Originally released in what has to have been the greatest year in cinema history (1939, along with "Gone With The Wind," "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," "Stagecoach" and many other famous titles), the recipient of six Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and winning two: Best Song and Musical Score), and recently ranked by the AFI as the sixth best movie of all time, "The Wizard of Oz" certainly deserves every accolade it's ever received.
Now rereleased for its sixtieth anniversary with a newly restored print and digitized sound (much like this past summer's "Gone With The Wind" makeover), this quintessential family classic makes its way back onto the silver screen for the first time in more than 25 years.
Although not the first or, for that matter, the last adaption of L. Frank Baum's beloved children's tale (remember 1978's "The Wiz" with Michael Jackson?), this is clearly the best and most well known. Easily playing across generations of viewers and as enjoyable to watch whether it's your first or sixtieth time seeing it, the film has a timeless appeal for moviegoers of all ages.
While technically savvy kids who've grown up in the post "Star Wars" era may find the Wicked Witch a pushover compared to, say, Darth Vader or any number of contemporary villains, and will also quickly see that the scenes obviously take place on a soundstage with the backgrounds consisting of matte paintings, the film, and its characters and story, have well weathered the tests of time and decades of critical judgement.
Since nearly everyone has seen this film at one or more points in their lives, and with countless volumes written about it over the six decades since its initial release, we won't dwell on the subject of the overall common census about the picture's glowing success, but will point out a few things in passing.
Despite a few minor problems -- it feels just a tad too long toward the end -- and glitches -- Dorothy's newfound friends lose the guard outfits they're wearing in what amounts to a split second after rescuing her -- the film is, and should be considered a masterpiece of imaginative storytelling.
From the collection of songs most everyone knows and can sing by heart, to the simple, but well played performances from the cast that gives it their all, the film works perfectly on nearly every level. While movie fans have their own favorite parts from the film, two come to mind as the best.
The first involves the tremendous use of color (predating "Pleasantville" and its similar use by just a few years). Ranging from the muted sepia "bookends" to the wonderful technicolor trip to Oz, few films have used the visual medium to such splendid effect.
Then there's the Kansas versus Oz parallels that permeate the film. Whether the latter is simply Dorothy's subconscious running wild and inserting familiar characters into an unknown situation, or that she actually travels there via the tornado will be forever debated. The effect, however, of having the same performers playing the parts in both lands works wonderfully well, and still remains a pleasant surprise to younger kids when they finally figure that out.
Completing director Victor Flemings amazing cinematic double play in 1939 -- he also directed "Gone With The Wind" -- this film, like that Civil War classic, has continually managed to captivate and entertain audiences for more than half a century. Simply put, there's no better testament to a film's quality than that. Accordingly, we give "The Wizard of Oz" a 9 out of 10.
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