Return to Oz
by Walter Murch
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Fairuza Balk, Jean Marsh, Matt Clark, Nicol Williamson, Piper LaurieDirector: Walter Murch
Brand: BALK,FAIRUZA
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Return to Oz
Movie Review: the best way to travel down the Yellow Brick Road
Summary: 5 Stars
As a fan of Baum's original works, this has always been my most favorite film version of his world.
And as a child of the 1980s, this film has always had nostalgic appeal. Yes, the film scared me as a child. But that very darkness, mixed with the light fairy tale images, the violence and the childish sense of logic and imagination, is also much closer to Baum's wonderful Oz.
The film comes from the Golden Age of Fantasy Films, the 1980s. The time when they knew how to make clever, visually-imaginative, and often dark fantasy films for children. Return to Oz is absolutely beautiful and perfect. The special effects and production design is better than most films today that are overly CGIed without the same heart and spirit as the Jim Henson company instilled in every film.
I know that the 1939 musical is considered an unparalleled classic, but it has a very plastic and staged feel. It lacks the spirit of Baum's works. Although Return to Oz is often criticsized (and, I believe it bombed at the box office at the time), it has a special place in the hearts of children who grew up with it, as well as fans of the original works.
First of all, the film much more accurately portrays Oz and is much more loyal to the books. Dorothy (perfectly portrayed) is the right age, for starters. Not only do many things more closely resemble the illustrations of the books (especially the characters and the Emerald City), but the world looks much more real and occupied than the 1938 version. The mood of the film is also much closer to Baum's works, mixing silly childish logic and imagination (building the Gump) with darkness and danger of a child in a strange world (the fear of turning into an ornament or to stone or having your head cut off). The film is just as magical and mystical as Baum's books.
Second, I love seeing Oz as "fallen". The Yellow Brick Road reclaimed by nature. The Emerald City crumbling and the people all turned to stone. The Gnome King's palace where people are turned into ornaments. The theme, ironically, of the story is trying to return home doesn't always meet your high expectations and desires. Fits for a film constantly compared to the 1938 musical. Even in a fairyworld, things change and fall away.
This DVD is in widescreen, which is the only way to ever see any movie. There are some cool special features, including a recent interview with the star, Balk. But, best of all, is the film itself, and being able to revisit a childhood favorite for all of us that grew up in the 80s.
Summary of Return to Oz
Dorothy finds herself back in the land of Oz, where she meets both new friends and new enemies.Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD
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
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