A Film For All Ages

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 2014)

"The Wizard of Oz" is one of my favorite movies growing up as a child, and to this day; it is considered to be timeless. Everyone knows the story, characters, music, magic, fun, etc. This is a very memorable movie because again everyone knows the movie very well. The movie is based on L. Frank Baum's book, and there had been many adaptations for "The Wizard of Oz" which it was during the silent film era; so I guess you can say if the movie that I'm reviewing is somewhat like a remake of the original silent movies or not. I know that the movie had went many production changes along with the original director Richard Thorpe getting fired for lacking the movie's spirit. So now that we have what Dorothy Gale looks along with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West. Also, Victor Fleming taking over the director's chair for making such a wonderful looking movie, and making OZ look beautiful in Technicolor. I do know that he did not direct the Kansas scenes because of his commitment to work on another production from MGM studio's "Gone With The Wind," which I never saw and don't know if I should see it. Maybe I should but I still don't know because I felt that movie stole the Oscar for Best Picture for not letting "The Wizard of Oz" win, but I digress. As I was saying about the Kansas scenes, they were pretty much much filmed by King Vidor. With that said, I thought the cast were perfect, and they do manage to bring their roles to life. Judy Garland is Dorothy Gale and she will always be remembered for playing that kind of role. Ray Bolger was fantastic as the Scarecrow along with Jack Haley as the Tin Man and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. Margaret Hamilton does a memorable job to played the evil Wicked Witch of the West. The production design in this movie are sensational, and it does look a place where anyone fantasize in their own world away from their home. The cinematography is beautifully well shot for OZ being filmed in Technicolor, and the Kansas scenes being filmed in a Sepia tone. The special effects in this movie are quite special for the used of matte paintings; witch being melted; holographic head of the Wizard of Oz; and most of all the tornado. The tornado itself looks really good before there was any CGI by today's special effects. The movie "Twister" from 1996 does used CGI for the Tornado, while this movie was all done practically. The songs in this movie are indeed memorable such as "We're off to see the Wizard;" "If I only had a Brain;" "If I only had a Heart;" "If I only had the Nerve;" and everyone's favorite "Over the Rainbow." The movie never gets tiring, and anyone can watch this movie as much as they want to because the movie's premise along with the pacing goes by very well. I wish I can say more about this movie, but everyone who has seen this movie had already said about what makes this movie so special. As of that, they are very much right. After this movie was made, there were more "OZ" movies that appear on the big screen as "The Wiz" based on its play which it is not a good movie and never saw the play. Also, there were two more "OZ" movies that were made by Disney such as "Return of Oz" and "Oz the Great and Powerful." Those were good movies, but none of them were as good as the original timeless classic. "The Wizard of Oz" is never going to die, and it will live on forever. This is a film for all ages for both children and adults. As Dorothy would say "There is no place like," to me I say "There is no great OZ movie like this one." I give "The Wizard of Oz" a perfect 10 out of 10.