The Wizard of Oz Film Review

Released: 1939

Running time: 98 minutes approx

Genre: Family, Adventure, Fantasy

Director: Victor Fleming

Budget: $2,800,000 (estimated)

Nominations: 13

When it comes to a genre of film, musicals are my favourite. I love all the old musical films. And although many of them tend to be on television over the Christmas season, I still find myself watching them each year. One such film in my collection is The Wizard of Oz.

Film Synopsis

At the very beginning of the film, it is shot in sepia. Dorothy Gayle lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a farm in Kansas. She also has a little dog called Toto. One day Em and Henry has a visit from Amira Gulch, a neighbour of theirs. She threatens to take Toto away for biting her. When Dorothy hears this, she becomes frightened and decides to run away. As she starts on her journey, she meets Professor Marvel. But he persuades her to go home by pretending to read her fortune. On her way back home, a tornado strikes Kansas. As Dorothy enters her house, we see it lifted up into the air by the tornado and get whisked away. Her family, meanwhile, are safely hidden away in the underground shelter.

I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!

The house crash lands in Munckin Land. Dorothy awakes after being knocked unconscious, and the magic begins. She opens the front door. As she slowly opens the door and peeks she suddenly realises she's not in Kansas anymore. But what is more delightful to see is when she opens the door, the visual effects change from sepia to technicolour. She walks out into Munchkin Land into a spectacle of bright colour. Considering this is 1939 we're talking about, I find this pretty amazing.

As Dorothy and Toto walk into this strange but beautiful magical land, we get to meet a lot of weird and wonderful people. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, is popping up throughout the film to help Dorothy. The Munchkins themselves who live in Munchkin Land are a definite highlight of the film. Watching these little people sing and dance and making Dorothy welcome in their land is the bit I love the most. Their singing and dancing is joyful and delightful to watch. Of course, with any fantasy film, you get good and bad. And we get to meet The Wicked Witch of the West, the sister of the witch Dorothy accidentally killed.

The film takes us through Dorothy's journey through the magical world of Munchkin Land and her route to the Emerald City. On her journey she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. With each of them wanting different things, Dorothy to return home to Kansas, we see the trials and tribulations she has along the way.

This is one of them classic films that has gone down in history, and is still watched and loved by children and adults today. The transition from the sepia effect at the start of the film to technicolour when she opens that door is amazing. The different colours is beautiful. The acting from Judy Garland is really good. Although she was only a young girl at the time, I find she played the part well. Toto was played by Terry who appeared in a total of 16 films all together. In the film Toto did all his own stunts and is a much loved little character in the film.

The making of The Wizard of Oz must have been such a huge operation at the time, when you consider the amount of Munchkins they had in the film. And the set itself is worth taking into consideration. The Emerald City and Munchkin Land is well made and looks great on screen. This must have looked wonderful when it was on in the cinema. I like that there are plenty of songs in the movie to sing along to. This is a fun and enjoyable film to watch. I'm sure little children would find the wicked witch a bit scary, but I find this adds to the beauty of the storyline, and adds drama to the film.

This is the perfect escapism movie, and for a little while, can enter a magical land where trees talk, things come to life, and our world is full of bright colours. Like Dorothy, we can close our eyes and hope for a better land somewhere over the rainbow.

The DVD copy I have is digitally remastered for Superior Picture Quality and True Stereo Sound. There are also a number of DVD extras on my copy which people may find interesting.

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz making of a movie classic.
2. Os History
3. Oz Afterlife
4. Behind the scenes
5. Out-takes/deleted scenes
6. Audio Supplements
7. Interactive menus
8. Scene Access
9. Trailers