Return to Oz

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Summary: One of the best movies ever made!
Review: I don`t care what people say this is the best movie ever, a light hearted family movie from the labyrinth, dark crystal, return of the jedi genre. People say this is an insult to the wizard of oz but in fact if these people had read the books by the late L. Frank Baum they would of realised that this follows his books more closely than the wizard of oz does, don`t get me wrong its a great film. The characters in Return to oz Are more cuter than its prequel, like Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, Billina and my favourite the Gump. But also more scary characters like the wheelers, princess Mombi and the Gnome King. So please watch this great movie fully before you judge, its the greatest.

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Summary: One of my childhood favorites!
Review: I am so glad that it has finally been released after all of these years! I love this movie!

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Summary: A wonderous venture into fantasy, magic and myth
Review: RETURN TO OZ is marvelous. Someday it may be reckoned among the greatest fantasy-Quest films ever produced. Why it has not yet achieved the acclaim it deserves is still the inevitable comparison with THE WIZARD OF OZ and its just repute as one of the greatest...family...films ever made. To the point, however: RETURN TO OZ is...not quite a family film. As one reviewer noted, it is in many ways a horror film. And as a "horror" film it often operates on profound archetypal levels frequently found in "fairy tales" but rarely conveyed with success to the screen. RETURN succeeds, in my estimate, because Dorothy is a fully realized archetypal heroine. And she is magnificently played by Fairuza Balk in a fashion as peerless...as unique...as "the Dorothy" essayed by Judy Garland. Director Walter Murch...a co-editor with Francis Ford Coppola of "Apocalypse Now!"...boldly opts to plunge into darker realms of Quest mythology to tell a tale of courage and selfless love. In the WIZARD, our Dorothy's primary objective was safety in the "no place like Home." In RETURN, she eschews personal regard for the sake of her endangered friends in the kingdom of OZ. In THE WIZARD, Dorothy is a visitor to OZ. In RETURN, she is summoned to be its savior. And, with the purity-of-heart which wills the Good & True, 10 year-old Fairuza Balk thoroughly convinces the unjaded that Goodness can be triumphant..."over the rainbow, and here". But the superbly evil Jean Marsh, as "head-hunting" Witch Mombi; and Nicol Williamson as the wickedly anti-Life Gnome King, do not make the ordeals by "fire and water" for Dorothy and her troop of fellow-questers any too easy. The CLAYMATION special effects by Will Vinton Productions are wonderous but without ostentation. And though there are no memorable songs...RETURN is not a musical..the score by David Shire is excellent and superbly rendered by the London Symphony Orchestra. Films such as RETURN are often called "sleepers" because they achieved such little critical...or public...acclaim when released. In the sci-fi realm, "Blade Runner" was such an ignored film, now recognized as a masterpiece. I propose the same "laudatory awakening" for RETURN TO OZ. Sometime soon, "under the rainbow", this venture into fantasy, magic and myth will be viewed as a Fairy tale classic and masterpiece in its own right. In a time when our culture needs to believe in heroes, a RETURN TO OZ might just be what The Wizard ordered...

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Summary: Perfectly enchanting.
Review: 'Return to Oz' is a masterpiece. It has been my favourite movie since the first time I saw it. I recomend it to people of all ages. If you are a young child it takes you to a magical place deep within your imagination and if you are an adult it allows you to travel back in time and visit your childhood becoming open to the idea of magic and fantasy, even though you think that it does'nt exist. 'Return to Oz' is the enchanting story of a young girl who strives to make the fantasy world she is living in become reality. It includes many loveable characters such as the Scarecrow, Tin man and Cowardly Lion from the original movie, 'The Wizard of Oz' as well as many new ones, such as Jack Pumpkinhead, a stick man with a pumpkin for a head and Gump a flying sofa and Tic Toc a wind up mechanical man. However no story is complete without the villains and in this movie there are plenty. The Wheelers are men who have wheels for hands and feet and they work for Princess Mombi an evil woman who has over 30 different heads and last but not least the Nome King, a man made of rock. And who tries to stop these evil beings, Dorothy. In this movie Dorothy is played by Fairuza Balk. (The Craft, The Waterboy) But in this movie Dorothy trades in her much loved Toto for her talking chicken, Billina. Return to Oz is a magical film for the child in everyone and if you loved 'The Wizzard of Oz' or even if you did'nt you WILL love 'Return to Oz'. So buy the video it will be money well spent. Who said money could'nt buy happiness.

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Summary: A Wonderful Movie!
Review: I remeber watching this movie when I was rather young, about three or four. Although a bit scary, it wasn't worse than any other movies I had seen, take for example the violence in disney movies. Now that I am older, I have grown to love the Oz books (I have read all fourteen by Baum) And have come to see that thay are much better adapted from the Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz than Wizard of Oz is. In Return to Oz, the events actually happen, while in Wizard of Oz, it becomes a dream sequence. I think you will enjoy this movie better if you don't look at it as the sequel to the Wizard of Oz, but just as another movie.

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Summary: toto...i have a feeling this isnt oz anymore
Review: a wonderful movie! this movie is much more faithful to the original oz books by l.frank baum based on the second and third books in the original seris.anyone waho is a fan of the oz books will love this movie,anyone who is a fan of the 1939 movie the wizard of oz well...be prepared.dorothy returns to find a counquerd and invaded land of oz rather than a beutiful fantasy realm of dance and music.the scarcrow tinman and lion dont appear in the movie much,and the emerald city is in ruins,yellow brick road a rubble of broken bricks,and the munchkin village... reduced to a small and creepy forest clearing?oz and its people arent the same as in the classic movie but as a fan of the wonderful,magical and exciting oz books i highly recommend this movie!

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Summary: Dark, Haunting and Beautiful...Discover this Oz
Review: I can still remember seeing this for the first time when I was 5 years old. "Return To Oz" has to be one of the most haunting and beautiful films I have ever seen and remains one of my favorites to this day even as I watch it time after time. The new widescreen version offers even more depth into Walter Murch's new and exciting vision for Oz. Yes it's dark and at times creepy, but that's what makes it so wonderful. Fairuza Balk is memorable as a wide eyed, and haunted Dorothy, troubled by memories of Oz and seemingly trapped by her longing to return there. The sets, which have a lovely, 1900's look, are magnificent and add a whole dimension to the film. The images of a crumbled Yellow Brick Road, and an Emerald City in ruins still give me an uneasy feeling, and Mombi is still terrifying, as well as a trip to a Kansas insane asylum. The underrated score by David Shire is nothing short of magnificent and one of the best. Many fans have praised the movie, and deservedly so, for keeping in line with the more dark nature of the original Oz books. Don't get me wrong, I will always treasure the original as a fun filled, frothy Technicolor escape, but "Return To Oz" will always be head and shoulders my favorite. This is a haunting yet beautiful favorite that sorely needs to be rediscovered.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE
Review: I am a BIG fan of THE WIZARD OF OZ, staring Judy Garland. I also really love the "Return to Oz" Video! The music in this movie is very good. The soundtrack is out of print, and if you look you can get a copy of it. If you don't have a copy of it get it beacuse this is a movie for you if you like action and drama at the same time. The specials effects are great too, on this great and wonderful movie "Return to Oz"!

Rating:
Summary: Walter Murch's Return To OZ...
Review: In This Semisequel To "The Wizard Of OZ", Viewers Will Hear No Songs, Nor See Any Munchkins...It Is A Very Different Film, But Equally Enjoyable, Trip Down The Yellowbrick Road With Fairuza Balk Outstanding As Dorothy...It Gets Pretty Scary At Times And Isn;t All Flluff And Wonder Like The Original OZ...This Is Nevertheless A Magical Film For The Child In Everyone...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Film... DVD needs more features
Review: "Return to Oz" is a wonderful film. But since there are already over 60 reviews here regarding the filmmaking itself, I feel that I should mention something about the disapointing lack of features on the DVD. Sure, we get the widescreen and standard version on one disc... but where are the extras that DVD fans have come to expect? No subtitles. No notes. No biographies of the cast and crew. All we get is a very brief interview with Fairuza Balk... and she really doesn't say anything of great interest. If you like this movie enough, it's worth buying. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I REGRET this purchase. But the DVD certainly isn't worth $3.50 more than VHS.