"Anybody can have a brain, that is a very mediocre commodity."

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2016)

The Wizard of Oz is one of the films that changed the way I look at movies. First enjoying The 1939 film by Victor Fleming as a childhood favorite, revisiting the film, proved it to be so much more than a kid's movie. When I was about 20 and in college, I really started appreciating film as the art form that it is and respecting it as such. In gaining this new understanding for the medium as a serious art rather than mindless entertainment, I sought out favorite films of mine to see if I could gain any deeper understanding of them, and perhaps, appreciate or enjoy them more. One of the first films I watched through this new lens was The Wizard of Oz. Starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, and Billie Burke in the film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows a small town girl into the world she discovers as she only wishes to return home to the life she didn't realize she loved. No matter how simple the film seems on its surface, Baum packed quite a punch in his book, which was more than adequately transferred to the screen.
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is a simple young girl living in Kansas on her Auntie Em's (Clara Blandick) and Uncle Henry's (Charley Grapewin) farm. Frustrated with her family after they agree to take her dog Toto away after nipping at a neighbor, Dorothy contemplates running away. When a tornado rips through the farm, she and her dog Toto are deposited into a magical world called Oz. Everything in Oz is different and beautiful. There is a unique class of people called munchkins, there are talking scarecrows, and tin woodsmen, there are witches, there are even lions and tigers and bears. The more Dorothy learns about the land of Oz, the more she wants to find a way to go back home, as soon as she can. In order to get back home, the Good Witch of the North, Glinda (Billie Burke) instructs Dorothy that she will need to travel to Emerald City and request to go home of the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan). In order to get there, Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road, that leads all the way to The Emerald Palace where the Wizard lives. To protect herself through the travels, Dorothy is given a pair of Ruby slippers, much sought after by the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) who will stop at nothing to get them. Fortunately for Dorothy, she meets friends along the way to Emerald City. She meets a talking scarecrow, who wishes to ask the Wizard for a brain, a tin woodsman who is seeking a heart from the Wizard, and a talking lion who wishes to be granted courage from the Wizard. Each with a special request and believing only that the Wizard of Oz can fulfill them, they travel along the yellow brick road hoping to be granted their destinies. In a race against the wicked witch, the group hopes to reach the Wizard of Oz before being thwarted by evil.
There are a number of technical achievements that The Wizard of Oz boasts, of these is probably the most beautiful revealing transformation scene in cinema history. One would struggle to find someone unfamiliar with the door first opening to Oz revealing the technicolor wonder revealed to the audience. There is a good reason that this reveal is so engrained in the hearts of audiences forever. The coloration used in The Wizard of Oz is not only striking for 1939 but is still striking today, nearly 80 years after the film's release. It was also the brilliant transition from the sepia tones that the film had used until Dorothy entered Oz. This was a brilliant directorial decision to contrast the bleak simple world Dorothy had known until she was thrust into the world greatly different than her own. Many times since has this device been copied in films proving that so many filmmakers and film genres have much to owe to The Wizard of Oz. In addition to the beautiful shooting of the film, the writing comes to mind instantly as a standout piece of the film. I struggle to think of another film as quoted as The Wizard of Oz, from the exclamation of the Wicked Witch when she promises Dorothy "I'll get you my pretty" to the realization Dorothy has when landing in Oz "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore", no other film has been imitated and quoted as much as The Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz also comes with it, quite a thematic punch. Brimming to the top with symbolism, The Wizard of Oz really opened my eyes to how much cinema can say without overtly saying it. Each of the main characters means something deep and different than it would appear on screen, and there is room for each audience member to see what they will in each character. Just like going to an art gallery and 40 people seeing 40 different aspects of the same painting, film creates the same opportunities to see something deep and beautiful within it, if you only look for it. Whether you see industry titans in the tin man, politicians in the lion, farmers in the scarecrow, or the exploited working class in the munchkins; film has within it as much depth as any other art medium. The Wizard of Oz was my first introduction to film as art, and I am eternally grateful for what a viewing of a favorite film with a fresh perspective has afforded me for my years to come. I suppose I was somewhat like Dorothy before she opened the door to Oz, comfortable and unknowing; I'm glad for both of us that the door to that technicolor world has been opened.