Le Magicien d'Oz

This film predates my birth by 19 years, so I've seen it as a child when it was an annual event on network TV, stretched out to hours in length, believably due to commercials and maybe not so believably today due to the network hosting and talking about the film a little during breaks.

Today at age 55, when it shows up on Turner Classic Movies, even though I have in my possession the deluxe "Wizard of Oz DVD Set and Museum in a Box", I'll still stop and watch it from whatever point I catch it to the end. Having the advantage of having seen it at all ages I can truly say that it has enough fantasy and whimsy and spectacle to keep the interest of children without being inane so that adults cannot appreciate it too. I think in all of filmdom only Walt Disney in Walt's time with his animated features and Pixar in modern times have been able to strike that balance. Even "Star Wars" has lost a step or two in the 36 years since its release.

Wizard of Oz has the universal themes of the value of friendship and family, of how many of us have strengths and virtues inside of us we'll never believe we have until tested, and how many powerful people are literally all hot air. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" is practically a slogan of American politics as I am writing this in the year 2013. Then there is beautiful Judy Garland when her exterior still matched her voice, before the studio system chewed her up and literally spit her out. She was never more lovely than she is right here. You'd never believe Billie Burke as the good witch Glenda is 55 years old. You'd never believe that Margaret Hamilton as The Bad Witch is only 37. I remember seeing her on a daytime commercial in the 1960's as a child and thinking "Isn't she dead yet?" There is maybe one aspect of this film that is uniquely pre-WWII. The theme of the film - "Never look for anything if you can't find it in your own backyard" is a motto for the isolationist years between the wars that would be left behind in only a couple of years when it became apparent that the U.S. would have to confront the evil expansionist powers growing on both sides of the globe. It is perhaps a unique snapshot in time in that regard only. It also shows the best the studio system could produce in that fabled year of 1939 when it was at the height of its power.

Forgive me for yammering on about a film that has been reviewed hundreds of times, but this one will always have a special place in my heart and my memory.

Judy Garland's portrayal of Dorothy, Dorothy's oddball Oz friends, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and the rest of this fine production of "The Wizard of Oz" have lost little of their magic over the years. While it has become oddly fashionable in recent years to deride this kind of classic, innocent fantasy, the movie itself has aged very well, and it is likely to retain an appreciative audience for some time to come.

There's no doubt that part of the appeal of the story and the characters comes from them being such old friends to so many cinema fans, but there are also good reasons why they have endured for so long, and have been able to hold up even after becoming so familiar. Although Dorothy is not a particularly complex character, she represents an innocent but deep yearning that is easy to identify with. Likewise, the 'Oz' characters are bizarre enough to remain interesting, but there is a core of substance that again is easy to believe in. Who does not feel that he or she could use at least one of the things that Dorothy's friends want?

The adaptation from the original story is done quite well, making fine choices for the characters and episodes that would work on film. The settings and visual effects may not impress the devotees of today's computer imagery, but in their time they certainly demonstrated a great deal of skill and planning, and even now, in their own way they are more believable than are most of the computer tricks that have become so overused.

The popular story has also been used for a number of more recent adaptations, and some of them have had some good points of their own. But this Wizard remains by far the most wonderful of the versions of the classic tale.

I was born the same year the movie came out, but only caught up with it the other night, mainly because musicals are not my usual movie fare. So what's left to say after 500+ reviews. I was most impressed by the art and set direction. Too bad they didn't win Oscars. The sets were so imaginative and well done, from poppy fields to enchanted woods to yellow brick road.

For once, MGM's habit of over-producing what's on screen really paid off with an appropriately lavish scale. The effects are simply breathtaking, but I can also detect the nightmarish visuals that go beyond the demonic Witch of the West. So I can see why kids would be both mesmerized and unsettled by the fantastic adventures.

I also have to say that Garland was wonderful as Dorothy, though I've never been a particular fan. Plus, her captivating rendition of Rainbow deserves to top the all-time movie charts. All in all, I'm sorry it took me so long to catch up. It's really hard to believe that so many cooks (writers & directors) didn't spoil the outcome. Somehow, the sumptuous production with its sturdy moral all came together, and remains aptly a movie for the ages.

The NBC Peacock began unfolding its wings. "The following program is brought to you in living color--with portions in black & white--on NBC." That exclusive intro began my exposure to color television at Grandma's in 1968. When Dorothy stepped out into Technicolor, I'll bet my eyes just popped.

This is the Movie of All Time, folks--a status achieved during its long run as a huge annual TV event during that classic era whose programs now show up on TV Land network. In the 1970s, Peter Marshall once read the answer on Hollywood Squares as to the program seen more times by more people than anything else ever shown on television. It was "Oz." Likewise, no movie has the hold on popular culture that this one does. What lion character ever since (i.e., Snagglepuss) hasn't been an impersonation of Bert Lahr going, "Put 'em up, put 'em uuuuup!"

Few musicals offer an equal combination of lovable music and engaging story. Perhaps "The Sound of Music." Hard to think of many Hollywood musicals where the story gets as serious as it does here when the Witch informs Dorothy that, "The last to go will see the first three go before her...and her mangy little dog too!" Yikes! In contrast, even the best of other Hollywood musicals seem to serve up fluffy, forgettable story lines that are mere backdrop to the song numbers that typically put the plot on hold.

I can't say that "Oz" doesn't have technical flaws or story element inconsistencies. It's just that the astonishing production values all around so overwhelm the shortcomings. The tornado sequence is a 1939 special effects tour de force--incredible. And the Nutcracker-quality musical score offers songs tastefully interwoven with the action. Certain numbers like "Merry Old Land of Oz," I never get tired off, though I like each of the songs.

Oz should be viewed in the lightness of spirit that it deserves. I mean look, we have Frank Morgan as the Emerald City gatekeeper, then seconds later as the cabbie with the Horse of a Different Color, then the Wizard's palace guard, and then the voice of fire-and-smoke Wizard of Oz who bellows, "Step forward, Tin Man!" What other film could put an actor go through 4 quick-changes within 10 minutes to such an endearing result? "Oz" is as magic as those sparkling ruby shoes.

The early Technicolor process utilized triple nitrate negative strips--separately recording each primary color in light. This was done due to the lack of a suitable "color film" in 1939. That would quickly change--but films from years following suffered from hues that faded with the years, even original negatives. Because "Oz" was actually filmed on a black-and-white base film, the negatives never faded. So now we have home videos/DVDs of breathtaking color quality. Now, the tinted filters in the cameras that separated the colors onto the negative strips meant that intense illumination was required, rendering the filming experience miserably hot for the actors involved, especially Lahr. But they all hold up amazingly well.

"Oz" has a valuable message. As the pop group America once said, "No, Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man....that he didn't, didn't already have." If we have truly search, we can find within us--or create through trial, like the Lion's courage--what we think we most lack. The Wizard (like the Lord) helps those who find help within themselves.

I feel sorry for the Almira Gulches who can't treasure this film experience. They need to visit the Emerald City to get their own ticking Testimonials and find their hearts.

Didn't bring your broomsticks with you? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to walk.

In the fall of 2006, my husband and I saw a screening "The Wizard of Oz" that had a full orchestra providing the soundtrack. Never in my life had I seen a more eclectic audience: there were families with little children, adults who came alone (one woman was dressed as Glinda), teens and college students, even couples who had to have been in their '90s. Not to gush, but it's really a testimonial to "Oz"'s legacy that it can appeal to every generation, to every age. Like hot chocolate or Mickey Mouse T-shirts, "The Wizard of Oz" is something you never have to worry about being too old for. There is something so comforting about the familiar story of farm girl Dorothy's journey through the strange but wonderful land of Oz, and yet it remains a wonder to behold. I still get excited when Dorothy steps out her sepia-toned world of Kansas into the Technicolor Munchkinland, even though I learned ages ago how the trick was done. I'm still overjoyed when Dorothy makes another odd yet loyal friend along her journey (hmmm, a nice message of tolerance, too!). I still cry when Dorothy bids her friends farewell (Jack Haley in particular breaks my heart). I just want to yell at the screen, "no! Forget boring old Kansas, stay in Oz!"

Not only is "The Wizard of Oz" a charming, addictive classic, but it's one of the best-cast films ever. Putty-limbed Ray Bolger ("Some people without brains do and AWFUL lot of talking, don't they?"), over-the-top Bert Lahr (I haven't any courage at all, I even scare myself!"), and boyishly charming Jack Haley ("Now I know I have a heart, 'cause it's breaking.") are pitch-perfect in their respective roles as the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man. All three were vaudeville vets, and they infuse their roles with both theatrical shtick and warmth. Billie Burke is memorably twittery yet poised as Glinda the Good Witch, and who can possibly forget Margaret Hamilton's cackling, gleefully evil performance as the Wicked Witch of the West? Hamiltion's iconic, villainous image is so emblazoned in our minds, that it's easy to forget she was a former kindergarten teacher and future animal rights activist! As superb as the cast is, however, "The Wizard of Oz" belongs to the young Judy Garland. Garland makes Dorothy a very real character that we can all relate too, whereas any other actress would have made her one-note and whiny. She believably plays an ordinary girl in an extraordinary place, her lovely brown eyes wide with awe and wonder. And that singing voice! Long before Garland's voice became tinged with tremulous desperation due to age and hard living, the true beauty and purity of her voice comes through in "Oz". Garland sings "Over the Rainbow" so simply, without a trace of theatrics, and you're swept away just the same. It's spellbinding, seeing someone so young have the presence and talent to hold a movie in the palm of her hand. "The Wizard of Oz" will remain the ultimate escapist classic for generations to come, and it will always be one of my favorites. It's comforting, familiar, why... it's just like home.