The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz
by King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, Victor Fleming

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Movie Reviews of The Wizard of Oz

Movie Review: Magic Captured On Film
Summary: 5 Stars

Like the other great Victor Fleming movie of 1939 "Gone With The Wind", "Oz" was filmed in "Three Strip Technicolor", which was made up of three separate black and white negatives with primary color dyes added to the prints one at a time during processing. Unfortunately, in the 60 years since, these negatives have been shrinking and not at a consistant rate. Therefore, the three negatives which used to be in exact alignment when the films were printed do not match up quite so perfectly any more. This results in occasional blurriness and "color fringing", as was noticed and complained about by critics and fans who saw "Gone With The Wind"'s 1998 theatrical rerelease. Warners promised that when "Oz" would be released a few months later, these problems would be corrected. I saw the rerelease of "Oz" and was disappointed that they had not kept their promise. The film looked out-of-focus a great deal of the time. Unfortunately some of the blurry patches made it onto the DVD. These brief blips may go unnoticed by most viewers, but if you've seen the movie sixty thousand and two times--and have never tired of it--like me, you will probably spot them. [For an example, pause the film just after Dorothy steps out of the house in Munchkinland and step forward frame by frame until you see Dorothy's back. You will get a few frames of hideous distortment.] The previous MGM DVD version, which is now out-of-print, did not have this problem even though the restoration was done relatively recently. I wonder why Warners couldn't have replaced the flawed frames with ones from the previous release--you'd think that with all the technology available--and the fact that they digitally removed scratches and dirt frame by frame with a computer--this would have been a simple task. I also notice that in the Kansas scenes, Dorothy's dress shows a lot more "moire" distortion--when you see all the colors of the rainbow in a checked or striped black and white image on a color television--than did the MGM version. Turning the color off on your set won't help, since these scenes are printed in sepia tone. I also feel that, although the Warners restoration has removed a lot of scratches and dirt making for a cleaner image, the MGM release had brighter and more vivid color; some people will prefer the new DVD's natural, life-life hues, but I think that a fantasy like "Oz" looks better when the colors jump off the screen in all their garish glory.

On the plus side, the new DVD is the first home video release with a stereo soundtrack. Naturalists may prefer the original mono, but the stereo (even with 1930s source material) sounds awfully good. Interestingly, the back of the DVD box states that the DVD has both stereo and mono soundtracks, but I cannot locate the mono track anywhere on this disc. The menus, which are downright beautiful, are somewhat confusing at first, but once you master them you will find a treasure trove of "Wizard of Oz" extras (the MGM DVD only added the trailer). From a stunningly clear and crisp print of the "missing" "Scarecrow Dance" number, to Harold Arlen's behind-the-scenes home movies including a dress rehearsal of "The Jitterbug" to the "Making of" featurette to the vast amount of additional audio material, you can spend hours exploring this DVD.

So despite a few flaws only someone obsessed with this movie would care about, this DVD is a stunner. Any household with a DVD player and someone who is young or "young in heart" will want to add this to their collection. Although Warners could have charged a bundle for this DVD--and it would have been worth it, what with the movie's rewatchability and the mint of extras--this DVD is very affordable. You have no excuse not to buy it. Happy journeys over the rainbow!

Summary of The Wizard of Oz