Tin Man – Collector’s Edition (Genius/RHI TV Mini-Series)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C- Episodes: C-
Had
enough of bad revisitings of The Wizard
Of Oz? Here’s a TV mini-series with
the interesting Zooey Deschanel as a waitress who become a new Dorothy called Tin Man. Though the makers were able to land Alan
Cumming and Richard Dreyfuss, the adaptation teleplay briefly, initially
promises some interesting revisionist ideas on the book and myth, but as soon
as otherworldly figures appear, it all regresses into another not-too-funny
Fantasy genre romp with dumb jokes and zero point.
The
actors and production are wasted, though it was doomed to failure. You know you’re in trouble when the actual
Yellow Brick Road looks like it was painted (literally or digitally) with low
budget paint in a hardware store’s closeout section. Instead, add this to casualties like The Wiz and Return To Oz and stick with the 1939 film.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft throughout, looks like it was
shot on video (sometimes a generation or two down) and is loaded with motion
blur throughout. The Dolby Digital 5.1
mix is better than expected with some lively and often dippy surround choices
that only add to the sense of dumbness.
Extras include a gag reel, interview piece and two featurettes for those
who make it though the 265 minutes of torture.
- Nicholas Sheffo
