While the “Tin Man” miniseries isn’t bad, this budget release however isn’t very good. Although it is nice all of the features were ported over, placing a 4+ hour show on one disc really dilutes the video and audio presentation to average levels compared with the original RHI release which was far better and still available for purchase on Amazon.com for (at the time of this writing) only a couple bucks more.
“Tin Man” The Complete Mini-Series (2007)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Fantasy, Drama, Comedy
Mill Creek | NR – 268 min. – $14.98 | May 14, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Nick Willing
Writer(s): L. Frank Baum (“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” Novels); Craig Van Sickle & Steven Long Mitchell (story), Craig Van Sickle & Steven Long Mitchell & Jill Blotevogel (teleplay)
Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Neal McDonough, Richard Dreyfuss
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Gag Reel
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH
Disc Size: NA
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 3.0/5
Plot Outline: Hordes of winged monkey-bats, a shape-shifting dog, and a cyber-punk sorceress can all be found in the vast hidden underworld known as The O.Z. When small-town waitress D.G. (ZOOEY DESCHANEL) unexpectedly lands in the dangerous wasteland known as The O.Z., she’ll need the help of three unlikely friends – Glitch (ALAN CUMMING), Wyatt Cain (NEAL MCDONOUGH) and Raw (RAOUL TRUJILLO) — and the great Mystic Man (RICHARD DREYFUSS) to escape cruel sorceress Azkadellia (KATHLEEN ROBERTSON).
Quick Hit Review: Not very well received when it aired and in its subsequent DVD and Blu-ray releases three years ago, “Tin Man” isn’t as bad of a movie as has been presented on the Net. Sure, there are many flaws but as with any of the numerous movies and TV specials that tackle some form of L. Frank Baum’s masterworks, this one takes liberties attempting to stand out from the others. Zooey Deschanel is sweet in the Dorothy role, Alan Cumming is charming as The Scarecrow and Richard Dreyfuss, for his smaller part, seems to have some fun. No, it’s not a great mini-series nor is it anything memorable, but for kids might be worth one viewing.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
All of the features from the RHI 2010 release have been ported over:
Beyond the Yellow Brick Road (21:55) is a behind-the-scenes featurette showing some on-set footage, interviews with the filmmakers and cast.
On the Set with the Director (6:02) – Nick Willing takes us on a tour of the set and locations. It’s more or less the same stuff seen in the previous featurette, just with more comments by the cast and crew talking about the director.
The Gag Reel (9:21) is filled with your usual flubbed lines and on-set antics.
The Brain, Heart and Courage of the Movie are interviews with the cast and crew including Director Nick Willing (24:15), Alan Cumming (11:23), Neal McDonough (9:35), Zooey Deschanel (14:48) and Kathleen Robertson (10:26).
“Tin Man” Original Trailer (2:21)
Raw and Uncut: A Sit Down with Raoul Trujillo (15:40) is more interview footage, this time with the actor playing the Cowardly Lion… I mean, Raw. Not sure why this wasn’t included in the interview section.
Making the Mystic Man (36:36) – This is a fly-on-the-wall featurette looks at the creation of the character.
VIDEO – 3.75/5
“Tin Man” comes to Blu-ray a second time courtesy of Mill Creek even though the RHI released version is still available on Amazon.com. The movie, presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio, doesn’t look bad but it’s hardly amazing. The detail level is flat and not terribly impressive but the color array seems to be smooth and has a bit of pop.
AUDIO – 3.0/5
Where the disc really falters is in the audio department. The RHI release had a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track but because Mill Creek put all three parts of the miniseries on one disc (whereas the other was spread across 2 discs), the audio had to be downgraded to a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track. It’s not a bad track, as the dialogue levels sound good, but hardly dynamic.
OVERALL – 2.0/5
Overall, while the “Tin Man” miniseries isn’t bad, this budget release however isn’t very good. Although it is nice all of the features were ported over, placing a 4+ hour show on one disc really dilutes the video and audio presentation to average levels compared with the original RHI release which was far better and still available for purchase on Amazon.com for (at the time of this writing) only a couple bucks more. Skip this release.
Published: 05/26/2013