The Wizard of Oz

Rating:
Summary: There's No Place Like Home...
Review: This is a true Hollywood classic. Normally seen as a children's film, it is also a splendid joy for adults, as well. Who can forget the catchphrase "there's no place like home" or some of the songs-"Over the Rainbow," "Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead" and a few others?

In case you just came to Earth because you lived on Mars for your entire life, the story is about a lonely Kansas girl named Dorothy (Judy Garland-her most famous role)who hits her head in the middle of a tornado. She then has a dream that she is in the magical land of Oz, and tries to get to a Wizard to go home. She ends up making friends with a man out of tin, a lion and a scarecrow all who want things from the Wizard too. There is a witch in the way, however, and things get worse when they get to the Wizard and he wants them to kill the witch.

The movie, made in Hollywood's Golden Year 1939, was one of the first in Technicolor and it is probably the most glorious use of color in a movie I have ever seen. When Dorothy first gets to Oz...it's one of the best moments in movie history. The acting-Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Billie Burke and the biggest assembly of "little people" ever recorded-is great and you have to love some of the "little" characters, the Munchkins especially.

Rating:
Summary: It is hiss, it is hiss, it is history!
Review: I have been crazy about this film since I first saw it on TV when I was 5, not long before Jack Haley died in 1979. Twenty-six years later, I still enjoy this film. I could type on & on gushing about it but, instead, I will explain why this DVD edition is the best value for your dollar. It is crammed with extras, some are a tease, but most are fascinating clips, stills, and information about the classic. To the previous reviewer who was so devastated that they colorized the film on this DVD: You must have wonderful memories of that b&w TV you had as a kid, and that's nice. Now for what is important--Here is what the "Follow the Road to OZ" Special Features Menu has to offer:

The "Characters of OZ" was a bit of a disappointment. It does not offer hardly any information about the actors save for their ages at the time. There is nothing about their previous work. This section offers mostly controversial stuff like Shirley Temple's and Buddy Ebsen's relation to the film which will be discussed in the "Making of" documentary offered on this DVD. This section does do an excellent job clearing up the legend around Shirley Temple's possible casting as Dorothy.

The "Emerald City" selection offers tons of stuff. "The Making of" documentary is the one hosted by Angela Lansbury that I have seen on television before. It is very well-down and informative and is nice to have on DVD. You also get theatrical trailers including the "What is OZ?" 1939 teaser. "Outtakes & Deleted Scenes" include the extended Scarecrow dance that did not make the film, Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow" in the witch's chamber, "The Jitterbug" home movies and soundtrack and, my favorite, the soundtrack with stills featuring Buddy Ebsen singing "If I Only Had a Heart." A still from the deleted second "Ding Dong..." number has a photo of Bert Lahr with his right arm out of his lion's suit smoking a cigarette. "Behind the Scenes" offers makeup tests, sketches and storyboards, candid clips from Harold Arlen's home movies, Texas contest winners meeting Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Buddy Ebsen, Loew's Cairo Trailer featuring test makeup & costumes and an alternate "Over the Rainbow" clip. What I like about this disc is the background information that is offered to explain the different stills and clips. Some are even humorous, i.e. referring to the Scarecrow's early makeup shots as "Boy George" style.

The "OZ History" section is kind of a tease. It shows very short excerpts from the 1914 & 1925 silents and the 1933 cartoon version of the Wizard of OZ. It would have been nice to see them in their entirety, but we can't have everything, I guess. "OZ Afterlife" has 1979 interviews with Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, and Margaret Hamilton. They are organized rather oddly with all three on the screen at once in their separate squares with the one selected the only one that is audible. 1939 Cavalcade of Academy Awards clips are offered here with Mickey Rooney presenting Judy Garland the juvenile award. The disc also offers audio supplements with the radio show Good News of 1939, radio trailers, and a jukebox as well as more clips and stills from awards presentations. Oh, and besides all this, you also get the film with this disc. OZ fans, buy this disc now "before someone drops a house on you"!

Rating:
Summary: Your off to See the Wizard
Review: It really ticks me off royally, when a person like Mr. Hoffman who I think lives in a cave gives this great movie only one star. It makes the whole Wizard of Oz overall rating go down. I have read thousands of reviews on Amazon, and none compare to the sheer anger I get by reading this guy's review. How can he think the whole film was in black and white? ARgggghhh! In fact I read his review several days ago and decided to watch the film again on DVD. I couldn't. Do you know why? I couldn't get the thought of someone being so naive to think its all done in black and white. Truthfully, the guy has actually ruined my enjoyment of the film. I can't watch it anymore without getting very angry at this man. He infuriates me.


Rating:
Summary: Scott Hoffman
Review: I'm sorry, but how can you go YEARS thinking this movie was completely b&w. The whole point of this film and that first scene where Dorothy enters the land of Oz and the viewing audience sees all the color is so symbolic and important to the film. I mean you're saying all this crap about MGM having the "gall" and "audicity" when in fact it's your ignorance (not to sound rude but the word is best suited for this situation) that is the reason for your rating. I hope you read these reviews that are telling you the movie has ALWAYS been in color and is one of the many reasons it's the best film of all time and you don't continue going on through life upset at MGM for no fault of theirs.

Rating:
Summary: NOT Colorized!
Review: A recent reviewer, Scott Hoffman, expressed disappointment in this film because he had never seen it in color until 2005. He gives it a one-star for this, but as most of you know, the film was shot in COLOR! Yep, beautiful color in 1939... this was a remarkable achievement - and the film used the wonderful color to take us from the 'sepia-tones' on the great depression to a colorful world of dreams. The DVD image quality is a tribute to the incredible cinematagraphy from that era. The colors are true, vivid, and a critical element of this classic story.

Rating:
Summary: Colorized
Review: Ahh, the sweet memories this film brings to me. Anytime I'm out of my anti-depressant medication and I'm feeling down and out, I think of the old times when I used to sit in the parlor every spring time with my mom and the old guy across the street watching this movie on our big black and white television. We used to sip sour lemonade while enjoying Judy Garland pipe out beautiful songs. It still brings a slight tear to my eye(And I'm not the crying type). Several years back, my mom had to throw out that memorable black and white television set (I think the volume knob fell off) and I haven't had the heart to watch the film since. Well...not until recently. My friend bought me the new DVD version. Even though I swore on my mother's grave that I would never see the movie again, I caved in and saw it on my 55 inch television set at home. Well, push me down a flight of stairs, I couldn't believe what they did to this beautifully made black and white classic. They colorized it! The gall of these people. How could they do this? The funny thing is, they didn't put it through colorization until she landed in Oz. Just keep the whole movie in black and white like it was meant to be. Well I nearly choked on my Pepto Bismo when I saw Dorothy all decked out in her colorized outfit. This takes out all the imagination away from the film. When those munchkins said follow the Yellowbrick Road. Even though the road looked gray to me when I watched it, I used my imagination to pretend it was yellow. Now, the imagination is gone. Isn't that what the whole movie is about..Imagination? Why can't these studios just leave the old movies alone. This film is an easy 5 star movie, but it is only getting a 1 star because I'm taken 4 stars away since they decided to colorized it. Truthfully, I would have given it ZERO stars if they decided to colorize the whole film.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't get much better than this
Review: Dreams, reality, fantasy...all the elements of a typical life, yet somehow when this is all brought together in The Wizard of Oz, we are virtually transported into a world unlike our own. From childhood we all grew up waiting anxiously for that one night a year when "regular television" treated us to this movie. When VCR's emerged, we were thrilled to find this offered on tape, where we could actually watch it whenever we wanted! Now on DVD, the brilliance and charm is only enhanced with perfect picture quality, extras like behind the scenes stories, and more. This classic story is loved by young and old alike, in fact, the older you are, the more dear it becomes. My children can watch it over and over, never tiring of the memorable songs, the brilliant scenery, the magical feelings you get when Dorothy journeys to see the Wizard with her three friends. Enjoy this special edition with your family as part of your American Classics collection.

Rating:
Summary: Undoubtedly the Greatest Movie of All Time!
Review: I was just a very little girl (I don't even remember exactly how old) when I first saw this movie, and I loved it as a child. I've now seen this movie countless times, and I never grow tired of it. Every time I watch it I enjoy it just as much as ever. And every time I still cry at the end, when Dorothy talks about how there's no place like home. The movie has a beautiful storyline, with an overall theme of love and friendship, but just as great are the outstanding songs. The music is just as enjoyable as the plot, if not more so. This video is a great investment, as it's the type of movie you can watch over and over and never grow tired of it.