OZ: A Grown Up's Movie That Kids Enjoy

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2005)

THE WIZARD OF OZ is a paradox: although made with a juvenile audience in mind, the completed film has an unexpectedly adult sensibility, and children enjoy it on one level while adults find it a considerably more complex experience. Like most fairy tales, OZ deals in archetypes--but instead of merely referencing them, OZ specifies them in a uniquely literal way and transforms them into a brilliantly beautiful yet extremely menacing tale of innocence lost. It is a surprisingly psychological film, and any one foolish enough to scratch its surface will soon find themselves dealing with more "isms" than a roomful of research psychiatrists could explain.
Fancy "isms" aside, OZ is a tremendous amount of fun. For one thing, it MOVES: the story begins with a tone of breathless anticipation, and the film somehow manages to maintain that level of energy throughout its entire running time with never a lag. Although one or two of the famed special effects seem a bit dated, most are still exciting. This is particularly true of the famous tornado sequence, the first half of which (in which Dorothy races the storm home) still outstrips any special effects storm footage made to date. The look of the film, from the rich sepia tones of a painfully literal Kansas to the Technicolor vibrancy of a very surrealistic Oz, is as artful as a dozen famous painters rolled into one--and need we really mention the music, so famous that virtually every man, woman, and child in the western world can hum most of the score?
But all of this would be by-the-way if not for a truly amazing cast. Judy Garland is a remarkable Dorothy, with one foot in innocent childhood wonder and the other as firmly planted in a very sophisticated and extremely adult sense of humor (watch her very subtle series of double-takes during the Munchkin sequence), and the success of the film largely rests upon the success of her own performance. But this in no way disparages the rest of the cast, which plays broadly but with considerable self-depreciating humor; every one is sure to have their own favorite among the famous performances by Bolger, Lahr, Haley, Hamilton, Burke, and Morgan, and all are equally brilliant.
Although the original MGM DVD (now out of print) has been greatly praised, the Warner Bros. DVD is the widely available standard. Whatever its failings in comparison to the MGM DVD, it offers picture and sound quality far beyond anything seen on any VHS. There are also a number of extra bells and whistles that range from the very interesting, such as the Angela Lansbury-hosted documentary on the making of the film, to the ho-hum, such as old newspaper advertisements for the film. But whatever the merits of these extras, the real reason to buy the DVD is for the film itself: THE WIZARD OF OZ is as timeless, fascinating, disturbing, and beautiful today as it ever was and probably will always be. Put the kids to bed and watch the film with a critical eye--and you'll be amazed at what you've missed.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer