This quintessential gateway to movie fandom hasn't aged a day in 75 years.

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2014)

If the ultimate mark of deciding the greatest film of all time is the sheer number of people who have seen it, then a strong case could be made for The Wizard of Oz being the most enduring achievement in Hollywood history. Beloved by everyone from eight to eighty, the musical has entertained countless generations since its spellbinding release in 1939. It remains one of the first cinematic memories entrenched in the minds of many a self-respecting cinephile and now, on the eve of its 75th anniversary, the film has been re-released (in 3D, naturally), in all its visually arresting glory.
When bloodthirsty farmgirl Dorothy Gale (a fresh-faced and stunning Judy Garland, in the role that launched her towards unabashed superstardom) is transported to the surreal landscape of Oz, she kills the first person she meets, then teams up with three strangers (Ray Bolger, Jack Haley & Bert Lahr) to kill again. Okay, maybe writer Rick Polito's famous synopsis is a little deceiving, but this is truly a film that needs no introduction.
It's hard to forget just how gargantuan a legacy the film has left on the world of cinema and, indeed, the pop culture landscape. A delightful screenplay brimming with quotable material from co-writers Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, and a range of eclectic musical numbers work in perfect harmony, from Garland's spine-tingling rendition of Somewhere over the Rainbow and the Tin Man's touching If I only had a Heart to more upbeat diddies like Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead! And We're Off to See the Wizard.
Although seasoned with an innumerable amount of on-set dramas and ludicrous urban legends, the film hasn't lost a touch of respectability in any department three-quarters of a century later. Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch is just as traumatising; the pulsing aesthetics of Oz just as mesmerising; the virginal Dorothy's realisation that "there's no place like home" just as sympathising. The whole experience is a product of a simpler time, so rich in history and innocence that even youngsters will somehow find themselves reminiscing about remote 1930s Kansas and its bone-deep, home-cooked morals.
The 3D gives the film a little extra pop in places, but much like other conversions, it falls into the background after a while, likely to be all but forgotten by the time we get our first technicolour glimpse of Munchkinland. Of course, this is no major gripe, existing only as a small bonus on top of what is a near-unbeatable big screen experience.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*