Return to Oz (1985) | Walter Murch

Nine months after her Oz experience, Dorothy wants to return to check in with her friends. Aunt Em thinks Dorothy is mentally ill. She seeks treatment from an experimental clinic using electroshock therapy to treat maladies of the mind. Dorothy is taken to an eerie clinic run by an uncaring Dr. Worley and the stern […]

Willow (1988) | Ron Howard

The story involves Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a farmer who dreams of becoming a sorcerer’s apprentice among the Nerwyns, which are a race of little people. One day, he encounters a baby who has washed onto the riverbank near his farm. The baby, who we come to learn is named Elora Danan, is a Daikini, […]

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) | Ken & Jim Wheat

The moon of Endor gets attacked by a vicious band of thuggish Sanyassan marauders, whose ancestors also crashlanded on Endor some time ago, and a powerful shape-shifting sorceress named Charal under the leadership of King Terak.  They attack the Ewok village, taking the crashed Towani ship’s power source after killing Cindel’s family, then take away […]

The Ewok Adventure | Caravan of Courage (1984)

George Lucas’s story for this made-for-TV spin-off from the Star Wars films involves a spacecraft that crash lands on Endor. The mother and father spend the film looking for their two children, a fourteen-year-old named Mace Towani and his four-year-old sister, Cindel, not knowing that they’ve been taken in by the kindly Ewoks whose village […]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) | Steven Spielberg

Last Crusade begins with River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones, even at a young age, having a thirst for adventure.  His father (Connery), who is also professor of Medieval literature, is acutely obsessed with tracking down any information he can get regarding the whereabouts of the legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the […]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) | Steven Spielberg

While INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM is a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, it’s really a prequel, set in 1935, a year before.  Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) finds himself in Shanghai on the hunt for a precious diamond, but gets in over his head, chased out of town with his assistant, a young […]

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) | Steven Spielberg

The year is 1936, just before the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime.  Hitler has been seeking the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, the container for the original tablets containing the Ten Commandments, reportedly used by God’s people in the days of old to crush their enemies using its vast powers.  For over 2,000 […]

The Land Before Time (1988) | Don Bluth

Don Bluth collaborates with executive producer Steven Spielberg again, this time also joining forces with George Lucas for THE LAND BEFORE TIME, the film that would kick off a series of ten additional straight-to-video animated features for kids.  Dinosaurs were all the rage, and Bluth and co. rode the wave to box office success with […]

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi | Richard Marquand

This final entry sees the Empire creating a new Death Star, a feat with such magnitude, even the Emperor himself has come to oversee the progress.  Meanwhile, a rescue attempt is underway to try to spring Han Solo from his icy trap in Jabba the Hut’s lair.  Luke has grown in his Jedi training, but […]

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back | Irvin Kershner

The Empire Strikes Back continues the Star Wars saga in exciting fashion, with the Empire now having driven the Rebels from their secret base to another on an ice planet called Hoth. The Empire eventually locates this new base, forcing an evacuation, whereupon a more experienced Luke is told by the “spirit” (aka Force Ghost) […]