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Summary: Still magical after 64 years.
Review: For me, 'The Wizard of Oz' was a family ritual. It was so imbedded in my childhood that it was no longer a movie- due to its annual pilgrimage on television. Strangely enough, I didn't first see it on CBS. That network's contract with the film lasted from 1956 until 1967 (I was only five then), and NBC contracted the movie until 1975- after which it went back to CBS where it ran until Turner scooped it up. I watched it during the NBC period and it was always introduced with the logo of the 'living color' peacock- but with a special reminder that the first nineteen or so minutes were in black and white. We would bookmark the TV guide to make sure we didn't miss it. It was always a spring broadcast, airing on or near Easter Sunday. And when the tornado sequence ended with the house crashing down, you could hear a pin drop in our living room. My favorite part of the film- since I was five- is watching the film change from b/w to the color of Munchkinland all in one shot. I used to think Munchkinland was a real place, with its rich colors, dometop huts, the footbridge, the lily pond, the big glossy flowers and the spiraling yellow-and-copper brick road. (I saw the film years later as a college senior in a theater, and this scene actually brought whistles and applause from the audience.) I later got a DVD player as a gift and the first DVD edition of the movie was included. This is the only way to see a film of this scope.
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Summary: The Field Of Poppies....
Review: The very sight of the incredible Ray Bolger and Co. running, skipping and jumping through that beautiful, electric, tecnicolor dream is reason enough to own this masterpiece on DVD. While it has its flaws, you have to look past those slight imperfections, suspend reality and just allow yourself to enjoy this simple story and its glorious transition to the big screen. Screenplay quibbles aside, this 1939 classic has endured for a reason, it serves as a wonderful escape from the troubled world we live in. I first saw it when I was a lad of 6, and it has stayed with me since then. I admit to a slight crush on The Wicked Witch (on the "Making Of..." documentary, isn't Margaret Hamilton kinda sexy in the green makeup and hat, especially smiling?) and the Flying Monkey Scene in the Dark Forest is just as creepy now as it was when I was a kid! The best scene for my money (other than the field of poppies)has got to be when Dorothy opens the house door and steps out of the sepia-hued doldrums of Kansas, into the brilliant, full color, psychedelic world of Munchkin Land, simply astounding! Some things never go out of style, no matter how many years go by. "The Wizard Of Oz" is timeless and trippy. A Classic in every sense of the word.
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Summary: FINALLY: The score has arrived!
Review: The greatest thing about this DVD is that it includes nearly the entire original score of the film (background music.) Many people own the classic Wizard of Oz "original soundtrack" which was a quick-paced, heavily edited assembly of dialogue and songs--cute, but certainly not what folks have considered a "soundtrack album" for the last 3 decades. The ACTUAL musical score -- a serious work of art in its own right -- has never been available, to my knowledge, until 64 years later with this DVD. Words cannot describe what a revelation it is to hear Harold Arlen's score naked in its unedited form. Its thematic intricacy is shocking even if you think you're familiar with the score already, and the marathon endurance of the performers in the orchesetra is incredible as you hear take after take. To any serious Wizard of Oz fan this is required listening -- exciting enough to merit it own CD release.
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Summary: Ray Bolger At His Best!!
Review: This film is the best film by Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow/Hunk). The Scarecrow is my favorite character. I love the song "If I Only Had A Brain." "Ding, Dong The Witch Is Dead" is also a great song. This is an action packed movie. It is a great children's movie and it is a great family movie. If is also a great movie to watch by yourself. Once you see the movie you will want to get the CD and the trivia game. I have two Wizard Of Oz CD both of them are different. The Wizard Of Oz trivia game is a great game. I just love. ... This is such a great movie. I also have a copy of the book. ...
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Summary: What can I say...
Review: It is a classic! I have it on Beta, VHS and DVD. I will also get it on whatever comes next :-)
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Summary: It's Good, It's Great! Oh My!
Review: I first saw this movie when I was very little, and I recently watched it again...I still like the movie very much. :) It is entertaining for both adults and children alike. What make it even more fun to watch are the "bloopers" I saw in the movie, but I still think it is a great movie! :) Your kids won't be disappointed or bored watching this classic as it is still enjoyable for years to come just like generations before. :)
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Summary: A study in Machiavellan manipulation
Review: Before Voldemort, before the Dark Lord Sauron, there was Glinda the (so-called) Good Witch of the North. Watch this movie, and see her masterful manipulation of naive Dorothy as she catapults herself into ever-increasing power.It all begins when a mysterious tornado brings Dorothy to Oz, landing her house on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda, for no apparent reason, gives Dorothy the deceased witches' slippers, earning Dorothy the enmity of the Wicked Witch of the West (masterfully played by Margaret Hamilton), and sends her beyond the Yellow Brick Road to the Wizard of Oz. It's all a ploy, though, as we discover at the end of the movie, when Dorothy learns all she had to do to get home was click her heels. So why does Glinda do it? Watch as the wizard sends Dorothy to steal the broomstick of the wicked witch and destroys her in the process, only to go and expose the Wizard of Oz himself as a clever con man pretending to have great powers. In other words, Dorothy unknowingly creates a tremendous power vacuum in Oz. And who do you think is going to move into that vacuum? Glinda, obviously. (The Good Witch of the South is mentioned but never appears. One can only imagine how Glinda dispatched her other rival before dropping a house on the Wicked Witch of the East.) Brilliantly directed and stunning in its storycraft, "The Wizard of Oz" remains a frightening and disturbing movie in the way it tries to diminish terms like "good" by masquerading evil in so pleasant a form. While this should come as no surprise, given MGM's history of addicting child stars like Judy Garland to speed and other drugs, it should be enough to make any parent think twice before allowing their children to watch such a movie before they are old enough to weigh the themes for themselves.
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Summary: Fantastic DVD
Review: The movie is good, and the extras that come on this DVD are even better. Far exceeded my expectations in every way. There is so much packed on this disk that I had to watch it over two nights. Includes outtakes, silent film clips, background information on L. Frank Baum, and much more.
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Summary: FLYING MONKEYS
Review: HEY DON'T FORGET THE FLYING MONKEYS FOR SHEER "MAKE THE HAIR ON YOUR NECK STAND UP". DOROTHY'S TRIP DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD IS, OF COURSE, A METAPHPOR FOR FRANK BAUM'S TALE ABOUT THE GOLD STANDARD AS A MONETARY POLICY BUT THE SPECIAL EFFECTS OF THE WICKED WITCH'S FLYING MONKEYS THAT GUARD HER CASTLE MAKE THE WHOLE TRIP WORTHWHILE ON THEIR OWN. VERY SCARY
Rating:
Summary: Incredible experience
Review: I was a bit hesitant to purchase this disk, since I had spent money in the past to buy the 50th Anniversary special edition of the Wisard of Oz when that first came out on VHS. So here is what I found. As a first viewing, I cued up both the vhs and dvd versions in my home theater and switched back and forth. I was blown away by the difference. MUCH more dramatic than I ever expected. The sound on the dvd was brilliant, and the visual image was astounding. When it got to the part where Ms Gulch was bicycling down the road with Toto in her basket I froze both images. The VHS version was a kind of muddy yellow ocher color. The DVD had been restored to a proper sepiatone tint. In the VHS version, you could see a woman on a bicycle peddling down the road. In the DVD version, the sky behind was lighter, so that she really popped away from the background. Not only that, but suddenly you could see every fold and crease in her skirt, and shadows draping across. This was obviously an incredibly well done restoration beyond anything I had hoped for. As for the extras, they kept myself and my family completely captivated for hours on end. What a great experience. I whole heartedly recomend this dvd version for anyone interested in owning, watching or learning more about this wonderful piece of our culture.
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