'In Their Own Words: Jim Henson'
(DVD / NR / 2015 / PBS)
Overview: Follow Jim Henson's career as he transcended puppetry to become one of the most creative, prolific, and influential artists of his time. Journey into his first work with the Muppets in the early 1950s during television's Golden Age, up to his sudden and shocking death in 1990.
DVD Verdict: PBS has been running a series titled “In Their Own Words” and this November they have released one entitled 'Muhammad Ali'. The subject of this 56-minute “biographical portrait” is Muppets creator Jim Henson. Produced and directed by the same company and using rare archival film footage with “sound bites,” as well posting the text of quotes attributed to these persons (hence the series title), "In Their Own Words" is a highly interesting new documentary series.
Here in 'In Their Own Words: Jim Henson' we follow Jim Henson's career as he transcended puppetry to become one of the most creative, prolific, and influential artists of his time. Journey into his first work with the Muppets in the early 1950s during television's Golden Age, up to his sudden and shocking death in 1990.
Witness key events unfold in his life, from his early television work with the Muppets while still a student at the University of Maryland and his commercial work and network appearances in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to his breakthrough with Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and his groundbreaking fantasy films Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Hear from his children, Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, and Heather Henson. And enjoy firsthand memories shared by friends like Frank Oz, Candice Bergen, Willard Scott, director John Landis, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and Sesame Street cast members Bob McGrath and Carroll Spinney.
There are no bonus or special features on the DVD, but it does have the option for English subtitles; but is not close captioned. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
www.PBS.org