Return to Oz |
  • UK / USA • 1985 • 113m •    • Directed by: Walter Murch. • Starring: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark, Michael Sundin, Tim Rose, Sean Barrett, Mak Wilson, Denise Bryer, Brian Henson, Stewart Harvey-Wilson, Lyle Conway. • Music by: David Shire.      Dorothy Gale has recently come home to Kansas from the Land of Oz is now almost back to perfect health since the incident of the tornado, only she cannot get that wonderful place out of her head. She frequently talks about it and cannot get any sleep at night. Aunt Em worries about her health/well-being. Thinking that she is suffering delusional depression and acute insomnia, she decides to take her to see a special doctor in another town. While he tries to treat her with electro-shock treatment and take those nasty dreams away from her head, she is rescued by a mysterious girl who leads her back to Oz for a new adventure.
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Review:
I was about six years old when my father brought home this masterpiece. I did enjoy the first film to some extent, but I was never a fan. I remember loving ToTo, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Good Witch. I personally didn't like Dorothy and I can't even find a word to describe how I felt about the "Cowardly Lion". Mostly I remember thinking how ugly, annoying and stupid he looked; telling my parents THAT'S NOT A LION! All in all, I'd watch the film and wait until Dorothy meets the Scarecrow and from there start enjoying it.
On the other hand, "Return To Oz" just blew me away. I loved Dorothy immediately and was very happy to see ToTo again. I was very young, so I didn't quite understand why they put her in the hospital or that whatever the doctors did to Dorothy, was not what they were supposed to do. I'm explaining everything from "my point of view" at the time when I watched it. I'm always very surprised at the drastic way the story lines suddenly change for me, whenever I watch a fairytale today.
All I can say, is that I was as afraid as she was, especially cause I already had a phobia for hospitals. This film didn't do anything to me, except show me what I believed hospitals were really like! Starting from there, this film made the story "feel" real to me. That's why "Return To Oz" is such a beautiful film. Children view the world in their own way; hold their own beliefs. This film excels at making the story come alive. It has so many things that are "scary" to most children and brings them together beautifully! Being away from home, the hospital, night, the storm, the rough seariver and then the deserted Oz. And its all just the atmosphere, so scary without any monsters or witches! This makes it enjoyable for adults to watch with their kids and be able to understand the fear, rather than know "these things are not real".
I felt so sad seeing the broken Yellow Brick Road and Emerald City lie in ruins. That unsettling quiet, deserted place was so eerie. Again its still just atmosphere; war does the same! The stone statues, the whole architecture is just so beautiful and melancholic at the same time. Then came the Wheelers; the second part that terrified me after the hospital. The chase was breathtaking, keeps you at the edge of your seat. Not to mention, they're human. Personally, I always thought humans made the best villains. The scenery works so well, the "normality" of it makes it all the more frightening. These humans on wheels, amidst all these statues, in broad daylight.
The palace was so beautiful. It sort of looked like a church, the mirrors, the organ (at least, that's what I heard). It felt safe. I remember thinking how truly beautiful and angelic, Princess Mombi looked. At least, until she revealed the corridor with the heads in showcases. I actually felt better when she first changed her head, I could see the cruelty. Then came the third terrifying part. The stealth to steal the key from the sleeping, headless Mombi is so unnerving, made me hold my breath. Then to get the powder from the showcase with the sleeping head, then the chase and the escape. Everything the way, every good fairytale should be; beautiful yet intense! Flying into the night, every child's dream. The scenery so wonderful and eerily disturbing at the same time! And then it starts falling apart, like a plane about to crash if it was a convertible! Mombi going after Dorothy, riding the Wheelers; like a carriage from hell. Another grim but beautifully done scene in a Gothic style dungeon.
The thrilling chilly ride of the whole movie makes the climax at the end feel that much more gratifying, than any other fairytale with a happy ending. Its a really bright, shining light at the end of the dark tunnel. The way Emerald city comes back to life is truly magical. The beautiful statues, Mombi's showcase victims, the Wheelers and Dorothy's lost friends. The princess coming out of the mirror, the palace, the celebrations; Emerald City never shined this way in "Wizard Of Oz". And finally, the "Cowardly Lion" was as the name should suggest, A LION! So, of course this magical tale deserves a 10! It connects with you and makes you feel real emotions; fear, suspense, sadness, happiness, Everything! It never gave me any nightmares; parts of it are as scary because its the done the way it should be. The story, the scenery, everything makes you delve deep inside and experience the whole RAW journey. Parents should definitely not deny their children this masterpiece. In fact they should just watch it with them. Watch as their kids learn to fear not just "green faced monsters that don't exist", but the "monsters with a human face". During those moments, it was enough holding my father's hand to feel secure because that's how home should feel, safe.
Review by DarkRipper777 from the Internet Movie Database.
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