I worked on this film for a short time back in 1985. Probaby one of the most troubled film productions Disney was involved with. The studio was going through a real financial crisis at the time. Many films made by Disney flopped at the Box Office like Something Wicked, The Watcher in the Woods and Tron. If it wasn't for George Lucas helping out the production on the budget side of things, this film would've of been shut down by Disney, and Return to Oz wouldn't of been completed as a film. Walter Mirch was under heavy pressure from Disney executives, and the cost was going up all the time. The set design by British Production Designer Norman Reynolds were just superb. Alot of the filming was carried out on Sailsbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, and Elstree Studios. The film didn't conform to what the Walt Disney executives really wanted. They wanted a more colourful film with a happy slappy story that followed the MGM film. What the Disney exec's got was a film that was more darker and faithful to what the Oz books were like. Just look at what Disney have done to the recent Oz films. They are just gooey crap. David Shire's score is a master stroke composition. Shire is one of the unsung heroes of film composition. He's up there with John Williams, John Barry and Bernard Herrmann.
Thanks for that. I always wondered two things, why does Toto change breads? and why did they not use the Magic belt from Ozma of Oz? i would have been ok with never seeing the Ruby slippers or the Silver Shoes again.
well that's why Disney did Oz the Great and Powerful because they wanted to do a film that was more faithful to the 1939 film and they accomplished that successfully in that and I don't think that's the problem but I also appreciate this film for hewing closer to the books give us some variety.
To this day, this movie is still one of my favorites from my childhood. And the music, oh my god so gorgeous! Truly one of the best movie scores ever created. I'm still baffled as to why it was overlooked for an Oscar nomination for best score!
I only just saw this film, in my mid-thirties, and I loved it. They really made some daring and mature children's movies back in the 80's, I can strongly remember as a kid being sad or scared at certain parts of The Return of the Jedi, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, and so on. They weren't afraid to take kids on a real adventure, with highs and lows, and a real sense of peril. The happy ending of these stories was all the sweeter because of the danger and fear the characters endured. In all honesty, I think Return to Oz probably would have been too much for 5-to-8 year old me to handle, and I'm bloody glad it got made at all, it's almost unbelievable to think it's a Disney movie! A true buried gem of a movie, with an excellent score to boot.
It's funny how this movie got such a rough deal for being what it wasn't trying to be. I remember this as a very well-made movie all the way through, and certainly with a lot of more genuine heart than the first movie. It was quite scary and made a big impression. As for the music, for here, that was so well done. Nice.
Thanks for the comments guys. It seems that this film and film score is tending to be an instant portal to everyone's childhood.... this can only add weight to how much this film affected us as kids and therefore proves that it may in fact be the greatest children's film of the last century...
@@sidewayspagan9221 were the early 80s so innocent? it was a very dark decade and the fact this film slips into the realms of the horror genre... it has enough optimism and hope to let a young kid's mind survive it.... that's what makes it special.
@@snafflefilms I wasn't referring to the 80's era being innocent, I meant the innocence of being a kid without mortgages and responsibilities, enjoying the wonder of an epic adventure like this one.
@@sidewayspagan9221 of course... completely agree... it's wonderful isn't it... oh you know what... I'm going to share it here in the next day or two... full HD widescreen.... wait for the link ;)
I was driving through a rural area on a business trip and saw a dilapidated house that looked like it fell from the sky. I was immediately reminded of "Return to Oz" so I pulled over, looked up and played the soundtrack from this channel on my car's bluetooth. This was my first time listening to the sound track alone and was reminded of the composers Howard Hanson, Aaron Copeland and Scott Joplin. If these tracks were edited (in a coherent, non-repetitive way) into a 3-5 movement suite/ symphony it could be another piece of American classical music. Thanks for uploading!
I have always kept the music from Return to oz deep within me...always...since I first saw it as a little boy. Particularly this opening theme. I have always had a melancholy turn, and I had a sort of longing for worlds and times that seemed beyond me in terms of my era and years. This music summed up so much of that so perfectly, this sort of longing in the ruins for the time that has gone by...which is some feat, if you can feel this and you haven't even been through a lot of life yet! The ruined city of oz and the mood of the film also gave me that too, even as a child, although the music encapsulates it more potently. The limbic system of our brains is one of the oldest parts of the brain we possess, and that is the part of our brain which appreciates and processes music. I think, within us, there are are ancestral voices and vistas which only music can touch. Thank you for the upload :)
Loving this expanded soundtrack. Top work on putting up here. Love it that it has become a cult classic now. Im 26 now, and I still watch it at least once a year. Watched it so many times as a kid lol
I saw this movie in theater when I was 5 or 6 I think, I really liked it even if some parts scared me lol and I remember that my dad draw a picture of the movie and I put it on my bedroom wall ;lots of memories lol
1:07 Dorothy looks deeply at his aunt Em on her bed. and his aunt asks if she can sleep, and Dorothy with his head says no ... this part always makes me cry.
+Claire Hunt You are more than welcome Claire... I saw this film aged 7 at a little cinema in the Lake District on holiday.. I'm 37 now... but the memory lives on forever :)
I have this Image of you and your siblings in a static caravan glued to this movie while the weather takes it's toll outside, your family are on a long weekend break ... I see you sat in the middle of your siblings they have fallen asleep while you are in awe of this movie either they are too young or they don't get it ? .... just my vision.
+Claire Hunt Ah no.. even better.. it had just come out in theatres and my mother took my little brother and I to see it in a beautiful little Art Deco cinema in Bowness.... the perfect setting to watch this perfect children's film with all of its darkness & magic :)
there are subtle differences/additions to the original soundtrack, I believe. Even from the beginning, the timpani starts it all off. Very subtle changes
I worked on this film for a short time back in 1985. Probaby one of the most troubled film productions Disney was involved with. The studio was going through a real financial crisis at the time. Many films made by Disney flopped at the Box Office like Something Wicked, The Watcher in the Woods and Tron. If it wasn't for George Lucas helping out the production on the budget side of things, this film would've of been shut down by Disney, and Return to Oz wouldn't of been completed as a film. Walter Mirch was under heavy pressure from Disney executives, and the cost was going up all the time. The set design by British Production Designer Norman Reynolds were just superb. Alot of the filming was carried out on Sailsbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, and Elstree Studios. The film didn't conform to what the Walt Disney executives really wanted. They wanted a more colourful film with a happy slappy story that followed the MGM film. What the Disney exec's got was a film that was more darker and faithful to what the Oz books were like. Just look at what Disney have done to the recent Oz films. They are just gooey crap. David Shire's score is a master stroke composition. Shire is one of the unsung heroes of film composition. He's up there with John Williams, John Barry and Bernard Herrmann.
Thanks for that. I always wondered two things, why does Toto change breads? and why did they not use the Magic belt from Ozma of Oz? i would have been ok with never seeing the Ruby slippers or the Silver Shoes again.
The movie was way ahead of its time, and the soundtrack beautiful. Thanks for your post.
john smith I love watcher in the woods
well that's why Disney did Oz the Great and Powerful because they wanted to do a film that was more faithful to the 1939 film and they accomplished that successfully in that and I don't think that's the problem but I also appreciate this film for hewing closer to the books give us some variety.
wwozanewmusical they did that because Disney wanted some references to the 1939 film.
To this day, this movie is still one of my favorites from my childhood. And the music, oh my god so gorgeous! Truly one of the best movie scores ever created. I'm still baffled as to why it was overlooked for an Oscar nomination for best score!
Because Oscars and awards in Hollywood are reserved for Propaganda films like American Diaper and utter shit like it.
I love the flutter of the flutes, the double basses, violins, violas, cellos, and timpani at the beginning.
I agree, it's a beautiful peice of the soundtrack..
I only just saw this film, in my mid-thirties, and I loved it. They really made some daring and mature children's movies back in the 80's, I can strongly remember as a kid being sad or scared at certain parts of The Return of the Jedi, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, and so on. They weren't afraid to take kids on a real adventure, with highs and lows, and a real sense of peril. The happy ending of these stories was all the sweeter because of the danger and fear the characters endured. In all honesty, I think Return to Oz probably would have been too much for 5-to-8 year old me to handle, and I'm bloody glad it got made at all, it's almost unbelievable to think it's a Disney movie! A true buried gem of a movie, with an excellent score to boot.
It's funny how this movie got such a rough deal for being what it wasn't trying to be. I remember this as a very well-made movie all the way through, and certainly with a lot of more genuine heart than the first movie. It was quite scary and made a big impression. As for the music, for here, that was so well done. Nice.
Everything about this movie was just perfect.
Thanks for the comments guys. It seems that this film and film score is tending to be an instant portal to everyone's childhood.... this can only add weight to how much this film affected us as kids and therefore proves that it may in fact be the greatest children's film of the last century...
Hello Henry Krinkle!
Yeah it's memories of much more innocent times. The music and wonder of this film always spoke strongly to me. Love it.
@@sidewayspagan9221 were the early 80s so innocent? it was a very dark decade and the fact this film slips into the realms of the horror genre... it has enough optimism and hope to let a young kid's mind survive it.... that's what makes it special.
@@snafflefilms I wasn't referring to the 80's era being innocent, I meant the innocence of being a kid without mortgages and responsibilities, enjoying the wonder of an epic adventure like this one.
@@sidewayspagan9221 of course... completely agree... it's wonderful isn't it... oh you know what... I'm going to share it here in the next day or two... full HD widescreen.... wait for the link ;)
Shire is a Genius. This is sublime & FAR ahead of it's time. Not sure why they thwarted his efforts after this film.
I was driving through a rural area on a business trip and saw a dilapidated house that looked like it fell from the sky. I was immediately reminded of "Return to Oz" so I pulled over, looked up and played the soundtrack from this channel on my car's bluetooth. This was my first time listening to the sound track alone and was reminded of the composers Howard Hanson, Aaron Copeland and Scott Joplin. If these tracks were edited (in a coherent, non-repetitive way) into a 3-5 movement suite/ symphony it could be another piece of American classical music. Thanks for uploading!
I have always kept the music from Return to oz deep within me...always...since I first saw it as a little boy. Particularly this opening theme. I have always had a melancholy turn, and I had a sort of longing for worlds and times that seemed beyond me in terms of my era and years. This music summed up so much of that so perfectly, this sort of longing in the ruins for the time that has gone by...which is some feat, if you can feel this and you haven't even been through a lot of life yet! The ruined city of oz and the mood of the film also gave me that too, even as a child, although the music encapsulates it more potently. The limbic system of our brains is one of the oldest parts of the brain we possess, and that is the part of our brain which appreciates and processes music. I think, within us, there are are ancestral voices and vistas which only music can touch. Thank you for the upload :)
My god this track just takes me back in time when I was really little watching this for the first time with my mum and dad. Thanks for uploading.
+chrisliam2 You're welcome :)
Loving this expanded soundtrack. Top work on putting up here. Love it that it has become a cult classic now. Im 26 now, and I still watch it at least once a year. Watched it so many times as a kid lol
I'm 30 now and still watching it. I have a daughter now who watches it also. I've probably seen it 200+ times.
I saw this movie in theater when I was 5 or 6 I think, I really liked it even if some parts scared me lol and I remember that my dad draw a picture of the movie and I put it on my bedroom wall ;lots of memories lol
1:07 Dorothy looks deeply at his aunt Em on her bed. and his aunt asks if she can sleep, and Dorothy with his head says no ... this part always makes me cry.
Saw it as an adult in the cinema a long time ago when it came out, and loved it immediately. Thank you!
Outstanding score
Wow this takes me to a place in my mind back as a child loved this film in awe of emerald always magical Thank YOU !!!!
+Claire Hunt You are more than welcome Claire... I saw this film aged 7 at a little cinema in the Lake District on holiday.. I'm 37 now... but the memory lives on forever :)
I have this Image of you and your siblings in a static caravan glued to this movie while the weather takes it's toll outside, your family are on a long weekend break ... I see you sat in the middle of your siblings they have fallen asleep while you are in awe of this movie either they are too young or they don't get it ? .... just my vision.
+Claire Hunt Ah no.. even better.. it had just come out in theatres and my mother took my little brother and I to see it in a beautiful little Art Deco cinema in Bowness.... the perfect setting to watch this perfect children's film with all of its darkness & magic :)
Beautiful
Love this so much! Danke for posting.
Tanks so much my friend. Whit this OST i can remember my childhood.
not sure you can my friend - I will do an HD version for everyone and paste a link for you to convert the videos to mp3 using the youtube URL.
I love this soundtrack but what the heck does with Sweeteners mean?
I’ve wondered this myself
there are subtle differences/additions to the original soundtrack, I believe. Even from the beginning, the timpani starts it all off. Very subtle changes
Where can I purchase the individual tracks for the Return to Oz expanded soundtrack?
just a quick question where did you get the extended soundtrack?