There’s even a bit of drama thrown in for good measure.
Whatever you’re into this film is sure to deliver.
The film required several directors to complete and just as well as principal director Victor Fleming had to leave production early to take over direction of the troubled ‘Gone with the Wind.’
MGM’s lavish production used novel techniques during filming including switching from sepia for the Kansas farmland sequences to glorious Technicolor for Oz.
Technicolor became known and celebrated for its highly saturated colour, and was initially most commonly used for filming musicals such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’
It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but lost to ‘Gone with the Wind’. It did win in two other categories, including Best Original Song for ‘Over the Rainbow.’
Over the years, the film has become an icon of American popular culture.
In this charming film based on the popular L. Frank Baum story, Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.
When a nasty neighbour tries to have her dog put to sleep, Dorothy takes her dog Toto, to run away. However, they are caught in a tornado's path and somehow end up in the Land of Oz.
Things in Oz are strange and beautiful, but Dorothy just wants to get back home. She’s helped by the Good Witch of the North, but she’s also in trouble with the Wicked Witch of the West, who seeks revenge for the death of her sister; the Wicked Witch of the East, for which she blames Dorothy.
Dorothy is advised to travel to The Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home.
On her way she meets a Scarecrow who needs a brain, a Tin Man who wants a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who desperately needs courage. They all hope the Wizard of Oz will help them, before the Wicked Witch of the West catches up with them.
The Wizard of Oz is one of the Thirties’ most engaging films. Frank Baum’s simple vision seems to have achieved its perfect reincarnation in Fleming’s film.
★★★★★ John Baxter
‘The Wizard of Oz’ is unique among motion pictures in that it mirrors our longings and imaginations as children.
★★★★★ The Film Cricket
Elements in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ powerfully fill a void that exists inside many children. For kids of a certain age, home is everything, the centre of the world. But over the rainbow, dimly guessed at, is the wide earth, fascinating and terrifying.
★★★★★ Roger Ebert
An absolute masterpiece whose ground-breaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant. The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old.
★★★★★ Rotten Tomatoes
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