meg23

Having now seen all of Baum's Oz films, I can say with certainty that this film is the best acted of any of them. Even the animal impersonators brought a spark of life and whimsy to their characters that few men in animal suits can approach! Fred Woodward's Woozy is funny, irritable, and ridiculous, just as he should be. As always, it's fascinating to see how Baum imagined Oz, but this is the best look we get at how he imagined the Oz celebrities. Unfortunately, we don't get to see Dorothy in this film, but we do get to see Ozma, briefly. She is just as he described her- beautiful, ethereal, almost floating above the earth with grace, but she is still full of joy and humor. You should go see this movie, definitely!

This is one of those documentaries which I came out of thinking, "Well, that was interesting." Judy Garland's life deserves more than a documentary. It needs a multimedia epic lasting well over two hours and covering every fascinating facet. Unfortunately, such a spectacle is impractical and impossible. The closest thing we have is a combination of a good book and our imaginations. Therefore, I suggest reading a good biography (I suggest Gerald Clarke's "Get Happy") and watching her films as an alternative to this dry, unimaginative film, whose only moments of true glory are when it shows clips of Garland's performances, and even then, they talk over it! Still, if you like documentaries, it's a good one.

This is film I could never think to forget. Every moment, every interaction is saturated with meaning and force, and the whole is a beautiful tribute to people living with mental retardation and those dedicated people who work with them. Judy Garland's performance is candid, human, and wonderfully real, and it is one of the pillars on which the movie stands. Burt Lancaster is a great actor, who, of course, does a great job, too. Abby Mann's dialog is, as always, gloriously real and bares all emotion, however painful. This is certainly a movie to watch with tissue-box in hand. I wish I had had a tissue, and my poor, wet sleeve must wish it, too!