A piece of Americana

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2006)

I have been reading many of the comments on this film - both positive and negative. I would like to add a perhaps different slant to this discussion - First, why did it come so popular? Think about the year of its release - 1939. The world had just gone through the Great Depression, the winds of World War II were starting to blow with Hitlter's invasions and the Japanese invasion of China. There were a number of excellent films released that year - Gone with the Wind for example - but why did this one hit a cord? It's fantasy theme, simple story, use of color and (for then) very good special effects (the TV set that was used for the Witch's crystal ball is an example - RCA would display one at the 1939 World's Fair to the wonderment of fair goers)are all reasons why this became so popular. Yes, some of Judy Garland's acting is not particularly inspired - she has basically one look, that of constant wide eyed wonderment and confusion - albeit appropriate for the film, although I cannot envision Shirley Temple, who was also being considered for lead, being able to pull off "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with the same power.
So, in the same way Star Wars would bowl everyone over some 37 years later, this film became ingrained in the culture. To this day, if you say "Toto, we're not in Kanas anymore..." people understand what you're referring to.
And let's face it - for a movie its effects and fantasy elements were unmatched for literally decades. Movies in the fifties and sixties still used special effects that were, at best, cheesy - exceptions being 2001 and some of Harryhausen's works - it wasn't until the seventies, with Star Wars, did we see films where the cinematography could begin to match the mind's eye as what we envisioned things should look like.
And this is why I rated it a 10 - not because its greatness, or skill, or anything else - but because it has become a cultural icon. It is still popular, although to say that its as popular as it once was is a mistake - in the sixties it was prime time fare, on a major network, now its shown on Sunday morning on a cable channel. Our parents may have seen it as kids, and remembering the joy it brought them, introduced it to us - and hence it endures.