Outstanding; Legendary Performances and Production

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2012)

If I had never seen this movie before, I would have been speechless. I don't want to overdo the praise I have for this movie, because I wouldn't want to make you think it's better than it is. But it really is very, very good indeed and when you consider the date it was made (1939), a production like this is of the very highest quality. I am surprised it didn't sweep up more Oscars but I'm glad that Judy Garland received some quality recognition as a fine performer in this movie.
All the acting is superb and nobody is badly cast. Yes, these were the good old days, days when acting was the supreme thing and if you couldn't act very well, you could not hope to make it. Judy Garland was the very best of the best. She could act very well, she could sing beautifully, she could dance and keep you very entertained. She was excellent and her performance in this film is merely an example of her extreme amount of natural ability. It is indeed a great shame that her life was such a tragedy and I can hardly believe she never won an Oscar. But her friends are all outstanding too, especially Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. His performance shines the most in my opinion, but it would be unwise not to say that Ray Bolger and Jack Haley are just as naturally gifted. The characters these three portray are some of the finest and most infamous in movie history and rightly so. They are an absolute pleasure to watch. Margaret Hamilton is very good as the witch, especially her vocal work. Her cackle and a plenteous amount of her words ring in your ears afterwards.
The story is great and will be enjoyed by both children and adults. The scenery and production is fantastic and can hardly be improved, even to this day. I was staggered. This must have been a very expensive movie to make. It's a real triumph of Cinema.
This film certainly deserves to be classed amongst the greatest films of all time. I'm glad it is on the Top 250 list of IMDb. If you've never seen it, it's a real treat for movie and acting-lovers and most of us on IMDb seem to think so.
10/10