Post by Rob W. Case on Dec 30, 2019 23:59:08 GMT -6
Never in movie history has a film held up as well, as long, and as culturally relevant as the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. There is ample reason for this, as we will examine throughout this piece. What’s fascinating about this movie and movies that become immortal classics later on is that in their initial release they experienced some level of success, but nothing close to the level of success that they would achieve years after the initial release would run its course. There are a select number of films where this dynamic happens to be the case, however, The Wizard of Oz is a one of a kind film that sticks in your mind after you see it, and creates memories that last a lifetime. Of course, with every film that is made, it begins with a concept, coupled with many considerations and carefully composed ideas, thoughts, influences, and lessons learned from other previous successes.
In the movie industry, when a film is very successful, it sets a precedent for other movie studios to follow. That said, in 1937, Walt Disney, a dynamic animator and innovator completed his first full length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When it was released nationally in February of 1938, it not only became very profitable (earning some $8 million worldwide) for its time, but its innovation sent a ripple effect throughout Hollywood, getting other powerful studios to notice. In its innovation, the film was shot in technicolor (a very expensive process). It was a sound picture, and it was also a musical. When the success of the movie reached an impressive height, other studios were looking to do their own adaptations of popular novels.
MGM Takes Notice and Looks to Oz:
In January of 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pursued the rights to the infamous L. Frank Baum novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, which was initially released in May of 1900, and became a great success. Up until that time, there were two film adaptations that existed, one of which was a black and white silent film with Oliver Hardy (released in 1925), and the other, a 9 minute animated short film made in Canada (released in 1933). This adaptation would be different in that it would adapt many of the staples that the film Snow White had, but it would also be uniquely creative and inventive in scope and scale, generating new ways to conduct special effects.
The Cast:
In casting this film, there were many ideas which were initially intended, but most of them never materialized the way that they were originally planned. For one, studio executives wanted popular child star Shirley Temple to star as Dorothy Gale from Kansas, but Darryl Zanuck, the head of 20th Century Fox would not loan her out to MGM, foreseeing her as a profitable commodity exclusively for his studio well into her teenage years. Zanuck then cast her in Suzanna of the Mounties, which would surely keep Temple busy. Another possibility was Deanna Durbin, a woman who worked for MGM with Judy Garland, but signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1936, leaving Judy Garland as the last formidable choice, on contract with MGM to play Dorothy. Then there was Buddy Ebsen (who would later be known as “Uncle Jed” from the CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies) who was cast as the scarecrow. But when dancer/singer Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man, he tried hard to get producer Mervyn LeRoy to switch his part to the scarecrow because a Vaudeville performer by the name of Fred stone, who inspired Bolger to get into acting, played the scarecrow on a stage production of The Wizard of Oz in 1902. In a way, to Bolger, playing the part of the Scarecrow was like his tribute to the man who inspired him to take the career path he chose. Ebsen did not resist the switch. He went with the flow. Comedian and popular live performer Bert Lahr was cast as the Cowardly Lion, and the terrifically funny comedian W.C. Fields was tapped to play the Wizard. However, negotiations over Field’s salary and constant back and forth caused the studio to drop the consideration, and they ended up going with Frank Morgan, an actor already on contract with MGM, who also played in a movie with Margaret Hamilton, another person on contract with MGM who they chose to play the Wicked Witch of the West. Billie Burke, a Broadway, silent film, and radio actress who played Judy Garland’s hysterical actress mother in Everybody Sings, and was nominated for an Oscar in Merrily we Live a year earlier, was chosen to play Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. After casting was settled, then came the costumes. Buddy Ebsen experienced a life-threatening difficulty when they tried to put aluminum dust on his face on top of a white (clown makeup type) base. He had trouble breathing, and according to his autobiography, he experienced cramping in his fingers, then toes, then arms, and then to his chest, and then to the muscles that controlled his breathing. Ebsen had an allergic reaction to the dust, and was rushed to the hospital. Scarcely able to breathe, he was placed in an oxygen tent for 2 weeks, and needed an additional month off to recuperate. Producer Mervin LeRoy replaced Ebsen with Jack Haley, a famous vaudeville performer, actor, comedian, radio host, and singer and dancer. With Haley, the studio concocted an aluminum paste for his makeup to avoid any danger to his health. Despite the replacement of Ebsen with Haley, the songs where they all sing “we’re off to see the wizard” as a group, contained Buddy Ebsen’s voice, since the soundtrack was recorded before the filming.
The Special Effects, Sets & Scenery:
The special effects on this film were very innovative, creative, and experimental. The way that they created the effects of the tornado, the “flying farmhouse,” the witch’s disappearing into a flame of fire, Glinda’s “bubble,” the witch writing in the sky on her flying broomstick, the giant head and flames of the Wizard of Oz, the flying monkeys, were all thought out from scratch, with raw materials, heavy manipulation with visuals, and deeply thought out concepts cleverly and carefully executed on (from a trial and error standpoint), decades before computer animation and design would make special effects more flexible, and allow for much larger dimensions, and more options to consider in creating an effect than could ever be thought possible. And yet the brilliance in the creation and execution of these effects make the final result mesmerizing, breathtaking, and most importantly, realistic even today. And that is a feat that is not easy to do. Even the scene where Dorothy transitions from the sepia-tone (black and white) to full technicolor was revolutionary for its time, as no other movie did anything like that prior.
In this shot, the camera rolls seamlessly with no interruption as Dorothy (in sepia tone) opens the door of the farmhouse to a technicolor world, and then she walks out of it in full color. For this effect, two Dorothy’s were used in that a stand-in, wearing a sepia-toned dress opens the door of the farmhouse, and Judy Garland wearing the blue, checkered style dress walks out of it and into Oz. One thing that the producers did for the film was change the color of Dorothy’s slippers. In the book, her slippers are silver, but to show off the beauty and the depth of the color, they chose to change them to ruby slippers. As for the sets and the scenery, actors who worked on the film would later recall how big they were. One thing I thought was amazing was how one actor recalled how the effect of the Emerald City, when Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, arrive close to it came to be. After you see the twinkling lights all around it, you see the characters marvel at the beauty of it before they approach it. In real life, the Emerald City turned out to be a very large painting with pinholes poked in all around it, with lights all around the other side of it. This gave the "twinkling" effect that you see here.
The Music:
Since this film production of The Wizard of Oz was intended to be a musical, MGM hired renowned lyricist Edgar Yipsel Harburg and composer Harold Arlen to write songs that would accentuate the mood of the scene, engage the audience on an emotional level, and make all of the elements work together to effectively move the direction of the story. Such an effort requires proven skill, talent, and success and Arlen and Harburg had all three. Although there are many highly memorable songs within The Wizard of Oz, the one song that stands out above the rest is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In this scene, Dorothy has a big problem involving her dog Toto and Elmira Gulch, a local resident who wants him destroyed. When Dorothy shares the problem with her family, and their farmhands, Dorothy is told to find a place where there isn’t any trouble. Yearning for a place where she feels her and Toto would be better off, she imagines a place somewhere over the rainbow where that might be possible.
After the film was shot and premiered in San Luis Obispo, California, MGM executive Louis B. Mayer and producer Mervyn LeRoy decided to cut the scene from the movie. They felt that the song slowed down the movement of the story, and thought that the movie ran too long enough as it is (even after cutting some other scenes). There was also a superficial element at play in that Mayer said that the song sounded “like something for Jeanette MacDonald, not for a little girl singing in a barnyard.” That meant that the song sounded too deep, elegant, and beautiful for a scene depicting a little girl singing in a barnyard. When word got out that the song was going to be cut from the film before its wide public release, Judy Garland’s voice coach Roger Edens, and associate producer of the film Arthur Freed fought effortlessly and persistently to put the song back into the film. It was put back into the film, and when it was released nationally, not only was the song highly acclaimed, but it also won an Academy Award for best song. From that point on, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” would become Judy Garland’s personal trademark song that she would sing and move audiences with for the rest of her life. In addition to all of these elements, Herbert Stothart composed the background musical score apart from the songs.
In the main titles of the film (which I guess you can say is the “overture”), Stothart composes from the elements that Harburg and Arlen wrote from songs that were spread out along the film.
The Story:
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) runs home with her little dog Toto, angry with Ms. Gulch (Margaret Hamilton), a local resident who wants Toto destroyed because he bit her. Upset and angry, Dorothy makes her grievances known to her Uncle Henry (Charlie Grapewin) and Aunt Emily (Clara Blandick). Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are heavily preoccupied with matters and concerns that relate to their farm. Aunt Em suggests to Dorothy to find a place where she won’t get herself into any trouble. Dorothy imagines a place that lies “somewhere over the rainbow.” When Ms. Gulch comes with a legal document to have the dog taken from Dorothy, Toto is handed over to Ms. Gulch, but Toto escapes. When he reaches the house, he lets Dorothy know that he’s back, and so offended by what her Aunt Em said, and not wanting to lose Toto again, she tries to run away. On the way she meets a sham “psychic” who tries to talk her out of running away. While this is occurring, a major storm is in the process of whipping up. The storm turns into a violent tornado, destroying farms and fields in its path. When Dorothy’s aunt and uncle can’t find her, them and their farmhands take refuge in the cellar. Dorothy returns home, but can’t find anybody. When the enters the house, the window falls out, hits Dorothy in the head, and she finds that the house she is in is flying and that she is in the middle of the tornado. After seeing visions of strange and obscure things, the house lands on the ground, and when she opens the door, she finds herself in the middle of a magical land.
Upon arriving in this magical land, she encounters a population of little people called Munchkins, and a Good Witch by the name of Glinda (Billie Burke). When Glinda informs Dorothy that her house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her, the Munchkins are happy and excited, but Dorothy makes a powerful enemy in the witch’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton). Moreover, the Wicked Witch of the West wants her sister’s ruby slippers, but they vanish from the body of the Witch of the East and end up on Dorothy’s feet. Determined to get revenge for her sister’s death, and acquire the ruby slippers from Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West sets her sights on capturing Dorothy. It is then Glinda informs Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, a man who might be able to help Dorothy get back home. All she has to do is follow the yellow brick road to get to the Emerald City, where he resides.
Along the way to the Emerald City, she encounters a scarecrow (Ray Bolger) who wants a brain, a tin woodsman (Jack Haley) who wants a heart, and a lion who is cowardly (Bert Lahr), and in desperate need of courage. Dorothy embraces all of these characters of need to meet the wizard. Once they finally get to the Emerald City, they meet the Wizard of Oz, and he gives them a challenging task; if they bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West, then he will grant everyone their request. But the mission is not easy. It takes courage, brains, heart, and skill to do this. And so, all in all, Dorothy finds out that not everything is what it seems, and learns that she always had the power to get home.
The Moral of the Story:
The moral of the story is that when you become discontent, you long to be where the “grass is greener on the other side.” But that can be an illusion. Once you get to that other place, you find that things are much more challenging and you have more enemies, more challenges, and others to care for. In other words, at the farmhouse, Dorothy despised Ms. Gulch, and was upset with Aunt Em’s plea to find a place where she won’t get herself into trouble. But she arrived in a different place that was beautiful, but it wasn’t home. She encountered and experienced evil, but she made new friends. She and her friends had to go into some scary places, but they built up bravery and courage. They met a wizard who gave them an assignment to force them to confront adversity, fear, which eventually led to feelings of hopelessness, but they looked out for each other, and their hopes and yearnings for what they longed and yearned for caused them to overcome will crushing obstacles which caused perseverance and endurance until they got what they came for. It is a really great story when you factor in all of these elements. And the older you get, the deeper the meaning becomes.
The Legacy of Oz:
When the film was originally released, it made money, but it was not extremely profitable. It was not until 1949, for the film’s 10th year anniversary, that the movie was re-released in theaters, and it really became profitable for MGM. In 1956, the movie premiered on television (on the CBS network) and it became a yearly television tradition to air the film, which would allow a new generation to experience it for the first time. This is how the movie became wider known and reached the level of immortality that it has today. In fact, I remember experiencing The Wizard of Oz on TV for the first time in the 80’s. It was airing on CBS, and I wanted to watch it. As a kid at the time, who had to get up early for school, I remember my parents letting my siblings and I stay up past our bedtime to watch the movie, and I remember being spellbound by it. I then remember watching it again, this time taping it off of CBS a year or two later, with a special feature hosted by Angela Lansbury about the making of the Wizard of Oz. Then, there was a media firestorm of hype that occurred in that CBS announced that it would be the last time they would air The Wizard of Oz on network television. That year, they sold the VHS tapes, so sales skyrocketed in buying the VHS tapes. But then, the following year, after the tapes were sold, The Wizard of Oz was back on TV, and aired for several years after.
Everybody has their own memory of The Wizard of Oz, how it wowed them, and how it made them feel. It is by these feelings this film has stood the test of time, and has become the classic that it has. It is also the reason why this movie holds up strong after 80 years of being in existence, and will continue to hold long after it turns 100. And now, it is available in all video formats (including the new 4K UHD format), gets special movie theater releases, is on TV (particularly on the TCM cable/satellite channel), and continues to be profitable. In fact, it is one of the most protected films in the movie industry today.
The film is rated G and runs 1 Hour and 42 Minutes.
To view a trailer, please click on the link below.
The Wizard of Oz is available to rent or own on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and VHS. It is on various streaming services, including for free if you have a subscription.
In the movie industry, when a film is very successful, it sets a precedent for other movie studios to follow. That said, in 1937, Walt Disney, a dynamic animator and innovator completed his first full length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When it was released nationally in February of 1938, it not only became very profitable (earning some $8 million worldwide) for its time, but its innovation sent a ripple effect throughout Hollywood, getting other powerful studios to notice. In its innovation, the film was shot in technicolor (a very expensive process). It was a sound picture, and it was also a musical. When the success of the movie reached an impressive height, other studios were looking to do their own adaptations of popular novels.
MGM Takes Notice and Looks to Oz:
In January of 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pursued the rights to the infamous L. Frank Baum novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, which was initially released in May of 1900, and became a great success. Up until that time, there were two film adaptations that existed, one of which was a black and white silent film with Oliver Hardy (released in 1925), and the other, a 9 minute animated short film made in Canada (released in 1933). This adaptation would be different in that it would adapt many of the staples that the film Snow White had, but it would also be uniquely creative and inventive in scope and scale, generating new ways to conduct special effects.
The Cast:
In casting this film, there were many ideas which were initially intended, but most of them never materialized the way that they were originally planned. For one, studio executives wanted popular child star Shirley Temple to star as Dorothy Gale from Kansas, but Darryl Zanuck, the head of 20th Century Fox would not loan her out to MGM, foreseeing her as a profitable commodity exclusively for his studio well into her teenage years. Zanuck then cast her in Suzanna of the Mounties, which would surely keep Temple busy. Another possibility was Deanna Durbin, a woman who worked for MGM with Judy Garland, but signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1936, leaving Judy Garland as the last formidable choice, on contract with MGM to play Dorothy. Then there was Buddy Ebsen (who would later be known as “Uncle Jed” from the CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies) who was cast as the scarecrow. But when dancer/singer Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man, he tried hard to get producer Mervyn LeRoy to switch his part to the scarecrow because a Vaudeville performer by the name of Fred stone, who inspired Bolger to get into acting, played the scarecrow on a stage production of The Wizard of Oz in 1902. In a way, to Bolger, playing the part of the Scarecrow was like his tribute to the man who inspired him to take the career path he chose. Ebsen did not resist the switch. He went with the flow. Comedian and popular live performer Bert Lahr was cast as the Cowardly Lion, and the terrifically funny comedian W.C. Fields was tapped to play the Wizard. However, negotiations over Field’s salary and constant back and forth caused the studio to drop the consideration, and they ended up going with Frank Morgan, an actor already on contract with MGM, who also played in a movie with Margaret Hamilton, another person on contract with MGM who they chose to play the Wicked Witch of the West. Billie Burke, a Broadway, silent film, and radio actress who played Judy Garland’s hysterical actress mother in Everybody Sings, and was nominated for an Oscar in Merrily we Live a year earlier, was chosen to play Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. After casting was settled, then came the costumes. Buddy Ebsen experienced a life-threatening difficulty when they tried to put aluminum dust on his face on top of a white (clown makeup type) base. He had trouble breathing, and according to his autobiography, he experienced cramping in his fingers, then toes, then arms, and then to his chest, and then to the muscles that controlled his breathing. Ebsen had an allergic reaction to the dust, and was rushed to the hospital. Scarcely able to breathe, he was placed in an oxygen tent for 2 weeks, and needed an additional month off to recuperate. Producer Mervin LeRoy replaced Ebsen with Jack Haley, a famous vaudeville performer, actor, comedian, radio host, and singer and dancer. With Haley, the studio concocted an aluminum paste for his makeup to avoid any danger to his health. Despite the replacement of Ebsen with Haley, the songs where they all sing “we’re off to see the wizard” as a group, contained Buddy Ebsen’s voice, since the soundtrack was recorded before the filming.
The Special Effects, Sets & Scenery:
The special effects on this film were very innovative, creative, and experimental. The way that they created the effects of the tornado, the “flying farmhouse,” the witch’s disappearing into a flame of fire, Glinda’s “bubble,” the witch writing in the sky on her flying broomstick, the giant head and flames of the Wizard of Oz, the flying monkeys, were all thought out from scratch, with raw materials, heavy manipulation with visuals, and deeply thought out concepts cleverly and carefully executed on (from a trial and error standpoint), decades before computer animation and design would make special effects more flexible, and allow for much larger dimensions, and more options to consider in creating an effect than could ever be thought possible. And yet the brilliance in the creation and execution of these effects make the final result mesmerizing, breathtaking, and most importantly, realistic even today. And that is a feat that is not easy to do. Even the scene where Dorothy transitions from the sepia-tone (black and white) to full technicolor was revolutionary for its time, as no other movie did anything like that prior.
In this shot, the camera rolls seamlessly with no interruption as Dorothy (in sepia tone) opens the door of the farmhouse to a technicolor world, and then she walks out of it in full color. For this effect, two Dorothy’s were used in that a stand-in, wearing a sepia-toned dress opens the door of the farmhouse, and Judy Garland wearing the blue, checkered style dress walks out of it and into Oz. One thing that the producers did for the film was change the color of Dorothy’s slippers. In the book, her slippers are silver, but to show off the beauty and the depth of the color, they chose to change them to ruby slippers. As for the sets and the scenery, actors who worked on the film would later recall how big they were. One thing I thought was amazing was how one actor recalled how the effect of the Emerald City, when Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, arrive close to it came to be. After you see the twinkling lights all around it, you see the characters marvel at the beauty of it before they approach it. In real life, the Emerald City turned out to be a very large painting with pinholes poked in all around it, with lights all around the other side of it. This gave the "twinkling" effect that you see here.
The Music:
Since this film production of The Wizard of Oz was intended to be a musical, MGM hired renowned lyricist Edgar Yipsel Harburg and composer Harold Arlen to write songs that would accentuate the mood of the scene, engage the audience on an emotional level, and make all of the elements work together to effectively move the direction of the story. Such an effort requires proven skill, talent, and success and Arlen and Harburg had all three. Although there are many highly memorable songs within The Wizard of Oz, the one song that stands out above the rest is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In this scene, Dorothy has a big problem involving her dog Toto and Elmira Gulch, a local resident who wants him destroyed. When Dorothy shares the problem with her family, and their farmhands, Dorothy is told to find a place where there isn’t any trouble. Yearning for a place where she feels her and Toto would be better off, she imagines a place somewhere over the rainbow where that might be possible.
After the film was shot and premiered in San Luis Obispo, California, MGM executive Louis B. Mayer and producer Mervyn LeRoy decided to cut the scene from the movie. They felt that the song slowed down the movement of the story, and thought that the movie ran too long enough as it is (even after cutting some other scenes). There was also a superficial element at play in that Mayer said that the song sounded “like something for Jeanette MacDonald, not for a little girl singing in a barnyard.” That meant that the song sounded too deep, elegant, and beautiful for a scene depicting a little girl singing in a barnyard. When word got out that the song was going to be cut from the film before its wide public release, Judy Garland’s voice coach Roger Edens, and associate producer of the film Arthur Freed fought effortlessly and persistently to put the song back into the film. It was put back into the film, and when it was released nationally, not only was the song highly acclaimed, but it also won an Academy Award for best song. From that point on, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” would become Judy Garland’s personal trademark song that she would sing and move audiences with for the rest of her life. In addition to all of these elements, Herbert Stothart composed the background musical score apart from the songs.
In the main titles of the film (which I guess you can say is the “overture”), Stothart composes from the elements that Harburg and Arlen wrote from songs that were spread out along the film.
The Story:
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) runs home with her little dog Toto, angry with Ms. Gulch (Margaret Hamilton), a local resident who wants Toto destroyed because he bit her. Upset and angry, Dorothy makes her grievances known to her Uncle Henry (Charlie Grapewin) and Aunt Emily (Clara Blandick). Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are heavily preoccupied with matters and concerns that relate to their farm. Aunt Em suggests to Dorothy to find a place where she won’t get herself into any trouble. Dorothy imagines a place that lies “somewhere over the rainbow.” When Ms. Gulch comes with a legal document to have the dog taken from Dorothy, Toto is handed over to Ms. Gulch, but Toto escapes. When he reaches the house, he lets Dorothy know that he’s back, and so offended by what her Aunt Em said, and not wanting to lose Toto again, she tries to run away. On the way she meets a sham “psychic” who tries to talk her out of running away. While this is occurring, a major storm is in the process of whipping up. The storm turns into a violent tornado, destroying farms and fields in its path. When Dorothy’s aunt and uncle can’t find her, them and their farmhands take refuge in the cellar. Dorothy returns home, but can’t find anybody. When the enters the house, the window falls out, hits Dorothy in the head, and she finds that the house she is in is flying and that she is in the middle of the tornado. After seeing visions of strange and obscure things, the house lands on the ground, and when she opens the door, she finds herself in the middle of a magical land.
Upon arriving in this magical land, she encounters a population of little people called Munchkins, and a Good Witch by the name of Glinda (Billie Burke). When Glinda informs Dorothy that her house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her, the Munchkins are happy and excited, but Dorothy makes a powerful enemy in the witch’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton). Moreover, the Wicked Witch of the West wants her sister’s ruby slippers, but they vanish from the body of the Witch of the East and end up on Dorothy’s feet. Determined to get revenge for her sister’s death, and acquire the ruby slippers from Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West sets her sights on capturing Dorothy. It is then Glinda informs Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, a man who might be able to help Dorothy get back home. All she has to do is follow the yellow brick road to get to the Emerald City, where he resides.
Along the way to the Emerald City, she encounters a scarecrow (Ray Bolger) who wants a brain, a tin woodsman (Jack Haley) who wants a heart, and a lion who is cowardly (Bert Lahr), and in desperate need of courage. Dorothy embraces all of these characters of need to meet the wizard. Once they finally get to the Emerald City, they meet the Wizard of Oz, and he gives them a challenging task; if they bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West, then he will grant everyone their request. But the mission is not easy. It takes courage, brains, heart, and skill to do this. And so, all in all, Dorothy finds out that not everything is what it seems, and learns that she always had the power to get home.
The Moral of the Story:
The moral of the story is that when you become discontent, you long to be where the “grass is greener on the other side.” But that can be an illusion. Once you get to that other place, you find that things are much more challenging and you have more enemies, more challenges, and others to care for. In other words, at the farmhouse, Dorothy despised Ms. Gulch, and was upset with Aunt Em’s plea to find a place where she won’t get herself into trouble. But she arrived in a different place that was beautiful, but it wasn’t home. She encountered and experienced evil, but she made new friends. She and her friends had to go into some scary places, but they built up bravery and courage. They met a wizard who gave them an assignment to force them to confront adversity, fear, which eventually led to feelings of hopelessness, but they looked out for each other, and their hopes and yearnings for what they longed and yearned for caused them to overcome will crushing obstacles which caused perseverance and endurance until they got what they came for. It is a really great story when you factor in all of these elements. And the older you get, the deeper the meaning becomes.
The Legacy of Oz:
When the film was originally released, it made money, but it was not extremely profitable. It was not until 1949, for the film’s 10th year anniversary, that the movie was re-released in theaters, and it really became profitable for MGM. In 1956, the movie premiered on television (on the CBS network) and it became a yearly television tradition to air the film, which would allow a new generation to experience it for the first time. This is how the movie became wider known and reached the level of immortality that it has today. In fact, I remember experiencing The Wizard of Oz on TV for the first time in the 80’s. It was airing on CBS, and I wanted to watch it. As a kid at the time, who had to get up early for school, I remember my parents letting my siblings and I stay up past our bedtime to watch the movie, and I remember being spellbound by it. I then remember watching it again, this time taping it off of CBS a year or two later, with a special feature hosted by Angela Lansbury about the making of the Wizard of Oz. Then, there was a media firestorm of hype that occurred in that CBS announced that it would be the last time they would air The Wizard of Oz on network television. That year, they sold the VHS tapes, so sales skyrocketed in buying the VHS tapes. But then, the following year, after the tapes were sold, The Wizard of Oz was back on TV, and aired for several years after.
Everybody has their own memory of The Wizard of Oz, how it wowed them, and how it made them feel. It is by these feelings this film has stood the test of time, and has become the classic that it has. It is also the reason why this movie holds up strong after 80 years of being in existence, and will continue to hold long after it turns 100. And now, it is available in all video formats (including the new 4K UHD format), gets special movie theater releases, is on TV (particularly on the TCM cable/satellite channel), and continues to be profitable. In fact, it is one of the most protected films in the movie industry today.
The film is rated G and runs 1 Hour and 42 Minutes.
To view a trailer, please click on the link below.
The Wizard of Oz is available to rent or own on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and VHS. It is on various streaming services, including for free if you have a subscription.