The Wizard of Oz
Judy Garland is Dorothy in this classic, Technicolour, family musical based on the book by L. Frank Baum. Critic Roger Ebert says of the film: "It has a wonderful surface of comedy and music, special effects and excitement, but we still watch it six decades later because its underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them." Winner of two Oscars for the film's music, The Wizard of Oz was also Palme d'Or nominated at Cannes 1939.
Young Dorothy and her dog Toto, along with her house, are swept up in a tornado and blown to the Land of Oz. Landing on and killing Oz's Wicked Witch of the East (Margaret Hamilton), Dorothy becomes an instant hero in her new land. But the Wicked Witch of the West (also played by Hamilton) threatens revenge. Dorothy must follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where only the Wizard (Frank Morgan) himself can return her to Kansas. On the way, Dorothy picks up some pals - the heartless Tin Man (Jack Haley), the brainless Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). Each hopes that the Wizard can offer what they lack.
- Director:
- Victor Fleming ('Gone with the Wind', 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde')
- Writer:
- Noel LangleyFlorence RyersonEdgar Allan Woolf
- Cast:
- Judy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerBert LahrJack HaleyBillie BurkeMargaret Hamilton
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Liam Maguren
flicksWhether you see it as a timeless ode to the power of friendship and imagination or as a feature-length fever trip about a girl with a subconscious bloodlust for revenge, Victor Fleming’s 1939 fantasy tale is nevertheless a certified classic. Judy Garland still wails with total conviction as the lost and confused Dorothy; Ray Bolger still astounds with his animated presence as The Scarecrow; Jack Haley still gestures flawlessly as The Tin Man; and Bert Lahr is as dainty and precious as ever as The Cowardly Lion (though his ‘pride’ has grown considerably over the years).
Variety
pressA work of almost staggering iconographic, mythological, creative and simple emotional meaning.
Total Film
pressThis phantasmagorical fantasy really does represent old-school MGM filmmaking at its best.
Roger Ebert
pressIts underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them.
Empire Magazine
pressThe songs and magic are still fresh, even if it isn't quite knowing enough, perhaps, for today's young audiences.
BBC
pressEach time it is shown, this extraordinary film (which was not even the first Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum's sublime story had been filmed before as a silent and a cartoon) embraces a new generation of children who succumb to its magic...
Flicks, Liam Maguren
flicksWhether you see it as a timeless ode to the power of friendship and imagination or as a feature-length fever trip about a girl with a subconscious bloodlust for revenge, Victor Fleming’s 1939 fantasy tale is nevertheless a certified classic. Judy Garland still wails with total conviction as the lost and confused Dorothy; Ray Bolger still astounds with his animated presence as The Scarecrow; Jack Haley still gestures flawlessly as The Tin Man; and Bert Lahr is as dainty and precious as ever as The Cowardly Lion (though his ‘pride’ has grown considerably over the years).
Variety
pressA work of almost staggering iconographic, mythological, creative and simple emotional meaning.
Total Film
pressThis phantasmagorical fantasy really does represent old-school MGM filmmaking at its best.
Roger Ebert
pressIts underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them.
Empire Magazine
pressThe songs and magic are still fresh, even if it isn't quite knowing enough, perhaps, for today's young audiences.
BBC
pressEach time it is shown, this extraordinary film (which was not even the first Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum's sublime story had been filmed before as a silent and a cartoon) embraces a new generation of children who succumb to its magic...
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