The Movie is amOZing

Rating: 5/10 (12 March 2008)

The Wizard of Oz is considered one of the greatest movies of all times and will forever be remembered. The best part of the movie in my mind is that there are several different characters with their own very different personalities. Another great part of the movie is how advanced the special effects were. The scene where Dorothy gets caught in the twister and she sees things fly by her window seems pretty advanced for 1939. This movie is great because of how it appeals not just to children, but adults too. One of greatest things about the film is how the mise en scene is incorporated into it by director Victor Fleming. Mise en scene is a wide array of elements seen on camera. These different elements in the Wizard of Oz include the set and how it is arranged, the characters and their different dynamics and the props used by those characters. As I have stated in my title I think this movie is amazing and it has had one of the greatest impacts on films we see today. In the film The Wizard of Oz directed by Victor Fleming, Fleming understands the importance of mise en scene and utilizes his set, characters, and props to lift the mise en scene to a different dimension which, in turn, has enabled his film to become one of the true classics and most renowned movies of all time.
There are a lot of factors that go into making a great film and the sets are probably one of the least focused on, but is one of the most important. In the movie there are several different places that the story takes place so that means there are several different backdrops and props. In the beginning when Dorothy is in Kansas the set is set up as a typical mid western farm. The house used is your typical wooden house with a large front porch with a wooden rocking chair. The back drop has the image of a overcast day. Just from the backdrop you can tell that the weather is going to get bad. Later when the twister begins to hit the house you can look at the background and tell that there are little twisters moving around and that there are fans blowing the actors and the set to give you that twister felling. During this whole time the set has been film in black and white which gives the whole set the dark and dreary feeling. Once the house lands from the twister and Dorothy gets up and walks outside the rest of the film is shot in color which gives the rest of the film a brighter more vibrant feel to it. Now that the film is in color the director can now use certain colors in the set to set the mood of the scene. For instance the director chose to make the road yellow which is a bright, exciting color. Every time Dorothy and her friends are on that road they are being lead to the next part of the story and if they were on a simple dirt road there wouldn't be any excitement or anticipation when there on it.
Another important part of a movie is the characters and how they dress and interact with each other. The first character introduced to us in the story is Dorothy played by Judy Garland is a young farm girl from Kansas. Dorothy throughout the film has a very imaginative and curious personality. Her costume is the same thru-out the movie, she is wearing a simple flannel pull over dress. This would be a typical dress for a girl that lives in the mid west in the 1930's. The only costume change she had in the film is when she changed shoes to the ones she saw on the feet of the witch. The next character Dorothy runs across is the Scarecrow who is played by Ray Bolger. The personality of the scarecrow in this film is very flamboyant; the scarecrow had a lot of dancing scenes in the film as well. The main personality of the scarecrow is that he is brainless which is the reason why he is heading to see the Wizard of Oz with Dorothy to get that brain. The costume of the Scarecrow is very detailed, with face paint and his raggedy overalls with straw sticking out. The next character they run across is the Tin Man. The Tin Man is played by Jack Haley. The personality of the Tin Man was heartless and he was looking to ask the wizard for a heart. The costume of the Tin Man was made out of aluminum and the face paint was an aluminum color to match. The Cowardly Lion who was play by Bert Lahr was the final character to join Dorothy on her quest to the Wizard of Oz. The Cowardly lion's personality is very shy and nervous. The Lion was looking to ask the Wizard for some courage so he could be brave. The costume of the lion was a suit that had a tail and a main sown on to it. All the different characters personalities were complemented by Dorothy's overwhelming personality.
There are several reasons why this film is a classic. Maybe it's because it was way ahead of its time, but whatever the reason this film will be watched by kids and adults for many years to come. In the film The Wizard of Oz directed by Victor Fleming, Fleming understands the importance of mise en scene and utilizes his set, characters, and props to lift the mise en scene to a different dimension which, in turn, has enabled his film to become one of the true classics and most renowned movies of all time.