“40th Anniversary of Walt Disney’s RETURN TO OZ (1985) w/ Director Walter Murch IN-PERSON” April 9, 2026
MOViES FOR MANiACS is thrilled to return to The Castro with an extremely rare archival 35mm screening of Walt Disney’s underrated cult classic RETURN TO OZ (1985). This special event will celebrate the film’s 40th Anniversary alongside the writer/director Walter Murch” who will be IN-PERSON to discuss the film and his illustrious career in a post-screening Q&A, hosted by curator Jesse Hawthorne Ficks. The evening will showcase Mr. Murch as the actual “godfather of sound design” and is sure to remind you that going to the movies is a truly magical experience!
Walter Murch is an Academy Award winning sound designer and film editor, who worked his Oscar magic on Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER trilogy, THE CONVERSATION (1974) and APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), as well as George Lucas’ AMERiCAN GRAFFiTi (1973) and Anthony Mingella’s THE ENGlISH PATiENT (1996), which won him two Oscars: one for Film Editing and one for Sound Mixing.
Return to Oz 7:30 pm
Released in 1985, 113 minutes long
Directed by Walter Murch Written by Walter Murch, Gil Dennis Cinematography by David Watkin Containing Fairuza Balk, Piper Laurie, Brian Henson, Jean Marsh
Paving the (yellow brick) road for Pixar Animation and LAiKA Studios to make more complex family films, Walter Murch’s uniquely surreal vision for RETURN TO OZ (1985) is adapted from L. Frank Baum’s turn-of-the-century follow-up novels “The Land of Oz” and “Ozma of Oz”. Led by an incredible performance by a 10-year-old Fairuza Balk (THE CRAFT), brace yourself for a profoundly mesmerizing journey as Dorothy and her new batch of eccentric friends (TikTok, Billina, The Gump and Jack Pumpkinhead) take on all the wonders of Oz, including a Nome King, a haunting headless witch and a gaggle of unsettling Wheelers.
It’s time to re-evaluate this misunderstood masterpiece that showcases Oscar nominated Special Effects by The Jim Henson Company and stop-motion-animation by Will Vinton studios. Rated PG (though the film does include some frightening & intense sequences that might make the rating closer to a PG-13.) Running Time: 113 minutes Archival 35mm Print courtesy of Walt Disney.
*NOTE: Special Guest Walter Murch will be available before the screening (schedule permitting) to sign his latest book, “Suddenly Something Clicked: The Languages of Film Editing and Sound Design”.
