The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Retro Review #44: A Technicolor triumph of over-the-rainbow greatness that is often under-appreciated today.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
+ Feature film, 1h 42m
+ Based on literature (novel) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)❗🔙🔜⭐ by L. Frank Baum⭐
A+^
Grade: A+^ (20.0) / HOF: 90
EQ👍A++ | 📖A 👥A+ 📽️A+ 🎼A+
DW 😎😎10.4 | 🌚10 🌝11
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R 💻⬆️1️⃣ 👀⬆️1️⃣ 🛐⬆️1️⃣
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
— Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale
The land of Oz was introduced nearly forty years earlier in the children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The novel was a success and in 1902 a hit Broadway musical followed. Baum wrote more novels and a few silent short films were set in Oz. 1925 saw the first feature-length film based on the original novel, also a silent movie.
The second feature-length film based on the original novel was this 1939 release, with the shortened title The Wizard of Oz. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but lost to Gone With the Wind. Frequently named on lists of the greatest films of all time, its peak ranking was on Variety magazine’s first list of the “100 Greatest Movies of All Time”, where it placed second, 19 spots ahead of Gone With the Wind, and one behind the Alfred Hitchcock film, Psycho.
Unlike Psycho, The Wizard of Oz is a film the whole family can enjoy, except for the very youngest, who might find it on the scary side. So one could therefore deduce that The Wizard of Oz might be the greatest family film of all time. Perceived as a children’s film, unless we have shown it to kids of our own, many of us probably only watched it when we were young, and don’t fully appreciate what a great film it truly is.
A key factor in the greatness of the film is its use of Technicolor. While not the first Technicolor film, it was arguably the first to use it so spectacularly—and by opening the film with sepia-toned black-and-white cinematography, the transition to color can be seen as a metaphor for the new places where the future would take the film industry. Because The Wizard of Oz is a fantasy film not bound to an earthly time long past, and thanks to the vivid colors, timeless story and great music, the movie holds up really well for the viewer of today.
The Wizard of Oz did manage to win two Oscars: Best Original Score and Best Original Song, for the above quoted “Over the Rainbow”. Sixteen-year-old actress Judy Garland’s superb rendition of the award-winning song certainly contributed to her being awarded an honorary Oscar, the Academy Juvenile Award.
Like probably most of my readers, I saw this film on television more than once as a kid. I think I read the book once too, but I wouldn't swear to it. In college, I bent my knees to appear shorter and found a funny squeaky voice to land a role as the Mayor of the Munchkins in a stage musical based on this film. (I’m in the yellow hat.)
But I’m fairly certain that my viewing for this review was the first time I’ve watched this movie in at least forty, maybe fifty years. It was certainly my first viewing on a large screen in high definition. And while I remember the Mayor’s little speech to Dorothy word-for-word to this day, there were portions of the movie, left out of or minimized in the stage version, that I had forgotten.
Speaking of forgotten—there are so many classic, unforgettable songs in the film. “Over the Rainbow” is just the beginning. “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” are also timeless. And of course you remember “If I Were King of the Forest”, right? Yeah. Neither did I. Well, a movie can be great without being perfect.
Of course I thoroughly enjoyed this film. You know how I love Dark Whimsy and this is the first stop on an overview of my favorites. This surely must be the earliest color feature-length Pure Dark Whimsy film. The haunted forest and the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West were delightfully Darker than I remembered.
And Whimsy! I found myself whistling along to all the “If I Only Had...” stanzas!
It’s really a shame that so many adults consider themselves somehow above Whimsy. Too serious for childish things, they deprive themselves of some of the joy that life can bring.
Don’t be that way! Find time to watch The Wizard of Oz again as an adult, on a big screen in glorious Technicolor, whether or not you have a family of kids with which to share it!
Onwards!
+ last viewed (4+) 2025-02-08, HDX7, 1.37, 1M
+ first viewed 1970s?, sd2, 1.37v, 1
+ 👨👩👧👦🎶🦄🧚🤴🛡️🐾🐾🐶🦁
+ ✅3️⃣ OK for younger kids. | G
+ 😡+2^ 😵💫+3 🤬+3 🤭+3 🫣+3
+ 👀⬆️1️⃣ ➖(🔮)
+ ✝️ +2 ➕✝️❤️❤️🩸🩷
+ ✡️ +1 ➕🌗😠🤍
+ 🗽 +0
Last updated 2025-04-14
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Nice pictures