Immortal masterpiece, a fascinating fairy tale musical

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2018)

Synopsis without Spoiler:
Set in Kansas and based on the famous novel by Frank Baum (the first one of the 14), the story tells of a country girl with an innocent and carefree air, Dorothy (Judy Garland). During a violent tornado, the girl can't hide in time in the cellar with her family and ends catapulted into a magical parallel world, the Kingdom of Oz. To go back home, she must then consult the mysterious Wizard of Oz, who agrees to help her in exchange for the magic broom possessed by the main antagonist, the Witch of the West. Dorothy then faces this journey in company and thanks to the help of three famous characters: the talking scarecrow, who seeks a brain and then the possibility to demonstrate his intelligence, the tin woodman, who would like a heart to be able to love , and the cowardly lion, in pursuit of his own bravery. End of spoilers
Comment:
I know the story is pretty well known in the United States but, unfortunately, I don't hear much about it, in Europe.
A fantastic story with strongly fairytale tones and one of the greatest musicals of all time. The most incredible thing, in addition to the music/songs, already in american cinema's history, is certainly the special effects utilisation, which is extremely innovative: the settings are visibly painted by hand and seem real paintings. They integrate in the movie in a fantastic way, giving it a coloured and enchanted tone. Moreover, some technical aspects (for example the tornado and the "eradication" of the house, the magic of the Witch and so on) are formidable, especially if contextualized for the time, and are rendered in an extraordinary way, also thanks to the colour, which also marks the transition from Kansas to Oz thus emphasizing the magic of the fantastic place. Also noteworthy are the magnificent interpretations and the dialogues, many of which can be extremely deep, despite the simplicity of who and how they are expressed. These, as well as the songs, above all Over The Rainbow, have then been enormously used, cited and credited in later films, for example "The Philadelphia story" by Cukor, "Meet Joe Black" (cover) by Brest and many TV series. Similar to the known story of Alice in Wonderland in many aspects, this together with "Gone with the wind" by the same Fleming, have the peculiarity of having had a troubled production, especially from the point of view of the director (Fleming replaced Cukor to directed in both films, which constitute the "great missed occasions of Cukor") and concerning the cast (many actors interpret more than one part and exchanged the roles between them, all accepted by Fleming). Two highly deserved Oscars, best song and soundtrack, as well as 5 other nominations, one of them for the Palme d'Or (competing with "Gone with the wind", so Fleming has practically monopolized the Oscar edition of 1940, winning the majority of prizes).