Speaking of The Wizard of Oz film and television history, which one is the most successful? I think my answer will be this "Return to Oz"/"Back to the Green Fields". In fact, the author of the original book, Lyman Frank Baum, established a film and television company while publishing his paper works, and produced several silent black and white films of the Wizard of Oz fairy tale series, but the good times did not last long. No text. These original black and white films can be said to be the blood and flesh of the father of the country of Oz, but the ending ended in a tragic end that no one cares about. Since the color and sound film "The Wizard of Oz" starring Judy Garland opened up the world, the Wizard of Oz series of fairy tales has been continuously put on the screen and the stage, countless. But there are very few who can do it carefully. Even Judy Garland, a film hailed as an American national treasure, has a lot of outrageous "black history" behind its bright and eye-catching appearance. Today we are going to talk about one of the classics of The Wizard of Oz film and television history - Disney's "Return to Oz".
The film is adapted from the second book of the Wizard of Oz fairy tale series "The Pumpkin Man of Oz" and the third book "Ozma of Oz", which is a sequel to The Wizard of Oz in general. With the help of the magic shoes, Dorothy returns to the farm, but her spirit is getting worse, so Uncle Henry and Aunt Em go to great lengths to take Dorothy to the mental hospital for treatment. There, Dorothy met a girl, rescued her when Dorothy was tied to a bed frame for "treatment" (in fact, the dean admitted patients for treatment, which was actually an evil method of human experimentation). While fleeing, both fell into a flood, Dorothy climbed into a chicken coop, and the girl drowned but disappeared. When Dorothy opened her eyes the next day, Billina the talking hen, the strange tree with the lunch barrel, and the endless desert of death, all proved that this is the homeland of Oz! On the way to the Emerald City, Dorothy discovers that the kingdom of Oz has undergone a great change, and at the same time, King Nome of the underground kingdom is preparing an evil plan...
While showing the charm of fairy tales to the fullest, the film also tells a story worth pondering, the unsatisfactory life of the orphan Dorothy, the tossing and turning between fantasy and reality, the terrible face of the mental hospital, family and friendship The choice between...all contains a certain element of thinking. It not only praises the truth, the good and the beautiful, but also criticizes reality's suppression of children's innocence and imagination, and even more ruthlessly exposes the dark side of society. There are still many points that are still controversial. Fairy tales are not simple fairy tales, and it can be said that they can be seen at a glance in this film.
If you compare it with the illustrations in the original book, you will find that the character creation and situational restoration of this film are perfect. Many characters such as Jack the Pumpkin, Tiny Tick, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man seem to have come out of the book. ...and this is also thanks to director Walter Murch, a devoted fan of the Wizard of Oz series of fairy tales, who spends a lot of time analyzing and referencing the original books, especially the original illustrations, which are an important reference for the film's corner shaping. The main location of the film is in Disney Park in the UK, but more shooting is done indoors. After a clever combination of curtains and props, special effects are used to make the picture immersive and achieve a very realistic effect. Interestingly enough, the film is also partly called an "unofficial sequel" to Judy Garland's version of the film, due to the homage to the former: Dorothy's encounter with the psychiatric asylum. The perverted nurse who arrived was actually the Mumbi witch from the kingdom of Oz, the mysterious girl she met was Ozma, and the ruthless dean was the vicious and violent King Nome. This foreshadowing is also seen in the former: the farm worker and the arrogant lady are Dorothy's companions, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, and the evil witch of the West. This kind of caring relationship hidden in it is actually unique.
Channel 4 TV in the United States once conducted an open poll through the Internet to select the 100 most suitable movies for the whole family to watch, and "Return to Oz" was listed in the top ten movies. And because of its profound ideological connotation, it also makes it one of the greatest films of all time. For fans of the Wizard of Oz series, there has not been such a faithful and meticulous restoration of the original film until now! For today's fast-food film and television production industry, is it also meaningful for reference?
(2020.8.12)
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