The Wizard of Oz Review

        I’m back from my break. Since it’s that time when a new crop of students go back to school, I’ve decided to dive into another literary adaptation. The last time I did this was two years ago, by talking about the films based on Roald Dahl’s works. This time, I’ve decided to watch select Oz films based on the works of L. Frank Baum. Now, there are many films based on the first book, but I’ll only limit my output to the ones that got a theatrical release. I think this one needs no introduction, everyone as far as I’m aware knows about The Wizard of Oz. One can say it’s a timeless film and essential for any cinephile. It’s influence is still being felt to this day nearly 80 odd years later. 

1. Dorothy’s Quest

        This wasn’t the first time that the first story of Oz was adapted onto the screen. During the early years of the 20th Century, there were multiple silent shorts and films that adapted the first book of L. Frank Baum’s Oz series. Even he had a hand with directing the short films, starting a production company named The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. A precursor of when authors took the creative endeavor of adapting their published works. An animated Canadian adaptation is also the first take to do a full color presentation, albeit it was done illegally without the consent of Technicolor at the time. 

        I think it’s everyone’s guess that the film is their first exposure to the works of L. Frank Baum. The core series that he’s written spanned 14 books. Even after his passing and when the entire property was taken to public domain, more publications banked on the name of Oz. Right down to the movies and musicals that were to be put into production as the years went by. I bring this up early in this retrospective since there would be many adaptations of the first story and even the events that led to Dorothy’s encounter with Glinda in Munchkinland. 

        In due time we’ll look at them, for now we’ll look at the one that’s practically one of the many films that represent the Golden Age of Hollywood. So, in case you’ve been living under a rock or have no Earthly access to any media, this is the gist of the plot. Dorothy Gale is a farmgirl living in Kansas with her aunt and uncle. A tornado whisks her and her pet Toto to the world of Oz. She travels to the yellow brick road and encounters a motley crew to join her quest to see the mysterious Wizard to take her back home. 

        Pretty simplistic even at that time, but you get hooked with Dorothy’s story. There’s so much to love about this film, and I’ll talk about the main highlight in the next tab. For starters, I love the introduction when we see Dorothy and her plight. The various men that we see her interact represent the things that she struggles with, to be brave, courageous when confronted by the cantankerous Miss Gulch. All that leads to the most famous song in the film, when she sings “Over the Rainbow”. It’s one of those songs where it became a precursor and inevitably ubiquitous in Disney films when the character sings what they want. Hence the nickname for the song type called “I Want” songs. 

        So yeah, as soon as we see Dorothy get transported to the world of Oz, it turns into a fish out of water storyline. Where she’s an alien in an otherwise odd world full of fantastical people inhabiting them. I love how she does get her wish, but it backfires since she has a new problem after inadvertently killing the Wicked Witch of the East. Her sister is also the other highlight in the film. Surprising to note that prior to her portrayal of the Witch of the West, she was a kindergarten teacher. Her personality and action just make her believable as the Wicked Witch. Right down to causing a lot of fear in many young children at the time, I don’t blame them. 

        Back to Dorothy, of the many roles that Judy Garland had starred in. This is the one that many people will immediately point to being the best in her career. For a while, she was the main star for MGM since she had starred in multiple musicals. From this one and Meet Me in St. Louis, she was star in a making since she had the talent to sing and do the choreography to make the musical more pop. I think what sells her performance is that there’s a lot of innocence that is in play. Such as when she’s crying when Professor Marvel tells her that her family misses her. It’s one of those things where she’s a brat but recognizes that she doesn’t mean it when she wants to go back home. 

        I think it’s time I talked about her gang when she journeys the yellow brick road through Oz. I love how when she meets them, they are in a predicament and Dorothy takes it upon herself and the others subsequently to help them out. They all join her and specifically want something to be more than who they are. All of it is supposed to be representative of what Dorothy wants to. If you’re eagle eyed, you’d know that the men she meets in the farm are played by the same who are the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. There’s even a moment of clarity where Dorothy becomes aware that she met them prior to arriving in Oz. 

        With everything that the film has going on, I feel that the only thing that didn’t click with me was the dream aspect near the end. Not having read the book, but the first entry in the series was vague to have it where either Oz did exist or a figment of Dorothy’s imagination. With how it’s presented in the film, Oz is just a semblance of Dorothy’s imagination and where she becomes a better person prior to the tornado. Reading further it was a deliberate choice to have Oz be a fantasy since it was to believe that the audiences couldn’t buy the straightforward narrative. While I understand the creative choice, I feel that it could’ve committed to the weird aspect instead of just disavowing it near the end. 

2. Color

        The transition when Dorothy peaks out from the front door to Munchkinland is one of the many highlights of cinema employing color. Having watched it in 4K, it’s just astonishing that it looks good as it did when it came out in 1939. At the time, it was extremely rare to even have color in films. Of the past films that have used color, it was a crude execution that didn’t appear as vibrant as this film. Even silent films used colors, albeit it was just one color in a scene that represented a mood or feeling of what’s going on. 

        For a fantasy story such as this, it needs to have color to be vibrant and to show off the spectrum of what we see. There’s even a reason as to why the slippers that Dorothy wears are ruby instead of the book accurate silver. To show off the technology, MGM decided to use ruby to show off the technicolor feat that was being employed. The studio is the only one where they own that specific detail when it comes to adapting The Wizard of Oz. It wasn’t until when Disney acquired the rights to Baum’s other Oz films that MGM gave them permission to use the ruby slipper detail in their adaptation. 

        As far as how it’s utilized it’s ingenious. We see how Dorothy’s neck of the woods has that sepia tone to it. Practically indicative of where exactly she is and it’s rather drab since the brown color represents the farm area. Then transition to Oz and it’s a cinematographer’s dream to capture that vibrant of color. All the vistas that we see utilize the red and green to show off one area and another in the journey. I feel that the Poppy field and Emerald City is where we see the technicolor in its grand setting.

        One thing that I should mention is that it’s a sin where you have the scenery take over the film. I feel that when showing off the technology that the story must be engaging to make it worthwhile. Generations have come where special effects is the new “Color” for a film when showing off the impressive feats. And what I mean is that it should be complementary to the overall movie, not simply piggybacking a story that’s lacking or not having any interesting characters. It’s something where I describe it as eye candy but for the wrong reasons where it becomes boring instead of interesting. 

3. Legacy

        Still crazy to think that this film is beloved by generations. I mean, the level of merchandising and re-releases is something whereas I mentioned earlier, the film is timeless. Even crazier still is that it’s currently having a residency in Las Vegas. What I mean is that the new attraction called The Sphere is presenting a viewing of the film, with the help of A.I. to cover the venue’s supermassive screen. More so that the success of this film has spawned several imitation films and influences in Broadway and in cinema. 

        Of course, I must mention that the film has a pertinent influence on the LGBT community. Since it’s a musical with very flamboyant portrayals and musical numbers, it made an impact on them. More so that the film’s relatable message made a mark on them as far as having acceptance within a group of people. Right down to have the beloved film be a cult film among the minority. I think it’s extremely rare to have a film that fits the bill with two classes. 

        Lastly, I think my very first exposure to the film was when it was utilized on all movies a disaster film. It was in the film Twister was when I was first exposed to the idea of Wizard of Oz. Most of the minute iconography and names is used in the films. Right down to the flying cow that is shown in the movie and the Tornado probes that is called Dorothy. Even Judy Garland herself made an appearance, as her film A Star is Born is shown on the T.V. in one of the scenes. 

4. Overall

        The Wizard of Oz is a timeless film that is to be beloved by every succeeding generation.