Tin Man [Blu-ray] [2007]

This is a wonderful and extremely entertaining program. Zooey Deschanel does a wonderful job as DG, a girl who travels to OZ after having some troubling dreams. She befriends Glitch, Cain and Raw and travels down an old yellow brick road to find the Mystic Man, a man who can help her find the answers to her past and her future.
One of the best things about this is what they've done with the original Wizard of Oz story - so many people have twisted this classic tale and made it their own, but this is no less entertaining because of it. They even manage to work the original story into this one, in one of the many twists and turns you get.
The actors and actresses are all well cast, and Kathleen Robertson does a wonderful job as Azkadellia, the evil witch who is determined to cast OZ into eternal darkness.
The only negative is that I'm not quite sure why this is being sold as a "Collectors Edition". There are two disks, so the whole series is collected here. There is also an extras section, but nothing else to mark this as any more outstanding than an ordinary DVD would be. Perhaps I missed something. The show itself, though, I could find very little fault with. Good story, entertaining, and brilliant special effects. This is a must watch for a dull weekend!

The idea to take the basic ideas from the wizard of Oz & mix them up into a lengthier TV production is simple enough.
However the writers & director here have created something entirely different while still looking back to the original. Dorothy is an older & feistier character altogether with Zooey Dechanel balancing kooky with bravery well as DG and Alan Cummings straw man varient Glitch is well judged and easily the most sympathetic of the characters. They are joined by Neil Mcdonough's sheriff/tin man, seemingly heartless after his families cruel treatment, Raoul Trujillo's rather weak Raw, the lion of course and Blu Mankouma's not to be trusted Toto.
Best of all is Kathleen Robertson's unhinged older sister to DG, Azkadellia. A megalomaniacal sibling with a grudge who is destroying the Ozee, (Oz),.
There's a plot of some emerald that needs to be found, family members to meet and that wicked sister to be stopped. It isn't important as you'll pick it up as it goes along. It's well paced, has some great idea's and manages to hold everything together right up until the end.
While it resembles the original Frank L Baum ideas more than the most famous film version it maintains the movies charm and sense of wonderment. It avoids trying to be hip or some action packed CGI fest and goes for atmosphere and is all the better for it.

As for the Blu Ray, well it is a single disc affair with only scene selection as an extra. However it is a big improvement over the DVD in terms of both picture and sound. The HD transfer, 1080p, is far sharper than the DVD release and it really shines in the many outdoor scenes which have a greater sense of depth and colour. However there remains the problem with those few scenes where the CGI is dodgy. These remain a bit naff from time to time and are shown up even more in a sharper format. So too the CGI heavy scenes within the city can become a little noisy when dark.
The sound works well. Ignore the packaging's statement of stereo, this has DTS HD 5.1,. This adds a lot of detail to the rear effects and sends the sub way lower than the DVD. It's a big improvement over the DVD which I found a bit lacking. This also puts the vocals up front and centre so that every word is clear and easily followed.
This is not a reference standard disc, no extra's and although sound and vision are upped this is not up to the standard of the best blockbuster releases out there. But that's not really what this is for. If you enjoyed this charming and very re-watchable four and a half hours of fantasy then the small cost of upgrading to blu ray is a worthwhile investment that will be repaid by an even more immersive experience as the whole atmosphere pulls you even further into the story.
If you've not seen this before then this costs peanuts and is an enjoyable fable well told that see's the Blu Ray conceding extra's but beating the DVD hands down in both picture and audio.

This was a very good dvd,i bought it second hand,and the quality was excellent. The whole film is loosely based on the Wizard of Oz,but with a modern feel to it,it has good acting and the storyline was great. I would highly recommend it.!!