You know the story. Dorthy Gale feels unheard and alone on her aunt and uncle’s Kansas farm. She dreams of going ‘over the rainbow’. Then, a tornado twists from the sky and the storm shelter is locked, so Dorthy runs to her room to hide. The whole house is seemingly picked up by the storm and when it crashes down, Dorthy emerges in the land of Oz. Having parked her house on the Wicked Witch of the East, Dorthy is celebrated as a hero by the Munchkins of Munchkinland. But Dorthy doesn’t want to be a hero—she wants to be home. She is directed to travel to the Emerald City via a yellow brick road, where the Wizard of Oz could get her home. Along the way, she meets a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion who accompany her with the hopes of receiving their own gifts from the Wizard. But the reluctant Wizard challenges the quartet to the struggle of their lives: return with the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. It’s a struggle that would teach our heroes about brains, heart, courage, and that the grass is greenest back at home.
Yes, I have seen “The Wizard of Oz” before. Several times. But to be honest, it’s been sooooo long. I was a kid the last time I saw it. It’s been so long, that I didn’t even remember the casting device where all of the people that surround Dorthy in her ‘Kansas life’ play the roles of the characters in her ‘Oz journey’. So here I am, ~25 years after I’ve seen an 83 year old movie, going, “Wow, that’s really clever!”
“The Wizard of Oz” is America’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, and the film is still great. It holds up in pretty much every way. The Kansas stuff is fine and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is probably THE GREAT “I want” song of all time. The tornado effects are still pretty darn good and the transition to Oz (and from sepia to color) is one of the great transitions of all time. The design of Oz is fantastical and lush. Even though you can see the painted backdrops along the soundstage walls, everything is so colorful and layered that it just sort of works. Dorthy’s three companions are charming and the Wizard is one of the great charlatans. I didn’t realize he was played by Frank Morgan, who played “Mr. Matuschek” in “The Shop Around the Corner”—a great character actor. I think the film’s message that there’s no need to go out in the big, scary, weird world because happiness is found at home is a bit saccharine-sweet for me. But that’s fine.
According to the Library of Congress, “The Wizard of Oz” is the most seen film of all time. A perfect way to end my FIFTH year of watching one new(ish)-to-me film a week.
See ya next year!