Dune plays a part in Sting's legacy. (Sidenote: There was a period of time where I didn't know Sting that well either so I wondered why everyone mentioned him so often in relation to the film. Another example of me initially lacking music fandom).
I guess to draw a distant analogy: In the broader music community and general public, people often talk about "Under Pressure" as one of the greatest songs and duets of all time. People speculate about why Queen and David didn't perform it for Live AID. David and Queen (especially David and Freddie Mercury) are often linked because of the song and because of glam rock, theatricality, queer identity, and so on.
But when actually looking at David's career, the duet is a pretty small part. Queen and Bowie met a few times with David even performed at the Mercury tribute concert. But otherwise, I don't feel they're very linked compared to David Bowie and Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, maybe even Nile Rodgers.
So I feel this dissonance in how artists are perceived and what the relationships actually are.
Just to be clear though: I don't want to shame anyone for liking Labyrinth. It's an iconic film. The thread is more me trying to make sense of its place in Bowie's legacy.
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u/Gobbo_Jareth 21h ago edited 21h ago
To clarify, I wouldn't say Labyrinth was my gateway to Bowie. I always saw him as a part of the film I loved until I came to know his entire career better, at which point I had more context for how the film fit into his artistic journey both as a musician and actor. If Sting had gotten the role, I would still love Labyrinth, and I'm not sure I'd have ended up a larger fan of Sting or the Police than I am now (which is that I like and respect them, but they're far from favorites.) The reason I followed Nowie around the country on A Reality Tour and saw him every time he performed outside a tour in the greater NYC area in the 2000s (a total of 20 times) was because of his music; that he also happened to be the star of one of my favorite movies was little more than a nice coincidence.
ETA: I wonder if Dune would play a larger role in Sting's view among fans if it had been more commonly watched when they were younger, or if he had performed any music in it. I think Tina Turner is maybe a better example with Beyond Thunderdome because she had a huge hit with "We Don't Need Another Hero." But I think the fact that Dune wasn't really a family movie made by the creator of the Muppets means it wasn't likely as formative a cinematic experience for viewers as Labyrinth was to young Gen Xers and older Millennials.
Also, "Under Pressure" is considered one of Bowie's greatest hits because he performed the shit out of it in tours from the 80s through his final shows in 2004. I'd have to check Pegg, but I don't believe he ever performed anything from Labyrinth live.
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u/Haunting_Style3880 1d ago
It's Bowie's best cinematic effort. He's mated up with the best in puppetry, puppetry at its peak, with Jim Henson. Jennifer Connelly being very lovely, and a competent actor, and rising up, doesn't hurt. It also is a special snapshot of that time, one of the last great fantasy movies of the 70s-80s, "Willow" probably being the last. It and he are deserving of the love.
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u/optimusjprime 1d ago
To me its just an aspect of how Bowie even influenced my childhood. When I made my own connections and realized the giant world of art he created as I grew older, Jareth quickly became a symbol of my childhood and me escaping with my imagination with the movie itself and more importantly the music.
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u/Mondai_May 1d ago
I think for them that might be how they first got introduced to him so it stands out to them. I know for lots of people my age that's the case! For me it isn't since I'm not sure the movie really was as popular where I am from, I don't even know if it ever had been dubbed, so I haven't seen it when I was younger, but I've seen many for example on tumblr have stories about seeing it when they were younger (and the pants haha)
For me the first character I ever saw of him was Ziggy and I think I have a similar soft spot for Ziggy as the people who saw Labyrinth first do for that.
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u/Remote-Physics6980 1d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/l0HlJu7nffFQkTg88
It's the power of the Bowie bulge.
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u/GarionOrb 1d ago
It was how I learned of him. But also, the movie itself is just wonderful. At least for people who grew up with it.
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u/HollisWoods07 23h ago
You kinda answered your own question. It's the generations that have grown up with the movie. My mom grew up with & then so did I. Because labyrinth is considered a kids movie, it's the most common gateway to his music for us kiddos if the genre or music period doesn't interest us first.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 22h ago
Fair enough. I guess I'm just curious about how the fandom for it feels so strong even amongst other Bowie fans, even ranked alongside his other studio albums and personas.
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u/auntie_eggma 17h ago
For the reason you already know but seem to be ignoring for some unknown reason.
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u/stevieblackstar 17h ago
Nostalgia. I hand wrote out the entire script as a kid. It was my favorite movie. And it gave an image to the voice I often heard playing on my moms records.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 1d ago
I can see the passion already!
I suppose what's surprising to me is when I see Labyrinth being the top thing someone associates with Bowie or sometimes even "I only know him for Labyrinth". Though I understand everyone has their Bowie gateway including myself.
For broad exposure to casual fans, it makes sense that Labyrinth is one of the biggest gateways to Bowie. But it seems like the passion for Labyrinth doesn't die down even among some dedicated Bowie fans.
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u/brainyfox 1d ago
It was my introduction to him as a child. I begged my parents to let me sleep in the living room so I could stay up and watch it on TV because I was so entranced by him. Years later, I rediscovered the movie and, thus, him. It holds such a special place in my heart.
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u/Equal-Mycologist5749 1d ago
I'll highlight the soundtrack. It's not a movie that gets a lot of praise for its plot, but it wins people over not just because of nostalgia, but because it's a story with memorable, charismatic characters and great music. We all know music is essential in a movie, especially when the one singing the songs is David Bowie. Nobody would disagree with that.
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u/e_e_206 1d ago
It’s a great movie that’s both deeply nostalgic & also holds up very well! And also, it may very well be a lot of people’s introduction to Bowie as an artist, watching this movie as kids. That’s the case with me, & while I know very well it’s not the only thing he’s famous for, or even one of the biggest things, it still holds a dear place in my heart.
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u/abramelinvonworms 1d ago
my friend didnt like bowie besides jareth… which was just insane to me. the movie is honestly kinda boring when i eventually watched it and his music for it is just ok imo.
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u/dbw1111 15h ago
I kind of, have never been a huge fan of the movie Labyrinth. I love Bowies soundtrack. The movie of course cuts up Bowie’s music. I think that’s why I don’t like it quite as I should. Just imagine how great the film would’ve been if it played all his music, each song from start to finish and acting out every bit of it on screen. It really needs to be turned into a stage musical, I think. I was 16 when labyrinth came out. I’ve been a fan since I was 11.
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u/The-Mandolinist 14h ago
The stand out Bowie film for me- that helped cement my Bowie fandom was Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. I’d have been the right age for Labyrinth but I don’t remember seeing it when it first came out.
I saw Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence when I was at High School - we used to have a film club. And then I also read Laurens Van der Post’s The Seed and the Sower. Bowie’s performance stayed with me - and I have watched the movie many times since.
But I have watched Labyrinth since it came out, obviously. It’s a fun movie - and I think Bowie is the best thing in it - I’m guessing it made a deep impression.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 5h ago
Speaking of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, I’ve been learning more about Ryuichi Sakamoto, his work, and legacy. Truly a great artist and counterpart for Bowie.
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u/benway64 12h ago
I know I am in the minority. but aside from Bowie's songs, Labyrinth in my opinion is a pretty bad movie. iIve tried watching it a few times, but sorry, to me it's pretty dreadful.
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u/VietKongCountry 9h ago
A lot of us grew up owning about four children’s movies on VHS.
For those of us for whom one of them was Labyrinth, that already excellent film holds monumental nostalgia.
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u/MrMoog26 1d ago
I love Bowie and have been a fan since 1969 but I have never seen Labyrinth !
The only films Ive seen are TMWFTE and Merry Christmas Mr L. Neither of which I enjoyed
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u/juliohernanz Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature 18h ago
I'm younger than you, I only follow Bowie since 1972 and I haven't watched the movie either. I have listened the music related to it and, well, it's what one can expect of mid 80s Bowie.
Bit I like and enjoyed Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.
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u/Dada2fish 10h ago
I’m a fan from the very early 70’s and just a few years ago decided to watch Labyrinth. If you ever think you might want to watch it, just don’t. 😊
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u/LnStrngr 1d ago edited 23h ago
There are probably a lot of reasons. But if you asked my mom, her answer would be his bulge projected up on the theater screen for one of the dozen screenings she went to that summer.
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u/RevolutionaryEdge440 1d ago
It was Bowie venturing into the realm of kids movies and according to critics, he pulled it off.
As a “Bowie Album” I don’t even consider it worth much of a mention although people who were in their early teens loved it and it was a lot of people’s introduction to David Bowie. Mine was Scary Monsters from 1980. Much Different!
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 1d ago
Yeah, thinking about it, it's hard to overestimate the kids movie angle. That really brings in a wide audience.
I was thinking about the retrospectives on Robin Williams and Catherine O' Hara and while they both had a bunch of great roles in film and television, a lot of people would zero-in on a select few: With Robin Williams, usually The Genie/Good Will Hunting's Sean/Dead Poet Society's Keating with the Genie being arguably the biggest since that was an animated Disney film. Catherine O' Hara, a lot of people focused on her role as Kate McCallister's from Home Alone.
For whatever reason, I missed most of Bowie's film roles growing up though I did catch him in The Prestige and Zoolander. So I learned about him more through osmosis of other people's admiration. I'd imagine that Labyrinth is one of the few films where he is indisputably the face/most famous character and not one of several characters.
I've seen some what-ifs about Bowie being considered for a couple of Tim Burton's Batman movies and even Disney's Hercules. I imagine films like those could have given him even wider exposure though he was already quite prominent and influential without them.
I guess for me, this topic is interesting because Bowie's main claim to fame and widespread influence was as a rock star and music artist though he did delve into other mediums and blended them together. I know there's a long history of music stars going into acting but the degree to which one career may/may not overshadow another can make me curious.
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u/Gobbo_Jareth 1d ago
In the 70s it was en vogue to cast singer/songwriters in counterculture pics (James Taylor in Two-Lane Blacktop, Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson in * Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid) but in the 80s, it was glam-adjacent rock stars playing fantasy/sci-fi villains (in addition to Bowie, you've got Jagger in *Freejack, Sting in Dune, Gene Simmons in * Runaway, Tina Turner in *Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, just off the tip of my head.) So it wasn't even that he branched into children's movies, but rather that he was following the trend rather than setting it, which was part for the course for him in the mid-to-late 80s.
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u/GRMMneedsDOGEhelp 1d ago
My fave Bowie acting roles were in Extras (lolololol - I could watch that 100,000 times and still laugh) and The Prestige. I may be a dweeb, but I also find Labyrinth lacklustre, much like TMWFTE… even though I have both at home haha
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u/averagebensimmons 1d ago
Labyrinth was for a younger age group when it came out, and I never got into it. I was more into The Hunger.
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u/BBJPaddy 21h ago edited 19h ago
You kinda had to grow up with it to fully appreciate it, it's definitely a product of its time and a movie I don't think could be made today
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u/auntie_eggma 16h ago
If the lyrics to "Underground" don't resonate with you, do you even "get" Bowie?
I'm not sure.
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u/CulturalWind357 Don't that man look pretty 5h ago
Nope I don’t get Bowie because of this one song, better turn in my fan card 🤷🏻♀️
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u/DisciplineNo8353 14h ago
As a Bowie fan, I bought the DVD and showed it to my kids when they were small. They watched it a lot and I’m sure they thought magic Dance was a major song for him. Of course I also played his music so they knew ton of other stuff but Labyrinth had a big impact on
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u/loveisallaroundme 23h ago
It's such a testament to Bowie's sheer talent in my opinion that he could set aside any ego and absolutely give it his all in a corny children's film and bring it completely to life. Its magical. The soundtrack is genuinely beautiful and fun and eerie and everything Labyrinth needed to be complete. I loved the movie well into my early adolescence and actually had no idea Bowie was Jareth, which i know is so silly, but it was like 2 worlds colliding when it clicked and its just that much more special to me now, after falling for Bowie's discography separately
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u/ding-dong-sister-ray 1d ago
because its great