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DVD Return to Oz
You don't fool with Mother Nature, spit into the wind, remake Casablanca, or trash the land of Oz. Perhaps that is why the 1985 live-action sequel split critics and audiences alike. The 1939 classic musical is so beloved that it's almost impossible to imagine seeing Dorothy in shock therapy, a crumbled yellow brick road, the ruins of Emerald City, and the Tin Man turned into stone. But L. Frank Baum, the author of the original Oz books, portrayed just that with his continuing stories of Dorothy. When you get by these tough facts, the film version is solid entertainment for the over-7 set.
Dorothy (a 10-year-old Fairuza Balk in her debut) is back in Kansas, where Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) is at the end of her rope: her niece is not sleeping and going on about a place called Oz. Therapy may be the answer, but luckily the scary clinic goes dark before Dorothy can be, er, cured (but the lead-up will scare the munchkins out of most kids). She wakes up in the land of Oz, now in tatters, and searches for its king, the Scarecrow. A new set of friends, including a tin soldier, a talking chicken, and a pumpkin man, help her against new villains, including Princess Mombi (Jean Marsh)--complete with a set of detachable heads--and the evil Nome King (Nicol Williamson with a great assist from Will Vinton's Claymation). The sole directorial effort of Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch is stuffed with marvelous effects that foreshadow later works by Tim Burton and the Henson non-Muppet films. --Doug Thomas
I just reordered this movie on DVD and I'm so happy it's been made available. I watched this over and over as a child - I read all the Oz books and believe me, the interpretation in Return to Oz is much more faithful to the original series than the Judy Garland movie. There's rich textural detail and nuanced storytelling that I think Baum would have been proud of.
I saw this movie as a child (I was 8 when the movie came out) and although some of the scenes were disturbing, I wasn't terrified by it. Then again, children's movies when I grew up included Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Secret of N.I.M.H. and other "scary" classics. I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with exposing kids to images that may be a little disturbing. Life is not all about shiny happy people holding hands. But I was kind of a morbid kid, so I may not be the best person to give advice.
I consider this movie to be a lost gem. It was reviled at its release because it was so unlike "The Wizard of Oz." Frankly, I hate the original movie - way too much sugar candy and twinkly froufrou for me. THIS movie gets to the heart of what the Oz series was about - a magical land of wonder, yes, but there were bad and/or terrifying things that happened, much like in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I think this is a great movie for kids 10-12 and up who may have read some of the Oz books and are interested in seeing this interpretation of the world of Oz.
I Like Weird Movies So I Enjoyed This!
I have grown up watching The original Black and White Wizard of Oz Movie that starred Judy Garland and I love tahtmovie ut I also saw Return to Oz and I really liked this movie too. It's alot different then the Judy Garland movie and the plot is a lot more bizarre and kind of a more twisted version but I liked it and I highly recommend it and in fact I recommend both movies! Judy Garland was a good Dorothy but so was Fairuza Balk so give this movie a chance and enjoy! BTW: I have read some reviews by people who said they hated this movie because they thought it was too weird but what they hated about this movie is why I liked it. I like weird movies so I didn't have a problem with the weird plot of Return To Oz.
Not the Judy Garland film, but just as wonderful.
I grew up with the 1939 Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz. I still love that film, and hope to soon buy the 3-Disc Collector's Edition DVD. I love the songs, the story, Judy, the colors, the sets, everything. It's a charming slice of old Hollywood that we'll never be able to recreate.
In 1985, Disney didn't even attempt to. In fact, the only connection between the two movies is the fact that the magic slippers are ruby. I don't treat this as a sequel to the 1939 film. I treat it as a totally different movie. It's not all Judy Garland singing happy songs in Technicolor settings. It's darker, with the first 20 minutes featuring Dorothy nearly receiving shock therapy. Yes, everyone thinks Dorothy's nuts! However, this film is much more faithful to Baum's original books than the 1939 film was. But I still refuse to poo poo on the 1939 film for that, because as I said, it's still one of my all-time favorites. However, upon its release, Return To Oz was a box office disaster and continued to be much maligned to this day for not being the 1939 film. For many years, Disney practically pretended that they had never had anything to do with this movie. In fact, this DVD release marks the first time Disney had even had this movie in print themselves since the 1980's video/laserdisc releases, with a late 90's video and DVD release by indie video/DVD company Anchor Bay.
The film is a five star film for me. However, the dreadful DVD treatment knocks two stars off my rating. All we are given are the introduction and interview with Fairuza Balk from the Anchor Bay DVD. However, we are given a bit more. We are given a theatrical trailer, some TV spots, and the opening Walt Disney Pictures logo is restored, whereas it was absent on the Anchor Bay video and DVD release. However, there WERE featurettes on the making of the movie, so they would have made a nice inclusion as well.
The transfer is fairly clean, but it could benefit from a (very unlikely) digital restoration. Still, it's quite clean for a mid-80's film. The sound is also fairly clean. All in all, the presentation is not bad. The worst of the transfer problems occur within the first ten minutes, where you'll see the occasional artifact, speck of dirt, etc. I didn't expect much better for this DVD.
In conclusion, if you believe that Oz can only be as MGM told it in 1939, this movie isn't for you. However, if you're open minded to different visions of Oz, give this movie a look. The DVD isn't the all-out Special Edition that fans would like, but it sports a fairly decent presentation of the film with a few nice, if not completely satisfactory, bonus features. I'd definitely recommend this release.
Wolfgang Petersen (In the Line of Fire) made his first English-language film with this 1984 fantasy about a boy (Barret Oliver) visualizing the stories of a book he's reading. The imagined tale involves another boy, a warrior (Noah Hathaway), and his efforts to save the empire of Fantasia from a nemesis called the Nothing. Whether or not the scenario sticks in the memory, what does linger are the unique effects, which are not quite like anything else. Plenty of good fairy-tale characters and memorable scenes, and the film even encourages kids to read. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Wolfgang Petersen DVD Release Date: Released the 04 September 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This is a good purchase for $4.99, especially if you like the more unusual films to come out of the silent era, or any of the Oz books. It's a fun romp through Oz, and has some decent special effects.
The film itself has deteriorated substantially, and it appears no effort was made to restore it. That's understandable, especially for such a cheap movie. The bad part of this disc is the audio. The music is a mix of ragtime and various other types. It has some relevance, as the mood does change with the film, but that's about all. The voice-over for the title cards, on the other hand, is just wrong.
My conclusion: Buy the movie, but turn the audio off. More Info about this DVD Director(s): L. Frank Baum DVD Release Date: Released the 03 July 2001 THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. If you would like to purchase this title, we recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become available.
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When it was released during Hollywood's golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn't start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz's TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home video has made this lively musical a mainstay in the staple diet of great American films. Young Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), her dog, Toto, and her three companions on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz--the Tin Man (Jack Haley), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), and the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger)--have become pop-culture icons and central figures in the legacy of fantasy for children. As the Wicked Witch who... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Judy Garland - Frank Morgan Director(s): King Vidor - Victor Fleming - Richard Thorpe DVD Release Date: Released the 19 October 1999 This item is currently not available.
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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... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jim Henson DVD Release Date: Released the 12 October 1999 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Disney's 1986 Flight of the Navigator combines a strong ensemble cast and classic '80s soundtrack with dazzling special effects for a high-flying sci-fi adventure. While searching for his little brother in the woods, 12-year-old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) falls down a ravine and is knocked unconscious. After what seems like minutes, he returns home, only to discover that eight years have passed since he was declared missing and presumed dead. Even more mystifying is that David hasn't aged, nor can he account for the time lapse. Meanwhile, NASA officials stumble upon a futuristic spacecraft and are determined to assess what David knows about it by locking him in a top-secret lab for scanning and testing. His only chance of escape is in the spacecraft manned by Max, a wisecracking... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Randal Kleiser DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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