Il sognatore di Oz

I remember watching this movie when it first aired on television on NBC and I was fortunate enough to have it taped and I still have that tape today. The story is solid, as are the Oz fantasy sequences. This movie is certainly a classic in its own right.

I remember this movie every time The Wizard of OZ is mentioned and was surprised to discover I was only six years old the one and only time I saw it. It is very clear in my mind still which is clearly a comment on the quality of the film. All of the performances were wonderful but I have one negative comment to make. I recently researched Dorothy Gage and discovered she died at only 5 months old, and although her name is the basis of Dorothy Gale's, the story was always meant to feature a girl not a little boy as the movie depicted.

The movie had the viewer believe that Baum had a strong attachment to a child when really Dorothy was an infant who his wife adored.

Even though the film is inaccurate the story is wonderful on it's own and I would recommend it to anyone as a partly non-fiction, partly fiction film.

This film deserves to available on video or DVD. As far as I know, this is one of the few versions of the life of Lionel Frank Baum, the author of the Oz series. The film, a made-for-TV film with John Ritter, treats the subject of L. Frank Baum's creating the Wizard of Oz book. The story is largely a fictionalized version of Baum's odyssey to creating the book and Baum purists (myself included) may be tempted to snort at the inclusion of issues that have been added into the mythology of the creation of the Oz books. However, this little slips are forgivable in the overall presentation of the life of a gentle man who truly loved children and whose works remain classics to this day. Baum was a complex individual whose works-- particularly the earlier ones-- were more complex than meets the eye. His themes touched on female voter issues (a hot issue in the turn of century, pre-feminist days), the ethics of creating life and the responsibility of science. This little movie does not go into these issues, nor should it have, for that matter. But, in any case, it should be available for those of us who would like to see it again.

John Ritter shines as L. Frank Baum the man who would eventually write the "Wizard of Oz" series. Annette O'Toole is also a treasure in this story. I was amazed to find the chemistry from the pairing in a longer form. The two actors were featured in the same year (1990) in the TV movie version of IT. They both got to show off their acting chops in this flick. I was especially drawn in when Frank had to participate in a duel. It has touching moments in it as well and really helps develop how the story of Dorothy and her friends began with Frank's love of telling stories to his own children.

This is a very moving and telling film. We have watched it about 20 times now!! I must say I missed this TV film when it aired originally. However, in February of this year we purchased the 75th Anniversary collectors kit. If you are an avid Oz buff, it is a must purchase and this movie is included. While it is not an digitally updated as the Wizard of Oz itself, you can really tell the awesome portrayals of two more awesome actors who have left us-John Ritter and Rue McClanahan :( I would recommend on seeing this film for all families. It's almost as magical as the original movie itself! The box set also comes with commentaries, deleted scenes and songs, biographies of the original Wizard of Oz cast and literature as well as a watch.