Sam Raimi does a remarkable job on multiple levels in creating a reboot of the Wizard of Oz franchise with Disney’s “Oz: The Great and Powerful” ($44.99 for only one 3D disc — the standard Blu-ray disc must be purchased separately).
As good as the visuals were displayed on the giant IMAX screens when the movie was released theatrically in March, it looks terrific and even brighter on Blu-ray 3D.
What’s as pleasantly surprising as anything is the effective use of 3D in the first pre-Oz segment, which, like the 1939 MGM version, is not only in black and white, but also in a reduced film frame size, and runs a substantial 20-minutes.
In fact, the 3D can be more effective in this format as objects can appear to leave the screen by simply crossing over the reduced film borders into the black matte filling the rest of the film frame. Raimi exploits this opportunity several times, especially when James Franco as the soon-to-be-Wizard ascends in the ill-fated hot air balloon and immediately gets caught in a tornado (not such great timing for scary tornado scenes so soon after the tornadoes caused fatalities and widespread damage in Oklahoma). Ropes and other objects, as well as snow-like flakes fly around the screen to great effect of depth.
Perhaps the movie’s greatest effect comes next as Raimi heightens the impact of the transition to color by not only introducing colors one at a time, beginning with blues, but also cleverly and slowly expands the film frame itself . There is so much going on all at once to dazzle the eye that some viewers don’t even realize the film frame has expanded to fill the screen (horizontally here, leaving black bars on the top and bottom, though it seems like it filled the entire screen in IMAX theaters).
Now we see 3D in vibrantly saturated colors as Oscar crashes in rushing river waters and waterfalls and comes to a crashing halt near the first of three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis). Here river fairies quickly surround Oscar and expose the depth separation once again, though they do not pop out of the screen as one would hope.
The movie itself is an enjoyable back-story about the origins of the Wixard, a struggling carnival magician who gets also gets blown to Oz during a tornado. But wait, wasn’t Dorothy just dreaming the whole thing? Oh, nevermind.
Raimi offers a pleasing blend of references and re-creations of familiar set pieces, characters, and situations from the 1939 movie, such the Munchkins, flying monkeys, poppy fields, and of course the yellow brick road, while also introducing new characters, the most notable of which is the little China doll, one of several who also live in the black-and-white world of Kansas as well as the colorful land of Oz, just as in the MGM version.
Franco plays Oscar with a somewhat overly smug and cavalier personality but it works well enough. He also produced a short collection of his interviews of Raimi and the cast for a mildly enjoyable bonus feature. And he and others are amusing in the blooper reel.
As usual, the bonus features are on the standard 2D Blu-ray disc; the somewhat disturbing difference here is that the 2D disc must be purchased separately.
The most notable of the other bonus features (once again, no featurette on the production process of the 3D) is a fascinatingly illuminating 10-minute featurette called “Walt Disney and the Road to Oz” about Disney’s long-held but unrealized efforts to create a live-action version of the series of Oz books by Frank L. Baum before and long after MGM’s release. He even prepped a live-action musical version to be shot as a two-part TV production and released in theaters like his Davy Crockett film/TV miniseries, which would star the young Mousketeers from the Mickey Mouse Club (footage included here). But when he decided it wasn’t ready for prime-time , he went ahead with a different film shot like a TV movie for theatrical release and starring some Mousketeers called “Babes in Toyland.” Meanwhile, the release of “West Side Story” made Disney realize he realized he needed to think bigger for live-action musicals. That led to the production of “Mary Poppins.” Before Disney could use those production techniques for his Oz movie, he died.
The Disney studios produced “Return to Oz” in 1985 but although it featured critically praised visual effects, it was unsuccessful.
And now “Oz” has become a huge success with $234 million at the domestic box-office and $491 mil. worldwide.
— By Scott Hettrick
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