The Wizard of Oz

Epic films are usually something that sticks with society well past their theater circuit. We have seen many film films with this treatment: "Lawrence of Arabia", "Gone with the Wind", "Frankenstein", Dracula", "Cleopatra", "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", "On the Waterfront", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "To Kill a Mockingbird" "Psycho", "Raging Bull", "Out of Africa", "Serpico", "Inherit the Wind", "Judgment at Nuremberg", "The Greatest Story Ever Told", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Schindler's List" to name a handful. One film we cannot forget which avidly belongs on that impressive list is "The Wizard of Oz",

In this film based on the popular L. Frank Baum stories, Dorothy (Judy Garland) and her dog, Toto (Terry) are caught up in a tornado's path and somehow ends up in the land of Oz. Here she meets Glinda (Billie Burke), good witch of the North, who tells her to keep those ruby slippers on no matter what, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) who warns her if she doesn't hand over the slippers, she will suffer the consequences, Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) and Tin Man (Jack Haley) as she follows the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan) to help her get home, to give Scarecrow a brain, courage to Cowardly Lion, and a heart to Tin Man.

Others to round out the cast are Charley Grapewin as Uncle Henry, Clara Blandick as Auntie Em, Pat Walshe as Nikko, and The Singer Midgets as The Munchkins.

This was charmingly directed by Victor Fleming ("When the Clouds Roll By" '19, "Lord Jim" '25, "The Awakening" '28, "Renegades" '30, "Treasure Island" '34, "Captains Courageous" '37, "Test Pilot" '38, "Gone with the Wind" '39) and many others. Other directors contributed, but at the end of the day, Fleming received full film credit. It was written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf adapted by Langley based on L. Frank Baum's book. Again, there were a ton of contributing writers, however these three writers got the credit.

Seeing this in IMAX and in the 3D process, one can truly see how this film was incredibly ahead of its time technologically. The effects of the twister, the sets, miniatures, matte paintings, the Technicolor, which was new then was impressive. This film is 74 years old! I'd like to see most of the films of today be as classic as this film is 74 years later. This film is enduring, classic, timeless, and endearing, however, time is of the essence, for this film in its IMAX, 3D format will only be showing at the theater in San Diego for one week. Plan for this so you miss this amazing ride.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                            Rated: PG                         101mins.