Return to Oz
Director: Walter Murch Run Time: 113 min. Format: 35mm Rating: PG Release Year: 1985
Starring: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Made over 40 years after the beloved The Wizard of Oz, the sole directing credit of picture & sound editor Walter Murch (The Godfather Trilogy) was nightmare fuel for a generation that grew up watching it on cable and/or VHS. The story of Dorothy picks up six months after the tornado that whisked her away, finding her sleepless and useless on the farm. Auntie Em sees electrotherapy as the only solution for what she thinks are hallucinations, but the sanitarium proves to be the gateway back to Oz for Dorothy, where she collects a new assemblage of Island of Misfit Toy friends and finds new foes in the Nome King and the head-swapping Princess Mombi.
Whether or not the asylum screams and the frenzied laughter of the Wheelers have haunted you for decades, we invite you to quiver like a child for this most dark fairy tale full of imaginative practical effects and puppetry.
Night Owl Video is proud to present the next in our Video Store Gems series: Walter Murch’s 1985 fever dream Return to Oz. A flop upon first release, the film has gained a dedicated cult following for its production design, talking chicken and unending weirdness. Fairuza Balk (in her debut performance) stars as a damaged Dorothy Gale, who escapes the harsh realities of Kansan shock treatment to the land of Oz, now a twisted and deformed version of what she once knew. With the help of her friends Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok, Belinda and The Gump, she embarks on a quest to restore Oz to the wonderful land she once knew. Presented on glorious 35mm film and featuring a pre-show giveaway of Return to Oz merchandise! Death to Streamers, Physical Media Forever!!!