moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (06/22/85)
I'll be brief about this -- I'm surprised to see two such good films in one
night -- but I just got back from RETURN TO OZ, and I can safely say that if
you do not dislike the OZ stories (and style) in the first place, and if you
are not a stickler for OZ continuity ("Wait a second! The distance from
Munchkinland to The Emerald City is MILES!"), you could not be more
satisfied with this picture. The humor, the characters, and the entire feel
is Oz to the hilt. Great kids picture, but believe me, adults have plenty
to enjoy too. The story starts a little slowly, but as soon as Dorothy
reaches Oz, it works perfectly. Nichol Williamson is the only actor I
recognize, but he is fantastic; it seems he waits for five years and then
puts out a magnificent screen performance (what a voice!).
The technical effects are amazing. Number one, this film does not look
cheap. I could go again just to catch the detail I missed at first.
Opulent sets combined with attention to detail (the dust on the floor as
Tik-Tok and Dorothy enter the castle). The stuff I've seen is very good,
but the best work is Will Vinton's Claymation stuff for the Gnome King and
his crew. Exquisite detail, combined with smooth effect. Each effect in
itself was not new, but they blended in with the live action so well that it
seemed as if no matte lines existed (in most cases -- the free-fall scenes
looked SUPERMANish).
Well worth $5 also. That makes two very good Summer fantasy films so far.
"I'm afraid I left my mouth running when my brain had run down."
"That's all right, Tik-Tok, it happens to people all the time..."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
UUCP:
{cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsri}!uw-beaver \
{allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty
ARPA:
fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPAdavidl@orca.UUCP (David Levine) (06/24/85)
I, too, loved /Return to Oz/. This is a film with the texture of a dream,
believable and lovable.
> ... -- the free-fall scenes looked SUPERMANish).
This is because they were done by Zoltan Persic (sp?), whose "Zoptic" process
was first used in /Superman/. Zoltan was in the credits, and the Zoptic logo
appeared at the end of the credits.
There were more different special-effects techniques in this film than any
other I've seen. Muppet-style creature effects (producer Gary Kurtz also
produced /The Dark Crystal/), Claymation, Disney matte paintings, traveling
matte work from Superman, and complex mechanicals using Lucasfilm technology
all blended into a consistent fantasy universe combining dream and nightmare.
The characters (even a talking chicken!) became real characters, despite the
fact that most of them were not actually living beings.
Disney has a real winner with this one. Now let's see /The Black Cauldron/...
David D. Levine (...decvax!tektronix!orca!davidl) [UUCP]
(orca!davidl.tektronix@csnet-relay.csnet) [ARPA]
(P.S. Anybody know exactly what the "Special thanks to George Lucas"
at the end was for?)reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (06/27/85)
In article <1583@orca.UUCP> davidl@orca.UUCP (David Levine) writes: > >Disney has a real winner with this one. Now let's see /The Black Cauldron/... > I have some reservations about "Return to Oz", but basically I liked it. I think it's a splendid film for children, and if it doesn't make a lot of money I will have no more sympathy for parents who moan about the dearth of children's films. >(P.S. Anybody know exactly what the "Special thanks to George Lucas" > at the end was for?) Walter Murch, the director, is the foremost sound editor in Hollywood (or the world, for that matter) and a fine film editor, too. Having done the grunt work for years on many successful films, he finally got a chance to direct the film he always wanted to make, an Oz movie. Alas, his experience had been of two kinds: student films and postproduction, and "Return to Oz" proved to be an enormously complex film, especially because it involved so many mechanical characters which usually didn't do what they were supposed to do. Murch essentially collapsed under the pressure. He more or less stopped shooting the picture. Fortunately for him, Walter Murch had friends, notably George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Coppola. All three of these men had worked extensively with Murch before, and Lucas and Murch were good friends back at USC. All three flew to London at various times to help out. Coppola and Spielberg essentially gave moral support. Lucas' help apparently was more substantial, and he stayed for a week or two. According to the released account, they made it sound like he just said helpful things to Murch and awed everyone with the fact that George Lucas was on the set. Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like he reorganized the production for Murch, then handed it back to him. Lucas did not shoot any footage according to all accounts I've seen. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa soon to be reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher
gm@trsvax (07/01/85)
>> (P.S. Anybody know exactly what the "Special thanks to George Lucas" >> at the end was for?) George Lucas and Walter(?) Murch were at U.S.C. film school together and have been friends since then. Murch has worked as a film editor on some of Lucas's movies, "American Grafitti" I think. Murch was signed to do Oz and part of the way through filming he strarted having some sort of undisclosed problems (budget?). Disney execs were getting worried and discussed dumping Murch and bringing in a new director. Lucas flew to London and stepped in on the film and helped get things back under control. He supposedly directed a few scenes himself. Lucas: "Hi, mind if I help out my old buddy Murch?" Disney exec: "Acck! Sure, n-n-no problem Mr. Lucas Sir" Disney saw things were going all right and let Murch finish the movie. I read that Francis Ford Coppola came over and worked with Murch also. FFC: "Hi, mind if I help out my old buddy Murch?" Disney exec: "Acck! Acck! Sure, no problem Mr. Coppola." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Calvin? My name's not Calvin!" "But that's the name on your underwear." gm@trsvax