Labyrinth
Director: Jim Henson
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (21 September, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Sarah (a teenage Jennifer Connelly) rehearses the role of a fairy-tale queen, performing for her stuffed animals. She is about to discover that the time has come to leave her childhood behind. In real life she has to baby-sit her brother and contend with parents who don't understand her at all. Her petulance leads her to call the goblins to take the baby away, but when they actually do, she realizes her responsibility to rescue him. Sarah negotiates the Labyrinth to reach the City of the Goblins and the castle of their king. The king is the only other human in the film and is played by a glam-rocking David Bowie, who performs five of his songs. The rest of the cast are puppets, a wonderful array of Jim Henson's imaginative masterpieces. Henson gives credit to children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, and the creatures in the movie will remind Sendak fans of his drawings. The castle of the king is a living M.C. Escher set that adults will enjoy. The film combines the highest standards of art, costume, and set decoration. Like executive producer George Lucas's other fantasies, Labyrinth mixes adventure with lessons about growing up. --Lloyd Chesley ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• NTSC

Reviews (803)

Brilliant! Stunning! What child wouldn't love it?
As a kid i loved this movie and still do adore it completely! I think i saw it about two/five times as child and it stuck in my brain so completely that when i was 15 i went on a complete rampage to find it, which i did, on VHS. I just really liked the film for it's characters, the colour, the sheer eccentricity of Bowie and the Goblins, everything! But especially Sarah, even more so now when i'm 17 and can relate to her threshold crisis. Who doesn't want to escape reality for a little while? I know i did and when i was younger i wanted to go on that adventure of hers... to somewhere where i could be the hero of the piece, and not adamsel in distress. Even as a child i hated the idea of having to be rescued by a man, so it was a refrrshing change to see a girl rescuing the boy (even if he had no idea, and could only drool!!) A brilliant film any child would adore it, boys and girls. boys for the adventure side and cool monsters and girls for the ball scene, Sarah, basically no kid could reasonably hate this film unless they have some weird fear of puppets!!

gay--really gay
I found this on cable as it was just starting and watched it most of the way through. About 20 minutes into it, I felt dirty.This is little more than an extended music video for David Bowie.Music videos are one thing.In this case, it's really weird.You have all these damn muppets running around acting like idiots and chirruping dumb dialogue; while a random scene is stuck in of a thousand muppets all having gay sex and David Bowie singing crappy 80s rubbish.Avoid this DVD unless you want to watch something while you trip on acid, and even in this case, use caution or you'll get horribly confusing nightmares.

Escape to the Realm of Imagination
Nearly twenty years complete with a computer-effects "revolution" in film have passed since Jim Henson's Labyrinth hit theatres, but no visual advancements could ever capture the charisma of this pop rock fairy tale. Henson's Creature Shop not only designed a spectacular fantasy world born from the depths of every child's imagination, they put it together completely with practical effects and the magic of puppetry.If you're looking for the pleasantly simple shapes and colors of The Muppets, you won't find them here; Labyrinth's puppets blend seamlessly into the background in order to make this universe spring to life.

The story begins in a charming East Coast-esque neighborhood park where a teenage girl dressed in a ball room gown performs a soliloquy to no audience other than her dog.The town clock chimes and it begins to pour; Sarah (Academy Award-winner Jennifer Connelly as a teen) pulls out of her reverie, a princess no more, and realizes that she has stayed out too long. At home, she confronts her "wicked" stepmother who has been waiting for Sarah to return in order to watch her new baby brother, Toby, while her father and stepmother spend the night out. Although it's never stated, it's clear from the way in which Sarah admires the portrait of her mother on her bedroom mirror that her mother, an actress in a play called The Labyrinth, has passed away and that is the reason that Sarah loves the play with such devotion. The way in which she derides her half-brother, angry that he has played with one of her own childhood stuffed animals and annoyed with his fits of crying, demonstrates very quickly the tension between the newly formed family and Sarah's resistance to the life that she has had to face since her mother's death. When Sarah repeats the lines of her favorite play, calling forth a "Goblin King" to kidnap Toby and free her of his annoyances, she doesn't imagine that her own improvised echo of "I wish that the goblins would come and take you away... right now," would in fact be magic words that bring forth a Goblin King, Jareth (British rock star David Bowie). Jareth takes Toby and offers Sarah a life of fantasy, liberated from harsh reality. But Sarah, feeling guilty, asks for Toby back instead; however, Jareth refuses, and in order to free Toby from Jareth's control, Sarah must make her way through the trials of a mystical labyrinth within thirteen hours.

Sarah's choice to face the labyrinth and the lessons she learns thanks to the friends she meets along the way help the introverted teen to mature and realize that even when surrounded by a life of the fantastic, she can never escape completely from reality.This basic journey mirrors the mythic quest archetype of many legends and stories, but the change in the expected protagonist to that of a young girl and the mix of contemporary and fantasy settings offers something to the genre that hasn't quite been seen before or since. Bowie composed most of the songs in the film, which range from the fun and effervescent "Dance Magic Dance" to his character's poignant take on unrequited love in "As the World Falls Down" and "Within You." The title track ("Underground") especially will stay with you, even long after you've last watched the film. ... Read more

Asin: B00000JPH5
Subjects:  1. Feature Film Family   

The Name of the Rose
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (20 October, 1998)
list price: $14.95
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Editorial Review

Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's left is a riveting whodunit set in a grimly and grimily realistic 14th-century Benedictine monastery populated by a parade of grotesque characters, all of whom spend their time lurking in dark places or scuttling, half-unseen, in the omnipresent gloom. A series of mysterious and gruesome deaths are somehow tied up with the unwelcome attention of the Inquisition, sent to root out suspected heretical behavior among the monastic scribes whose lives are dedicated to transcribing ancient manuscripts for their famous library, access to which is prevented by an ingenious maze-like layout.

Enter Sean Connery as investigator-monk William of Baskerville (the Sherlock Holmes connection made explicit in his name) and his naive young assistant Adso (a youthful Christian Slater). The Grand Inquisitor Bernado Gui (F. Murray Abraham) suspects devilry; but William and Adso, using Holmesian forensic techniques, uncover a much more human cause: the secrets of the library are being protected at a terrible cost. A fine international cast and the splendidly evocative location compensate for a screenplay that struggles to present Eco's multifaceted story even partially intact; Annaud's idiosyncratic direction complements the sinister, unsettling aura of the tale ideally. --Mark Walker ... Read more

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• NTSC

Reviews (69)

Excellent!
Set in a monastery during the 1300's, this is a wonderfully written, engaging crime drama filled with Holmesian logic and forensics, labyrinths, secret libraries, forbidden manuscripts, poison, and the many temptations of flesh as well as being a fantastic murder mystery that captures the poverty, darkness and ignorant shadow of abused spiritual power (through the corrupt Inquisition) prevalent at the time. The always excellent Sean Connery has the lead as Brother William of Baskervilles, scholar, teacher and sleuth, with the youthful Christian Slater doing a fine job as his novice and "Watson", Adso.Ron Perlman was able to make his supporting character, the slow, multi-lingual (usually in one sentence) hunchback monk Salvatore sympathetic/pathetic even though he was not likeable.

Favorite lines(s): "Have you ever known a place where God would've felt at home?" "The step between ecstatic vision and sinful frenzy is all too brief." "How peaceful life would be without love...how safe...how tranquil...and how dull."

The Middle Ages come alive!
Definitely a great mystery and one of my personal favorites, The Name of the Rose, brings to the screen the adaptation of Umberto Eco's book about a series of crimes that are committed in a remote Benedictine monastery in Italy during the fourteenth century, at a time when Western Europe is making the transition from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance Era.
The movie does a GREAT job of presenting us with the eerie feeling of being isolated in a dreary Catholic medieval monastery.The viewer actually feels that they have been transported to medieval Italy and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense.
The director successfully conveys the sense of hopelessness at the hands of the clergy and especially the Holly Inquisition.Moreover, one clearly sees the firm grasp that the Catholic Church had on the local population telling them what to do, when to do it, and how to it.All knowledge censored in an effort to prevent people from questioning and challenging the authority and the teachings of the Church.Ancient Greek philosophy, even drama, and in this case comedy were kept under lock and key.
Sean Connery, Christian Slater as well as the rest of the cast's performances are outstanding, making this movie one of the best of its kind.The actors' incredible talent and chemistry clearly shows, thus providing a film that can be watched over and over again.
The setting, the plot, the acting, the dialogues, and the costumes are all wonderful!
A great movie indeed!

A Winner in Every Way
I have seen this fine film 5 or 6 times and each time I see something new and fascinating in it. Umberto Eco's novel was a complex story to adapt to a major film, and this was done with skill and intelligence by Andrew Birkin, Gérard Brach, Howard Franklin & Alain Godard. The idea of such a tragic murder solved with only the tools of the time is nothing short of brilliant. I am wondering how much the BBC television series "Cadfael" with Derek Jacobi is based on this motion picture. Both are superb in their own way.

If you enjoy a film with mystery, brilliant performances, gothic photography and magnificent art direction, you will enjoy this masterpiece. Be warned, however... you will require an attention span. This is not a film kids will understand. ... Read more

Asin: 6305165807
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

Cube
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (14 March, 2000)
list price: $14.98
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Editorial Review

If Clive Barker had written an episode of The Twilight Zone, it might have looked something like Cube. A handful of strangers wake up inside a bizarre maze, having been spirited there during the night. They quickly learn that they have to navigate their way through a series of chambers if they have any hope of escape, but the problem is that there are lethal traps awaiting if they choose their route unwisely. Having established some imaginative and grisly punishments in store for the hostages, cowriter and director Vincenzo Natali turns his attention to the characters, for whom being trapped amplifies their best and worst qualities. The film is, in fact, similar to a famous episode of Rod Serling's old television series, though Natali's explanation for why these poor people are being put through hell is a lot closer to the spirit of The X-Files. Cube has some solid moments of suspense and drama, and the sets are appropriately striking: one is tempted to believe at first the characters are lost inside a computer chip. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
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Reviews (287)

Cube
I saw this movie a few years ago when it was first released and loved it. While surfing Amazon, I saw how cheap the DVD is and decided to add it to my collection. Cube is pretty decent horror science fiction, I'd recommend it.

A Blood Pressure Test!!!
I just finished watching the most frightening film of my life...and that's saying a lot for this FLICK FREAK!A white-knuckler from start to finish, "CUBE" is a classic blood pressure gauge...a film that tears you up...has you on the edge of your nerves, wits...EVERYTHING!!!My heart is still pounding as I write this.Has anyone seen it?My God!I have never seen anything so bizarre...so terror-ific!I can't tell you the storyline.I can only tell you, if you want to test your heart-rate...your fear factor...your tolerance for terror...this one is a must!!!Everyone on the planet needs to see a film like this!This film never lets you relax!It doesn't even give you a moment to munch on popcorn...your teeth are chattering so much, you could never swallow!

A 5-5-5-5-5-5!!!! "CUBE" is, by far, the most frightening film (from scene to scene) that I have ever seen.Gasp!Gasp!Check out the box!Or should I say...the CUBE????

Great Low-Budget Sci-Fi Flick
A seemingly random selection of an undetermined number of people awaken in a massive cubical death machine consisting of thousands of cube-shaped rooms that are constantly shifting positions - kind of like a giant rubix cube.Some of these rooms have deadly booby traps.This is the premise of Cube, one of the most original and exciting science fiction movies of recent years.

The film succeeds on many levels.The premise is intriguing and facilitates an absolutely brilliant, and cheap, set deisign.All the rooms are the same except for color.This creates a stagnation that is generally avoided, but works beautifully here to reenforce the intended feeling of frantic claustrophobia.

Despite its harsh and inhuman setting, or perhaps because of it, Cube exudes a vital humanism that is, at times, even a little overbearing.The small sample of people become a microcosm of society.Because their interactions are so immediate and their circumststance so dire, the characters are allowed to explore practically every aspect of social interaction in society.There's the white liberal doctor, the young college student, the invalid, the criminal, the cynical worker bee, and the male authority figure - a cop with serious insecurities and tendencies towards violence.Ultimately, the film makes an argument for cooperation and understanding - We're all in the same boat, let's help each other - that kind of thing.Call it Christianity or Communism, I like it either way.

There are a couple of flaws worth pointing out.There are times that the dialogue gets clumsy and some of the performances are distracting.But overall, Cube is well-written, thoughtful and technically astounding (set, light, photography, editing, direction, etc..) ... Read more

Asin: B00000G3DX
Subjects:  1. Science Fiction   

Labyrinth in Culture and Society: Pathways to Wisdom
by Jacques Attali Joseph Rowe
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 January, 1999)
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Reviews (2)

Fascinating
I was pleased to discover this book was an easy read. Though it posits some complex interpretations of the labyrinth, Attali's ideas come alive in his strong, lucid prose. The book is chock full of physical and symboliclabyrinths of the past and present. I especially liked his references tonomadic cultures. An enjoyable book.

Valuable introduction to the labyrinth mysteries and powers.
This book is probably the best way to start with the study of the multiple significations and applications of this ancient labyrinth science.Full of very good references, and stangely enlightened insights.Two flaws however: often stays at the surface of an idea, sometimes gets a little carried away.That's why it's more of an introduction than a true reference book. My advice: read this book and then go to Grace Cathedral in San Fransisco walk the labyrinth. ... Read more

Isbn: 1556432658
Sales Rank: 557672
Subjects:  1. Comparative Religion    2. General    3. Labyrinths    4. Metaphysics    5. Philosophy    6. Politics - Current Events    7. Psychological aspects    8. Psychology    9. Religious aspects    10. Speculative Philosophy    11. Spiritual life   

Mazes and Labyrinths: Their History and Development
by William Henry Matthews
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 1970)
list price: $12.95 -- our price: $10.36
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Reviews (1)

Great Historical Referece
This book on mazes and labyrinths by Matthews is one of a kind.It is one of the ONLY books that gives you such broad yet detailed information on such a fascinating subject.The book includes everything ranging fromEgyption labyrinths to Hedge mazes. ... Read more

Isbn: 048622614X
Sales Rank: 95546
Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Labyrinths    3. Landscape    4. Maze gardens    5. Puzzles   

Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth As a Spiritual Tool
by Lauren Artress
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 1996)
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Editorial Review

Psychotherapist and priest Dr. Lauren Artress says, "To walk a sacred path is to discover our inner sacred space: that core of feeling that is waiting to have life breathed back into it through symbols, archetypal forms like the labyrinth, rituals, stories, and myths." In her eloquent treatise, she champions the use of the labyrinth as a way of rediscovering one's spiritual center. In Walking a Sacred Path, written in 1995, Artress tells the story of her own spiritual seeking and how a labyrinth came to be built at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Sharing the vision of sacred geometry through the ages, she poetically recounts its wonderful effects. The author is deeply concerned about the environmental and spiritual crisis near the end of the millennium and offers illumination on the path to greater self-understanding, healing, and true spirituality. "Religion," she says, quoting an unknown source, "is for those scared to death of hell. Spirituality is for those who've been there." --P. Randall Cohan ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Walk on the Wild Side
And by 'wild' I mean natural, authentic. This book is wonderful. It explains labyrinths, explores their purpose and delves into the ancient meaning of sacred geometry, something I'd never heard of until I read this book. Dr. Artress started me on my labyrinth walks...and I've walked the labyrinth many times, for many years- usually 5 or 6 times in a year - at the original labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France, and in a meadow and a farm in Ireland and one very ancient labyrinth attributed to the Vikings on the coastline in Northern Sweden. There are several really beautiful labyrinths in Los Angeles that I walk in sunlight and moonlight, in rain and wind. Walking the labyrinth is transformational for me - it brings me peace and serenity and stokes my creativity into a rush of ideas. The labyrinth is unique every time; its message is alway relevent to my circumstance or dilemna. The turns, and reverses, my steps, others on the path - it all speaks to me in metaphor and poetry and reveals secrets I might never have uncovered without the walk. It's a truly mysterious, mystical and mighty pathway to the personal sacred. Elaine Maginn Sonne, Ph.D., Author of Legends of the Stones

Walk first, then read
I feel fortunate that we have a Labyrinth locally and I can attest to the meditative properties of this tool.Every walk is different.As our labyrinth is outside, it offers such experiences as walking the labyrinth with an ant or being scolded by a wren.The pattern may seem chaotic sometimes, but "You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star"(Nietzsche).

Dr. Artress is both a psychotherapist and a pastor at Grace Cathedral, and offers many personal stories from participants.Some of these seem fanciful and she leans toward Jung's psychology(and dismissed Freud in a single sentence "The scientific myth, helped along by Freud, has taught us to trust the outer world").Her perspectives on the labyrinth as archetype are important. She also offers exposure to some mystics such as Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen.Perhaps the discussion on the "Feminine" becomes decisive when she talks about Christ as part of the patriarchy.

The chapter on basic approaches to walking the labyrinth provides useful methods and will broaden my experience.Reading the book is fine, but what is most important is the walking (check out the Grace Cathedral's labyrinth locator web site if you don't know where one is).For those who like a metaphoric view of Labyrinths, Jorge Borges's book Labyrinth offers some fascinating stories.Dr Artress should be thanks for initiating the Labyrinth Movement.

Read this book!
This book has great depth and profound meaning for anyone on their own sacred path. It has helped me to begin to understand the mystery that is the labyrinth. If you've never walked a labyrinth, this book can introducethis ancient practice to you. If you have walked a labyrinth, consideryourself fortunate to have such wisdom and insight from the Rev. Artress.This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to have a deeper connection toGod. ... Read more

Isbn: 1573225479
Subjects:  1. General    2. Meditation    3. New Age / Parapsychology    4. Self-Help   

Exploring the Labyrinth : A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth
by MELISSA GAYLE WEST
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (08 February, 2000)
list price: $15.95 -- our price: $10.85
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Editorial Review

The oldest and most universally known labyrinth existed over 3,500 years ago on the Greek island of Crete--home of the mythical Minotaur. Now, over three millennia later, walking the labyrinth has become an astonishingly popular form of spiritual and emotional growth and healing. In fact, walking the labyrinth has proven itself to be so transformative and soothing, labyrinths are now being built on school playgrounds, university campuses, hospital courtyards, and even prison grounds.

Why the sudden surge in popularity? "Walking the labyrinth fulfills six important contemporary needs," according to author and psychotherapist Melissa Gayle West: "deepening spirituality; inwardness and connection; access to intuition and creativity; simplicity; integration of body and spirit; and intimacy and community." These are tall orders, but West manages to demystify this powerful process, explaining how it differs from walking a maze and how readers can make their own labyrinths. The book's narrative and organization themselves flow as thoughtfully and compellingly as a labyrinth. The three main sections cover "Meeting the Labyrinth," "Making the Labyrinth," and "Playing and Healing with the Labyrinth." West also offers an extensive resource listing and a thorough index. This is easily one of the best contemporary guidebooks on this fascinating and evolving form of spiritual practice. --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

finest labyrinth book available
I just discovered Melissa West's book. I am a longtime labyrinth facilitator and have devoured everything in print I can find. Her book is profoundly inspiring, both to newcomers (I've already recommended it to several) and regulars. I find especially helpful her specific instructions for using the labyrinth for fostering creativity and goal setting, something I've never thought to use the labyrinth for. I find very moving, and very inspiring, her work with people who are seriously ill to use the labyrinth as a powerful healing tool. Ms. West obviously lives life from a very deep place, and writes about the labyrinth from that place as well. Guaranteed to invite you into new territory with the labyrinth, no matter what your level of experience! A great gift to us all.

LABYRINTH AMASEMENT
With wisdom and intergrity Mellissa reaquaints us with nature and with thevitality of the mystics.We are put in touch with the sacreness thatembodies the smallest aspect of creation.With humor and insight we areawaken to the joys of walking the path.You learn that less can really bemore and what really matters in our stressed out human hearts.MellissaGayle West book inspired me to build a labyrinth facing east out of stonewith three foot wide paths.It is near a pond with a mountain veiw and aapple,weeper,maple,cedar and oak trees PEACE

exciting must read
I am a longtime scholar of the labyrinth, and labyrinth enthusiast. Ms. West's book is by far the best book I have ever read on labyrinths, and I believe I've read them all. I had never before had the courage to make alabyrinth, though. Ms. West's clear and simple instructions gave me thepush I needed-I was astonished to find how really easy it was to create alabyrinth using her instructions. For anything to do with thelabyrinth-history, theory, creative and imaginative uses, and how to makethem-this book is absolutely essential. ... Read more

Isbn: 0767903560
Subjects:  1. Alternate Spirituality    2. Comparative Religion    3. Labyrinths    4. Meditation    5. Religion    6. Religious aspects    7. Spiritual life    8. Spirituality - General    9. Religion / Spirituality   

The Art of the Maze
by Adrian Fisher Georg Gerster
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 September, 2000)
list price: $19.95
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Reviews (1)

The Best Maze Book In Years
I've been fascinated by mazes and labyrinths for many years and have built up a shelf-full of books on the subject.I snatched up The Art of the Maze as soon as I saw it on the display table of a local bookstore and now regard it as the best book in my collection.

It's the result of a happy marriage between two unusual authors: Adrian Fisher, probably the leading authority and builder of mazes working today, and Georg Gerster, the world's best aerial photographer.The photographs of mazes are spectacular but what I most appreciate is the consistently elegant design and layout of the book.It's replete with handsome diagrams and drawings which brilliantly illustrate the principles of maze design.

The text is also superb: thoughtful and truly interesting.Mr. Fisher provides deep and sometimes quirky insights into the history and aesthetics of mazes without ever becoming pedantic.His survey ranges from the mazes of antiquity to the latest innovations from around the world.

The book is published in London and lists its price only in pounds; I suspect it would be very hard to find at most American bookstores.Thank goodness for Amazon! ... Read more

Isbn: 1841880256
Sales Rank: 635940
Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. History - General    5. Landscape    6. Social Science    7. Specific Subjects    8. Subjects & Themes - General   

The Sand Labyrinth: Meditation at Your Fingertips
by Lauren Artress
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 December, 2000)
list price: $44.95 -- our price: $29.67
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Reviews (2)

Great Tool
I received this as a Mother's Day gift and I love it.I walk an outdoor and indoor eleven circuit labyrinth and I also have a wooden lap labyrinth.I love them all, but I found this to be a new experience.The texture of the sand and the sound it makes as you trace the path add a new dimension to the labyrinth experience.I found I kept tracing and tracing and tracing.

The Sand Labyrinth: an Effective Meditation Tool
The Sand Labyrinth is fun!It is also an effective tool for spiritual development and meditation.Finally, Dr. Lauren Artress, THE authority on labyrinths, has provided an inexpensive, effective finger labyrinth for general use.Although everyone does not have a walking labyrinth readily accessible, the finger labyrinth is definitely a viable alternative whose use is not dependent on location or weather.Of particular note is that you really get two labyrinths for the price of one: a seven-circuit Cretan Labyrinth and an eleven-circuit Chartres Labyrinth, each of which provides a slightly different meditation experience.The fine sand provides an interesting tactile experience and a little "resistance" for the finger as one traces the labyrinth.The accompanying book by Dr. Artress is well written and very accessible to a labyrinth novice, while the several sections of quotes provide food for contemplation for more advanced users.

For me, it was helpful that I had previously read other labyrinth material by Dr. Artress and had walked labyrinths on several occasions before using the finger labyrinth.On a slightly negative note, the width of the paths on the eleven-circuit Chartres labyrinth is too narrow for an adult male with "average" sized fingers to trace with ease.A larger size - even 12" x 12" would have been more helpful.However, this is only a slight detraction to an excellent addition to the growing number of labyrinth-related items. ... Read more

Isbn: 1885203993
Sales Rank: 69023
Subjects:  1. Alternate Spirituality    2. Body, Mind & Spirit    3. Labyrinths    4. Meditation    5. New Age    6. Religious aspects    7. Spiritual life    8. Spirituality - General   

Praying the Labyrinth: A Journal for Spiritual Exploration
by Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 November, 1999)
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Reviews (3)

A-maze-ing prayers
Most people tend to think of a labyrinth as being a maze, particularly a maze that is difficult to get through, with many twists and turns that lead to blind alleys and blocks.

So it is with the prayerlife of some people. They fall into paths that are not productive. They have to backtrack, and often they give up altogether.

A labyrinth, strictly speaking, is not a maze. There should be no real trick to working through a labyrinth -- no blind alleys or closed paths. It is not a tricky path intending to make one lose the way.

The test of a labyrinth is one of commitment and endurance, more than anything else. Do you have what it takes to stay the course? Labyrinths have been used in many spiritual disciplines in history, and achieved a standard Christian form in medieval times. Perhaps the best example of this is the labyrinth in the cathedral of Chartes. Jill Geoffrion made a pilgrimage to Chartes, and this book is the result of her journey.

`What is a labyrinth? It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation that can become a mirror of the soul. The labyrinth at Chartes is a forty-two-foot circle cut into the stone floor. It has one single path that meanders in a circuitous way form the entry to the center and back out again. It was placed in Chartes Cathedral sometime between 1194, after the Great Fire, and 1220...'

Geoffrion admits near the beginning that there is no right or wrong way to pray the labyrinth. One must be guided by intuition and feeling, the spirit, if you will. Every prayer will be unique, even if it follows a set pattern. Those who use common liturgies such as the Book of Common Prayer recognise the difference in each church service despite the framework of familiar words and actions. The same holds true for the labyrinth.

`All guides cite the cathedral at Chartes as a model of aesthetic achievement. But the master-craftsman was seeking something quite other than this. He was not creating Art but a cathedral. He was trying (and succeeding) to construct an instrument of religious action, direct action, having in itself power over people; a power to transform and transmute.'

Geoffrion details her preparations, the things (spiritual and physical) she carries with her in the journey, her motivations and intentions, and finally, her actions, thoughts, and prayers in the labyrinth. At each point the reader can tap into the journey through Geoffrion's questions -- what are we here for? what do we notice? what do we block? what do we want? Universal questions find concrete expression in the actions at praying the labyrinth.

Return, O my soul, to your rest
for God has dealt bountifully with you.
- Psalm 116:7

This is a very interesting format for a book, one that opens the reader to a unique spiritual event. Even to the end of the experience, the heading of each page reads Opening -- there is no conclusion, no finality, even at the centre of the circle path.

This is a book that leads one to prayer, leads one to creativity, leads one to pilgrimage -- all leading one back to oneself and to God. It all leads one to an openness to being part of the world, part of the community, and being in touch with one's own spirit.

This is a remarkable book, and well worth extended meditation. Follow the labyrinth of your own mind by following Geoffrion's spiritual exploration.

Praying the Labyrinth: A Journal for Spiritual Exploration
This book is a practical compliment to Lauren Artress's, Walking the Labyrinth. As a spiritual director I have found the scriptural references, poetry, and exercises helpful for myself and for those to whom I listen.

Praying the labyrinth
Praying the Labyrinth is a great support to Andress' book Walking the Labyrinth. I am involved in the management of a holistic/ spirituality ministry. We have a labyrinth mowed into the grass on our grounds which hasdrawn many people, adults and kids as well.Praying...book hashelped in the guiding and personal use of the labyrinth. This book offers avariety of prayer that will enhance the path of the pilgrim seeking a linkto the spirit of all life. ... Read more

Isbn: 0829813438
Sales Rank: 258807
Subjects:  1. Christianity    2. Christianity - Christian Life - General    3. Inspirational - General    4. Labyrinths    5. Prayer    6. Religion    7. Religion - Christian Living    8. Religious aspects    9. Spiritual life    10. Spirituality - General   

Labyrinth Walking: Patterns of Power
by Patricia Telesco
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 August, 2001)
list price: $12.00 -- our price: $9.00
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Reviews (1)

Insightful and Informative
magickal patterning is a very interesting topic and in typical form Telesco handles the information with amazing insight and a down-to-earth attitude that runs thru all her books. She teaches us about the basic differences between mazes, mandalas and labryinths then goes on to show you how to effectively use these patterns, personalize them, and apply them to many processes. My only complaint is that I think the book was ill-titled and does not do the material justice. ... Read more

Isbn: 0806522178
Sales Rank: 185365
Subjects:  1. Body, Mind & Spirit    2. Comparative Religion    3. Labyrinths    4. Mysticism    5. New Age    6. New Age / Parapsychology    7. Spirituality - General    8. Witchcraft & Wicca    9. Mind, Body, Spirit    10. Occultism & quasi-religious beliefs   

Mazes and Labyriths in Great Britain
by John Martineau
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (December, 1999)
list price: $12.99
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Reviews (1)

Not a Puzzle Book
Mazes and Labyrinths of Great Britain is a beautiful-looking little hardback which shows the designs of 8 mazes and 20 labyrinths in Great Britain. I have been looking for something to help me design a maze for the garden and was delighted by the clarity of the black and white designs showing layouts from the most simple (Troy Town Scilly Isles) to the very complicated (Pimperne, Dorset).Martineau also shows how most classical labyrinth design evolves from the very basic 'spiral meander' and 'Templar' cross to become the traditional multiple-coil
labyrinths, by stretching and repeating the pattern. The basics can be mastered, Martineau assures us, on the back of an envelope.A new focus for doodling! My daughter has already started finger-tracing the designs searching for the centre.
Each design is accompanied by a page of information about the history and layout of the labyrinth.

An excellent little volume which, even if I never create the garden maze, will sit happily on the bookshelf and be referred to in idle daydreams. ... Read more

Isbn: 0952586215
Sales Rank: 2406335
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. International Architecture - British    3. Landscape   

Maze : A Riddle In Words and Pictures
by Christopher Manson
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 November, 1985)
list price: $10.95 -- our price: $8.76
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Editorial Review

This is not one of those pencil mazes you worked on as a kid. The entire book is one addictivemaze. Each page spread is a room leading to other page/rooms. Your goal is to find the shortest route to thecenter and back while solving the puzzle in the center room--if you can figure out what the puzzle is. Butthen, each room is a puzzle filled with clues to decipher. Read the text and examine the gorgeousillustrations carefully. Beware--not every clue can be trusted. If you're an online gamer, consider this a Web site you can carry wherever you go. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

nice but ... no answers
The format of this book is interesting:each numbered page is a room.The reader's goal is interesting:find the path from the first room to the 45th room and back.The text follows a person (the narrator) guiding a small group of visitors around the maze-building.The drawings are all pen & ink (no color).The task & setup are fun, but ...

Here are my issues:(1) The narrator is a bit nasty -- nothing unsuitable for young children, but certainly not pleasant.(2) You absolutely MUST solve at least one riddle to find a path from room 1 to room 45.(3) There is no way to know whether you have found the correct answer to a riddle -- or for that matter, the shortest path.

My daughter & I have enjoyed reading this book together.It was intersting & fun.You'll enjoy it more if you aren't expecting a 5-star book.

I met them at the gate though I usually wait inside...
This book is truly one of the most amazing creations I've ever held in my two hands. The dialogues, the pictures, the clues, riddles, symbolism, historical references...it's all fantastic. I've been working on this for over three years now with my best friend and several others, and although we solved it over a year ago, we still keep going back to this book. Everytime you open it up, there's something new to discover. And the more research we do, the more incredible it becomes. It truly lives up to its' title as the World's Most Challenging Puzzle. We're still trying to dicipher clues in some of the rooms, although we have theories about nearly all of them, and some hard facts on quite a few.

If you want to discuss anything about the Maze, please feel free to e-mail me...we're always interested in new opinions

Finally! The Answer is out there!
I first found this online 7 years ago, and it has tormented me ever since. I thought I was alone, but the reviews here tell me how many others there are. My ray of sunshine came when I searched the net for the answer, and found it. You don't have to cheat! (I cxan't beleive it either.)

Amazing riddle . . . the best "choose your own adventure" book EVER. ... Read more

Isbn: 0805010882
Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Puzzles    5. Games / Logic & Brain Teasers   

Official's Logic Problems
Average Customer Review:
Magazine
list price: $23.70 -- our price: $19.40
(price subject to change: see help)
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Features

• Magazine Subscription

Reviews (3)

timing is everything
I ordered this on May 5th for Mother's Day, and was advised that the actual subscription may take 6-8 weeks, but that a card would be mailed to my Mother within 3 days.It was not mailed until June 27th, she still does not believe I was thinking of her on Mother's Day.As of June 30, she still has not received her first magazine either.Allow extra time when ordering if it is for a timely item.

Fun to do as a team with the whole family!
The puzzles in this book are my absolute favorite kind of logic game!It can be a mind-bending experience to follow the logical deduction of some of the better ones.
My preferred way of doing them is to have each member of the team write out the charts on a seperate piece of paper and work by themselves until someone is stuck.Then everyone works together to finish up.
A great way to encourage a love of word problems in children.
These puzzles are great for all ages!

The Best in the History of Logical Magazine's
This magazine is the best LOGIC Magazine ever! It has logic problems that make you think more than you think you can! ... Read more

Asin: B000060ML2
Sales Rank: 919
Subjects:  1. Games & Hobbies    2. Word Puzzles   

World of Puzzles
Average Customer Review:
Magazine
list price: $23.70 -- our price: $19.40
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• Magazine Subscription

Reviews (2)

The only puzzle magazine worth buying
I've bought many puzzle magazines in my day.Most of them are thick with pulpy low-quality paper that's hard to write on.They're jam-packed with dozens of boring crosswords and mind-numbing logic puzzles, and they try to cram as many puzzles of the same type onto each page.But there's not an ounce of creativity in the whole thing.

I stopped buying these the first time I picked up GAMES World of Puzzles.They're not very thick, but the creativity and quality of each issue makes up for it.

Each issue has quite a few "normal" crossword puzzles of varying difficulty (rated from 1 to 3 stars).In addition, there's always a large number of crossword variations, where you'll be entering the words in spirals, hexagons, long unbroken or twisting strings, or a dozen others.These require a little bit more logic than the average crossword.

The cryptic crosswords provide the most challenge.If you've never tried one, well... let's just say it took me almost 6 years of doing them monthly before I finished one!They're that hard, but each clue you get right is extremely satisfying.I've seen cryptics elsewhere, but none as good as these.

The crosswords are just the beginning.Each issue also has logic puzzles like the outstanding Paint-By-Numbers and Battleships; other classic puzzles like Double-Crostics, fill-ins and cryptograms; trademark puzzles such as the 500 Rummy word game and Pencil Pointers; and an 8- or 10-page special section of themed puzzles in the middle.Even the one or two word searches in each issue have themes, and usually some sort of twist to make them interesting.

I recommend you subscribe to both GAMES World of Puzzles as well as GAMES magazine.With the latter, you'll get about a quarter of the number of puzzles you'd get in World of Puzzles, along with articles about games of all kinds (board games, video games, etc.) plus the standard magazine stuff like letters to the editor, contests, short briefs and game reviews.

Best Puzzle Magazine I've Seen
World of Puzzles, from the editors of GAMES Magazine, is the best puzzle magazine I've seen. If you enjoy fresh and invigorating brain-twisting puzzles, World of Puzzles is the magazine for you. It outdistances even GAMES Magazine for people like me who are interested in the pencil puzzles. On the other hand, if you're also interested in board game reviews and interesting essays, perhaps GAMES Magazine would be better, as World of Puzzles is composed of nothing but pages and pages of fascinating and imaginative puzzles. Difficulties range from the simple crosswords, word searches, and cryptograms found in the first few pages to the mind-numbing puzzles in the back. The difficult ones are the most interesting: many are one-of-a-kind puzzles, unlike anything you've ever seen before. Word puzzles tend to be in the majority, but math and logic puzzles are also popular. In addition, nearly every month World of Puzzles runs a contest puzzle. Solve this puzzle and mail in your answer, and if you're correct, you have a shot at a thousand dollars!

If you enjoy pencil puzzles, word games, math and logic, or even just crosswords and word searches, you should definitely give World of Puzzles a try. You won't regret your decision. ... Read more

Asin: B00005N7V3
Sales Rank: 666
Subjects:  1. Games & Hobbies    2. Crossword Puzzles   

Maze
Director: Rob Morrow
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (05 February, 2002)
list price: $69.98
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Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• NTSC

Reviews (8)

Moving in a way that one better not talk about it....
My favourite sequence in "Maze" is when Morrow runs on the streets, silence behind, and "I was Brought To My Senses" plays in the background...this is one of the most poignant depictions of despair, and despairing love between two people who shouldn't have any romantic feelings for each other, on film. The pace with which Maze runs in the scene, and the haunting beginning of the song, which is sung without any musical accompaniment till the fourth line, are in stark contrast, but that is exactly what makes this shot one of the finest moments on celluloid. It befits a film on a touching subject.

very good
This film is very good. It really doesn't try to be very fast or furious, but instead really dedicates its content to some real life issues for once. Well, its real good and can be sad but also funny too sometimes even. Ok? Oh I know too its interesting.

Two people who are going to be friends for a long time
I had the most unusual reaction to watching "Maze" in that I totally accepted the title character, famous painter Lyle Maze (Rob Morrow) and the fact that he had Tourette Syndrome.I am not talking about the effectiveness of Morrow's performance in portraying Tourettes, but rather that I accepted the character and dismissed his condition.Lyle has ticks, makes odd sounds, and is compulsively obsessive about the tongue of his shoes and other things.He also has black curly hair.So what?

I was puzzled why I would end up with this sort of reaction to the film and then it dawned on me that it was because of the character of Callie (Laura Linney).She is the girl friend of Lyle's best friend, Mike (Craig Sheffer), a doctor who likes to go off to the four corners of the earth and help save the world.More importantly, she totally accepts Lyle.At one point she tells him she does not even notice his ticks, but I think we are aware of that from the start of the film.Even if Lyle was not a great artist, working on his next big show, Callie would not treat him any differently.She shows no more concern over his Tourettes than she does over standing there totally nude posing for Lyle in his studio.

Callie agrees to model for Lyle and tells him that she is pregnant; that night she is going to tell Mike.However, Mike beats her to the punch and announces he is going to Brundi for Doctors Without Borders for seven months.She gets ticked and decides not to tell him about the baby.Lyle, who already knew about the Mike's plans, becomes concerned about Callie.The story (by Morrow and Bradley White) if fairly predictable in terms of whether or not Callie will decide to have the baby and what is going to happen between the couple now that Lyle is taking an active interest in her welfare.Callie is going to have some hard choices to make down the road and there is no way of telling which way it is going to go..

Morrow co-write the film and directs it as well as stars in it, but this is Linney's movie.This is rather fitting because the actress received some grief in some corners for having bared it all for this particular project.But Callie's nudity is as natural in these circumstances as Lyle's Tourettes.Besides, we do get an opportunity to see how her figure is turned into art (unfortunately I did not write down the name of the artist who did everyting we see in "Maze," however, it is the first credit that appears at the end of the film and rightfully so).More importantly, it because ultimately I find myself take Callie's view on the world and not Lyle's, even with its hand held camera affects trying to give us visual insight into the way he sees that world, that I ended up veiwing "Maze" the strange way that I did. ... Read more

Asin: B00005U8SH
Sales Rank: 15373
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama