MOViES FOR MANiACS is thrilled to return to The Castro on April 9, 2026. Curated and hosted by Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, this film series has celebrated underrated and overlooked films on Bay Area screens for 25 years. These once-in-a-lifetime cinematic experiences (often showcasing the filmmakers in person) remind you that “going to the movies” is a magical experience. Mark your calendar and tell your friends — MOViES FOR MANiACS has a slew of cult classics and special guests on the horizon.

“MOViES FOR MANiACS is thrilled to return to The Castro with an extremely rare archival 35mm screening of Walt Disney’s underrated cult classic Return to Oz (1985). This special event will celebrate the film’s 40th Anniversary alongside the writer/director Walter Murch”” who will be IN-PERSON to discuss the film and his illustrious career in a post-screening Q&A, hosted by curator Jesse Hawthorne Ficks.

Return to Oz (1985) is adapted from L. Frank Baum’s turn-of-the-century follow-up novels “”The Land of Oz”” and “”Ozma of Oz””. Led by an incredible performance by a 10-year-old Fairuza Balk (The Craft), brace yourself for a profoundly mesmerizing journey as Dorothy and her new batch of eccentric friends (TikTok, Billina, The Gump and Jack Pumpkinhead) take on all the wonders of Oz, including a Nome King, a haunting headless witch and a gaggle of unsettling Wheelers. It’s time to re-evaluate this mesmerizing misunderstood masterpiece that showcases Oscar nominated Special Effects by The Jim Henson Company and stop-motion-animation by Will Vinton studios

*NOTE: Special Guest Walter Murch will be available before the screening (schedule permitting) to sign his latest book, “”Suddenly Something Clicked: The Languages of Film Editing and Sound Design””.

WALTER MURCH
Walter Murch is an Academy Award winning sound designer and film editor, who worked his Oscar magic on Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy, The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979), as well as George Lucas’ American Graffiti (1973) and Anthony Mingella’s The English Patient (1996), which won him two Oscars: one for Film Editing and one for Sound Mixing.”