The Wizard Of Oz (G)
Grade: A+
- Directed by: Victor Fleming
- Produced by: Mervyn LeRoy
- Screenplay by: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf. Based on the novel "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz" by L. Frank Baum
- Starring: Judy Garland (Dorothy Gale), Frank Morgan (The Wizard, Professor Marvel, Doorman, Cabbie, Guard), Ray Bolger(Hunk/Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Hickory/Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Zeke/ Cowardly Lion), Billie Burke (Glinda The Good Witch Of The North), Margaret Hamilton (Miss Almira Gulch/The Wicked Witch Of The West), Clara Blandick (Aunt Em), Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry), Pat Walsh (Nikko The Head Flying Monkey), Terry (Toto)
- Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
- Music by: Herbert Stothart, Harold Arlen, and E.Y. Harburg
- Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- Distributed by: Loew's
- Released: August 25, 1939
- Running Time: 101 minutes/1 hour and 41 minutes
- Language: English
"There's no place like home."
-Dorothy Gale
It seems fitting to me that the first classic film review for my blog is "The Wizard Of Oz", arguably one of the best and most watched films of all time. I first saw the film as a child, thinking it was just another run of the mill film, but as I got older, I started to realize what a masterpiece it was. I'm 21 years old now, and have seen my share of film's, but few move me and bring me back to my childhood/home as much as "The Wizard Of Oz".
We start off in Kansas, where a young farm girl named Dorothy is running from Miss Gulch because she wants to take her dog Toto away for biting her. Dorothy doesn't want to give her dog away, so she tries telling her aunt, uncle, and the farmhands about her problems, but they are too preoccupied to pay any attention to her. When she finally does get attention from her aunt, she tells Dorothy to "find herself a place where she won't get herself into any trouble". Dorothy doesn't know if such a place exists, but she sings about going over the rainbow because she thinks that might be the place. After singing, Dorothy decides to run away from home with Toto because she knows that Miss Gulch will be back. As she tries leaving Kansas, she meets Professor Marvel, who has a crystal ball telling her that Aunt Em is sick. Dorothy rushes back home after hearing the news, but in the midst of it, gets caught in a storm and hits her head. When she awakens, she finds herself in Munchkinland, but has to deal with The Wicked Witch Of The West, who wants revenge on Dorothy for killing her sister, and because she wants her ruby slippers. The only way to get home, follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City and visit the Wizard Of Oz, who can grant any wish.
The film has many strengths as a whole, but the thing I always remember from it is Judy Garland and her immortal performance as Dorothy. Yes, her singing of "Over The Rainbow" is wonderful and brings tears to my eyes, but she's so much more than that song. She's wonderful because of the innocence she has, and the fact that she's so realistic, we feel what she's feeling. We want to leave home when she wants to leave home, and when she meets all her friends, we want her to succeed even more.
We start off in Kansas, where a young farm girl named Dorothy is running from Miss Gulch because she wants to take her dog Toto away for biting her. Dorothy doesn't want to give her dog away, so she tries telling her aunt, uncle, and the farmhands about her problems, but they are too preoccupied to pay any attention to her. When she finally does get attention from her aunt, she tells Dorothy to "find herself a place where she won't get herself into any trouble". Dorothy doesn't know if such a place exists, but she sings about going over the rainbow because she thinks that might be the place. After singing, Dorothy decides to run away from home with Toto because she knows that Miss Gulch will be back. As she tries leaving Kansas, she meets Professor Marvel, who has a crystal ball telling her that Aunt Em is sick. Dorothy rushes back home after hearing the news, but in the midst of it, gets caught in a storm and hits her head. When she awakens, she finds herself in Munchkinland, but has to deal with The Wicked Witch Of The West, who wants revenge on Dorothy for killing her sister, and because she wants her ruby slippers. The only way to get home, follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City and visit the Wizard Of Oz, who can grant any wish.
The film has many strengths as a whole, but the thing I always remember from it is Judy Garland and her immortal performance as Dorothy. Yes, her singing of "Over The Rainbow" is wonderful and brings tears to my eyes, but she's so much more than that song. She's wonderful because of the innocence she has, and the fact that she's so realistic, we feel what she's feeling. We want to leave home when she wants to leave home, and when she meets all her friends, we want her to succeed even more.
"The Wizard Of Oz" is Judy Garland's defining role in film history, which is a shame cause most people haven't even seen some of her other film's like A Star Is Born or her movies with Mickey Rooney, which I highly recommend. She was one of the most beautiful actresses and singers of all time in my opinion, which is why it's shame what her life was like with the drug and alcohol abuse, that really started because of the film industry. I'm disappointed in what films did to Judy, but I'm glad she has at least one film and song that will last forever. Not many people can say they have that.
In the end, "The Wizard Of Oz" is a simple plot, with old special special effects, sets, etc, but that's why it's a authentic. As adults, we notice how cheap it looks now, but as children, it plays to our imagination and looks real, which is why despite it's minor flaws, the film is perfect.
"The Wizard Of Oz" is a timeless classic because it's a film that you see as a child that you will never forget. It's a film that you couldn't bear never seeing again. And most of all, it's a film that no matter how long it ages, it's something we relate to because of the lessons, and the fact that it always brings us back home.
Judy Garland as Dorothy, singing her immortal song "Over The Rainbow"
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