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- Blu-ray: The Wizard of Oz (70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition)
- Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Frank Morgan, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton
- Written By: Frank Baum (original stories), Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson (screenplay)
- Directed By: Victor Fleming
- Distributor: Warner Home Video
- Features Grade: A+
- Extras: 16 Hours of Enhanced Content, Four of Which Are Brand New, Including New Documentaries, Featurettes, Digital Copy on Disc and Rare and highly collectible memorabilia. Premiums include: 52-pg. Production History Book, Behind the Curtain; Exclusive 70th Anniversary Watch with genuine crystals; Reproduction of the original film budget; 1939 Campaign Book. Blu-Ray Exclusive: 6 hour MGM documentary When the Lion Roars. Exclusive to Amazon are a set of 4 collectible poster cards featuring the characters of Wizard of Oz.
Series: Wizard of Oz
- Series:
Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Blu-ray
Off to See the Wizard in Blu! By
Robert T. Trate
September 29, 2009
Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Ray Bolger in the Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray
© Warner Home Video
For many of us it was our first film in which we were introduced to pure fantasy. MGM’s 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz may just be the greatest film of all time. It is untouched in its likeness and considered a perennial favorite by all. The adventures of Dorothy in the Land of Oz have touched countless generations of people and will continue to do so for all time. With each and every landmark anniversary the Wizard of Oz it gets polished up and re-released. This being its seventieth year the Wizard of Oz makes its debut on Blu-ray. By far it is the best Blu-ray in terms of content and special features to date. As it has been the practice with films of this nature there is the big overpriced box set that has books and gimmicks to lure you into paying two times the amount for a film you already have. This time however Warner Home Video has really pulled out all the stops and delivered a true Ultimate Collector's Edition. So much that it could fill a tornado.
“Prettier Than Ever” is a great place to start on this Blu-ray edition of the film. Here a technical breakdown is made of the restoration process. Though considered to be the most protected movie in all of film history many times this film was cleaned with a simple brush. Now the film has been digitally restored and the first to use 4K film resolution. That 4K means that it is 4000 pixels wide per frame with 16 bit colors (65,536 colors available to each pixel). They were able to use the original camera negatives in this process, bringing the film literally back to life. It was a long and arduous process as one member of the team regales, “it took 91 hours to do the first 10 minutes”. All the time and effort are clearly worth it as the Scarecrow’s burlap face comes onto the screen and each rivet on the Tin Man’s face is once again glistening.
There is a massive commentary track that includes John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman (daughter of Arthur Freed), Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr (son of Bert Lahr), Jane Lahr (daughter of Bert Lahr), Hamilton Meserve (son of Margaret Hamilton), Dona Massin (MGM choreographer), William Tuttle (make-up artist), Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy, and Jerry Maren. Some of the commentary was recorded for this Ultimate Edition but the true gems are interviews with the original cast members. It is a full fountain of knowledge that is as intoxicating as the Wizard of Oz. Everything is discussed from Toto’s ownership to the mysterious Nikko to is there or isn’t there a Munchkin hanging in the forest.
The sixtieth edition encompassed a lot of the same special features most notably “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic” hosted by Angela Lansbury. Here that documentary is broken up and scattered throughout the discs allowing one to pick and choose what they want to see. Many of the commentators suggest looking for different pictures and alternate audio tracks on the discs. In this format they are easier to locate. The full documentary is included just the same.
“Memories of Oz”, a 2001 TCM documentary is a short and fun retrospective featuring many of the surviving Munchkins. Jane Lahr (daughter of Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion) is also featured here as she looks back at her father’s performance and points out his history with Vaudeville. John Waters steals the show as he calls it “the most mainstream cult film of all time” and roots for the failure of anyone who tries to remake it. To do so would be blasphemy.
Deleted Scenes from the Wizard of Oz are always great and here there is fourteen minutes worth. The best of these scenes include the fully restored “If I Only Had a Brain” dance number. Yet as one pieces together and learns more and more about the Wizard of Oz’s production one cannot help but wish there was more to the Jitterbug dance number. It did after all take 5 weeks to shoot and was cut after the first preview screening.
There are several trailers spotlighted here but it is the teaser and the Lowes Cairo Theater trailer that are truly unique. Both were created for individual movie houses. The teaser was solely created for Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. In 1940 a new full length trailer for a theater in Cairo Egypt was produced. A strange addition to this set but one worth watching.
As mentioned before this box set does come with the price gauging extras. The collectible and numbered 70th Anniversary Wizard of Oz watch with genuine crystals is the odder but expected extra. What is truly unique is the replica of the Wizard of Oz’s final budget and its complete break down. “Behind the Curtain” is a 52-page coffee-table book stocked full of pictures and behind the scenes moments. The true treat for any film aficionado is a replica of the original 1939 campaign book. Here any fan of Oz or movies in general can see how the film was marketed to the press.
We didn’t even scratch the surface with all the special features included in this Blu-ray box set. It really lives up to its title as the Ultimate Collector's Edition. It takes you over the rainbow into that merry old Land of Oz.
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Awesome. Have to pick this up ASAP.
Was really disappointed when "stuff" prevented me from seeing the "one night in theaters" showing last week, but this may almost make up for that.
I love being able to see great movies (like OZ) whenever I want, in my home, but I do think that, at the same time, we have lost some of the fun and pleasure that came with things like the yearly screening of OZ, on TV. It really felt like a special event. The fact that you couldn't just see it "whenever", or as many times as you might want, made those showings somethign special.
At any rate - very cool!
Shadow