The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Special Edition

Movie Grade: A+

DVD Features Grade: A+

Overall Grade: A+

Based on the book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by Frank L. Baum, it's hard to imagine now, but when The Wizard of Oz was first released in 1939 it was not a huge success. It earned $3 million at the box office, but cost over $2.7 to produce. Of course it did go on to make many millions of dollars over the years in theatrical re-releases, TV broadcasts, video and DVD sales, and you can't forget merchandising. The movie itself seemed to grow bigger and bigger with each generation and became a right of passage for every child growing up. I remember being totally freaked out by it the first time I saw it. The evil witch brilliantly played by Margaret Hamilton, even the booming voice of the wizard himself made me cringe. But nothing made me cower more than the cowardly lion, than the flying monkeys.

This newly polished version was issued to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the making of The Wizard of Oz. It's strange to think that it was made 7 decades ago. The special effects of the twister, the grand scale of the set designs, the costume design, the amazing make-up, the late great Stan Winston couldn't have done it better himself. It was way ahead of its time in so many respects when you think about it. But, we as an audience have come to expect bigger and better mind blowing effects. George Lucas ushered in a whole new era of special effects driven films with the Star Wars saga and his Industrial Light and Magic special effects company, and the advances never seem to stop. However this was something completely new in 1939, a man made tornado, a flying house, a whole city full of little people.
Perhaps its greatest achievement, however wasn't a technical one, it was the discovery of Judy Garland. She became a legend as soon as she sang those first lyrics to "Somewhere over the Rainbow." The whole movie was perfectly cast from Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Frank Morgan as The Wizard, Billie Burke as the Good Witch of the East, and of course Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West. And of the course the brilliant musical numbers by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg the unforgettable dance routines choreographed by the great Busby Birkly not to mention the terrific screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf.

Special Features

We all know The Wizard of Oz is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, and has been seen by millions of people all over the world. So you may ask, what

makes this new release so special? I would say apart from the remarkably improved picture and sound quality, it would be the special features bonus disc. The original interviews with some of the cast and their recollections, interesting facts, like there were 4 directors that worked on the movie, Richard Thorpe, who was fired after two weeks and George Cukor, who made some big wardrobe and costume changes before he left, like making the silver slippers into the ruby slippers. That's right; in the book they were silver. He also changed Judy Garland's hair putting it into pig tales. Then there was King Vidor and finally the man who actually got to see his name on the big screen as director, Victor Fleming. Margaret Hamilton's hat, broom, and cloak caught on fire, she suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her hands and lower face. Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man, but he insisted on playing the part of the Scarecrow. Buddy Ebsen, a.k.a Jebb Clampet who later went on to star in The Beverley Hillbillies was cast as the Tin Man, but after two weeks on the set, became very ill from the aluminum dust make-up he had to wear. He was replaced by Jack Haley and they switched to a different make-up.

Bottom line is this is a must have for your Blu-ray and DVD collection!!!

Movie Grade: A+

DVD Features Grade: A+

Overall Grade: A+