The Wizard

I need to mention that this review is or the 2018 Blu-ray release of the film (Amazon, if you're reading this: just because it's the same film doesn't mean its the same experience - separate the reviews by release, please!)This is one of those niche films that despite well-deserved criticism, I've always had a fondness for. I saw it in the theater, and already own it on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD.This release is about as bare-bones as they come. The first thing you'll notice if you're looking is that the cover looks like a cheap blurry over-saturated printout. I've personally designed and printed better looking covers than this with free tools and a half-broken printer. The second thing you'll probably notice is that when you put the disc in the player, instead of going to a menu, it just starts playing. The reason it does this is because it has no menu. Why does it have no menu? Because the only option is whether to turn the subtitles on or off. There are no chapter names or previews, no audio options, nothing.The film is presented in 1080p, but it was clearly scaled up from a lower-resolution transfer. The scaling artifacts are subtle and probably won't interfere with your enjoyment of the film. Honestly, it was never much to look at in the first place.The criticism I most often hear about this film is that it was a 90-minute Nintendo commercial. I've never really agreed with that assessment though. It may just be rose-colored glasses, but between the handful of awkward almost spliced-in scenes of adults playing video games, there's actually a decent and emotional story about friendship, family, and perseverance. It's true that without its obvious and prominent relation to Nintendo fandom, it would be even more obscure than it is today, but it is by no means bereft of value as a good family film.

God I miss the 80's and 90's - such beautiful, simple times when family values were at the core of American society and we didn't have all this dumb "cancel culture" and "BLM" and "get offended by anything and everything" ..... just amazingly peaceful and amazing times. I was born in 1980 and lived through the 80's and 90's and it was ........ bliss.This movie takes me back to those awesome times. If you're from this era too - this should definitely be on your playlist.God Bless!

I pre-ordered the release put out by Shout Factory and have not been disappointed. Most of their releases are top notch and this is no exception. 2 Blurays are included and contain a new 4k master scan of the film and a bunch of deleted scenes that make the movie make more sense because a lot of background info is missing from the final theatrical cut. Also at the time of this review, the Universal release and the Shout Factory release cost about the same and the Shout Factory version is far superior in every way. Do NOT buy the Universal release.

After reading a few negative reviews, I thought I'd put in my two cents for those considering buying this version.I pre-ordered the collector's edition two disc Blu-ray a couple of months ago and just received it today. It's really well put together and full of extras. (About 40 minutes of deleted scenes, a 40 minute "making of" documentary, etc.) I haven't checked the resolution on my computer yet, but it sure looks like 4K on my television screen. I am very impressed with the job done on this and although the movie itself is not for everybody, if you're a fan this is definitely something you'll want to pick up.TL:DR - great product that exceeded my expectations.

The Wizard is one of those movies with a fixed audience; if you weren’t already a fan by 1990, you probably missed the boat. For those already initiated, the Shout! Factory Blu-Ray is about the best anyone could ask for in a standard Blu-Ray release. Not only is the image quality excellent, there are nearly 40 minutes of deleted scenes. So often, the deleted footage offered as movie disc extras are just bloat that was trimmed from the theatrical release with good reason. While there are such snippets included with The Wizard, the majority of the material is very substantial, suggesting that the original vision was for a far more mature and nuanced film.

One of the finest family films ever made finally gets the treatment it deserves, including plenty of commentary from the cast, crew, fans, and even a clinical psychologist on the real theme of this movie: trauma and grief processing. (I suspect, ironically, that critics and cynics of The Wizard do so because of deep-seated emotional pain similar to Jimmy's.)The transfer and audio are outstanding--so crisp and immersive. There's a full second disc of extras in addition to Todd Holland's commentary and 37 minutes of deleted scenes on the feature disc. I think the film works better without the deleted scenes, as they make Christine much more antagonistic and lessen the credibility of her turnaround in the end, but they are interesting to see. Pick up this set. You will not be disappointed.

Comparing to today's movies, this one is fairly cheesy, but I first saw this movie when I was fairly little. Only reason why I decided to add it to my Amazon collection is solely for nostalgia. For me, it was nice to watch with my kids and they actually liked it as well. They giggled here and there, but they are fairly little, about the age I was when I saw this film.I'm not going to get into the whole story of it since I'm sure the preview and other reviews have spilled enough about it. Its just nice to see a film once in a while that isnt packed full of derogatory stuff and its just classic in it's own way.

Region Free & Works in the UK! Great Movie!Brings back childhood memories. Played the ex-rental VHS version to death as a kid! Everyone from the 80s and 90s will immediately relate to this film. For everyone else, who doesn’t like Nintendo?

good film , I saw it when I was a kid and wanted to watch it again and is a good film

Classic 80's movie. Bought as a gift. Went down well.

Region locked and will not play on uk hardware tried on xbox one and playstation 4

Great film