Rating: G
Genre:
Children's/Family
Release Date: 10/25/2005
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DD1
Run Time: 103 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
The third and definitive film adaptation of
L. Frank Baum's 1900
children's fantasy, this
musical adventure is a genuine
family classic that made
Judy Garland a star for her heartfelt performance as
Dorothy Gale, an orphaned young girl unhappy with her drab black-and-white existence on her aunt and uncle's dusty Kansas farm.
Dorothy yearns to travel "over the rainbow" to a different world, and she gets her wish when a tornado whisks her and her little dog,
Toto, to the Technicolorful land of Oz. Having offended the
Wicked Witch of the West (
Margaret Hamilton),
Dorothy is protected from the old crone's wrath by the ruby slippers that she wears. At the suggestion of
Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (
Billie Burke),
Dorothy heads down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where dwells the all-powerful
Wizard of Oz, who might be able to help the girl return to Kansas. En route, she befriends a
Scarecrow (
Ray Bolger), a
Tin Man (
Jack Haley), and a
Cowardly Lion (
Bert Lahr). The
Scarecrow would like to have some brains, the
Tin Man craves a heart, and the
Lion wants to attain courage; hoping that the
Wizard will help them too, they join
Dorothy on her odyssey to the Emerald City.
Garland was
MGM's second choice for
Dorothy after
Shirley Temple dropped out of the project; and
Bolger was to have played the
Tin Man but talked co-star
Buddy Ebsen into switching roles. When
Ebsen proved allergic to the chemicals used in his silver makeup, he was replaced by
Haley.
Gale Sondergaard was originally to have played the
Wicked Witch of the West in a glamorous fashion, until the decision was made to opt for belligerent ugliness, and the
Wizard was written for
W.C. Fields, who reportedly turned it down because
MGM couldn't meet his price. Although
Victor Fleming, who also directed
Gone With the Wind, was given sole directorial credit, several directors were involved in the shooting, included
King Vidor, who shot the opening and closing black-and-white sequences.
Harold Arlen and
E.Y. Harburg's now-classic Oscar-winning song
"Over the Rainbow" was nearly chopped from the picture after the first preview because it "slowed down the action."
The Wizard of Oz was too expensive to post a large profit upon initial release; however, after a disappointing reissue in 1955, it was sold to network television, where its annual showings made it a classic.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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