The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz


MGM, 1939, BW / Color, 100 minutes, ****

Released August, 1939




Follow Dorothy over the rainbow and down the Yellow Brick Road, along with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion and Toto, too, for fun and adventure in the Emerald City. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan star in one of the most beloved films of all time. The Harold Arlen-E. Y. "Yip" Harburg score includes "We're Off to See the Wizard," "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and more. Special edition DVD includes the documentary "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic," hosted by Angela Lansbury and featuring rare outtakes, and the original theatrical trailer.



This film has been "restored" over and over again, to the point where it looks absolutely hideous - the colors are much too saturated, and all wrong for the era. But I guess each restoration makes everyone rush out and buy the film again so they can have the latest and greatest version. Enough already! I recommend some of the older releases if you want to see the film as it was orignially intended. If you like current-day eye-candy, then the latest version should suit you well -- until the next one comes out. Personally, I think the "Ultimate Oz" was restored well enough, and all "restorations" (colorizations) beyond that point are over the top and distracting.


Producer: Mervyn LeRoy

Director: Victor Fleming

Screenplay: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf (based on the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, published in 1900)

Musical Score: Herbert Stothart

Song Score: Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg

Choreography: Bobby Connolly

Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design: Adrian

Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillespie

Cinematography: Harold Rosson

Film Editing: Blanche Sewell



Awards: Won Academy Awards for Best Original Score (Herbert Stothart) and Best Song ("Over the Rainbow"); Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Color Cinematography, Best Interior Decoration and Best Special Effects



Cast: Judy Garland [Dorothy Gale], Frank Morgan [Professor Marvel, Doorman, Cabby, Guard, The Wizard of Oz], Ray Bolger [Hunk, Scarecrow], Bert Lahr [Zeke, Cowardly Lion], Jack Haley [Hickory, Tin Man], Margaret Hamilton [Miss Almira Gulch, Wicked Witch of the West], Billie Burke [Glinda, the Good Witch of the North], Charley Grapewin [Uncle Henry], Clara Blandick [Auntie Em], Pat Walshe [Nikko], The Singer Midgets [The Munchkins], Jerry Maren [Lollipop Guild Leader], Terry [Toto], Adriana Caselotti [Voice of Juliet, uncredited]



Musical Program: Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland); Munchkinland Musical Sequence: Come Out, Come Out... (Billie Burke and The Munchkins); It Really Was No Miracle (Judy Garland, Billy Bletcher and The Munchkins); We Thank You Very Sweetly (Jospeh Koziel[?] and Frank Cucksey); Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead (The Munchkins); As Mayor of the Munchkin City (Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colveg and J. D. Jewkes); As Coroner, I Must Aver (Harry Stanton); Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead (reprise, The Munchkins); The Lullaby League (Lorraine Bridges, Betty Rome and Carol Tevis); The Lollipop Guild (Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colveg and Harry Stanton); We Welcome You to Munchkinland (The Munchkins); Follow the Yellow Brick Road / You're Off to See the Wizard (Judy Garland and The Munchkins)}; end of Munchkinland Sequence If I Only Had a Brain (sung and danced by Ray Bolger and Judy Garland); We're off to See the Wizard (Judy Garland and Ray Bolger); If I Only Had a Heart (Jack Haley with Adriana Caselotti as Juliet); We're off to See the Wizard (Judy Garland, Ray Bolger and Buddy Ebsen); If I Only Had the Nerve (Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Judy Garland); We're off to See the Wizard (Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen and Bert Lahr); Optimistic Voices (MGM Studio Chorus, The Debutantes, and The Rhythmettes); The Merry Old Land of Oz (Frank Morgan, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Tyler Brook, Ralph Sudam, Bobby Watson, Oliver Smith, Charles Irwin, Lois January, Elivda Rizzo, Lorraine Bridges and the MGM Studio Chorus); If I Were King of the Forest (Bert Lahr, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Buddy Ebsen)