It always amuses us when people debate the best video game-based movie of all time, because, in our opinion, there's only one choice – and it stars Fred Savage.
The Wizard may have been a critical and commercial dud on its initial 1989 release, but it has gone down in history as a cult classic and it's about to get a special 30th anniversary Blu-ray release.
The two-disc package boasts new pixel-based cover artwork and an abundance of special bonus features, including:
- “The Road to Cali-forn-ia” – A Look Back At The Wizard Including Brand-New Interviews With Todd Holland, Stars Fred Savage And Luke Edwards, Writer/Producer David Chisholm; Producer Ken Topolsky; And More!
- “How Can I Help You? Confessions of a Game Play Counselor”
- “A Clinical Analysis of The Wizard”
- Post Screening Q&A From Let’s Play Gaming Expo 2019 With Luke Edwards, David Chisholm, And
- Ken Topolsky
- Photo Gallery
The movie benefits from a new 4K transfer, and comes with an audio commentary with director Todd Holland as well as a selection of deleted scenes and trailers. It launches on March 24th, 2020.
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![The Wizard [Collector's Edition] + Exclusive Poster - Blu-ray | Shout! Factory](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/11554/100x100.png)
[source gonintendo.com]
Comments 22
I love this movie, it’s so bad.
But really, it’s great. I’ll have to snag this for sure.
Aaaand, I feel old.
The new 4K transfer is a big deal on this one since the universal Blu-ray had a very lackluster transfer. I cannot wait to snag a copy.
If you grew up in the 80's during the Hey day of Nintendo when they were dominating the videogame industry you gotta love this movie! Yeah it's cheesy and basically a feature length commercial but it was the times. All the bad reviews and critical panning the movie originally got was likely confused parents who just didn't get this newfangled video whatsit craze!
I watched this all the time as a kid and hey it teaches you how to properly pronounce Gaiden! I always said it right anyway but to this day people still say Gay den and I'm like dude go watch the wizard! It's Ninja Guy den! Seriously though fun movie!
Probably gonna nab this. Love this movie, despite how cheesy and flawed it is.
I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.
Damn nostalgia got me again. I’ll bite on this.
That garish cover cheapens the product and doesn't reflect the movie very well.
My mind was blown yesterday while watching the Game Historian's SMB3 video as he explained that THE WIZARD'S story was trying to rip off The Who's TOMMY. Jimmy is supposed to be the NEW pinball wizard! BOOM
That kid annoyed me so much... "CALIFORNIA.....CALIFORNIA derrrppp". Just shut the hell up. The kid has awesome video game skills and all he does is mope around whining. I wanted to take that stupid yellow lunchbox and shove it up his... 😅
I loved seeing all the video game stuff in this movie though, especially the SMB3 part 😲 What a treat back in those days.
I have never seen this film, I'll pick it up when it is out in the UK
I was 4 or 5 when this came out. I wish I could have been juuuuust a little older so I'd be able to fully appreciate the SMB3 reveal. I already knew where both the World 1 warp whistles were by the time I saw the movie, so it didn't have the same impact for me.
Also of note: This movie would mark the first time in my life that I'd have a bit of a celebrity crush on Jenny Lewis, with another wave of crushin' coming about 20 years down the line.
@WhiteTrashGuy I always thought it was like Rainman for kids.
It's just one giant Nintendo commercial, but kids these days just don't know how amazing it was to really see SMB3 for the first time for many kids in NA even though it had been out in Japan for almost a year at this point. With the internet, you'll never really be able to replicate that sort of reveal again nowadays.
The "import" scene in the US really didn't get going until the mid to late 1990s with the rise of the internet, so while I'm sure a handful of people in the west got a chance to play games like this month in advance, the vast majority of western gamers relied heavily on publications and things like this for their gaming news and reveals.
When I saw this movie as a kid I thought it was crazy the idea someone could compete at a gaming tournament. Now people make a living from it. Pretty crazy
I'm pretty sure there weren't dinosaurs nor kaiju in this movie, even in the games...
@Noid Guessing you haven't seen the movie, there's actually a dinosaur park that was important to the movie.
Also this being 30 years old makes me feel old!
@dougphisig oh, huh - yeah, I haven't seen the movie. this is embarrassing. I assumed it was supposed to be a non-copyright infringing Yoshi or Bowser.
Love this film, had the film poster in my room as a kid.
It's just a "based very loosely" on Pinball Wizard by the Who.
Just a question, are Blu-Rays Region locked like DVDs? If so I'm gonna have to miss out.
Well, that was an instant order for me. (Though I just pre-ordered it with Amazon Prime. For me, the bonus poster included when purchased at Shout Factory's site definitely wasn't worth the $7 extra for shipping. That's a bit excessive.) This has always been a favorite movie of mine, since I was a kid. And although it's riddled with Nintendo advertisements, and some parts are certainly cheesy, even as an adult I honestly think it's a quality story that's legitimately touching. (But yeah, 30 year anniversary? I too feel old...)
@Noid All good! It's a fun watch, though if you are younger may not enjoy it as much .
@Ghost-Piece Only use my PS3 for Blu-Ray playing, and that is definitely locked to EU.
Also Don't own a PC anymore.
So ah well, maybe not then
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