123. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Running Time: 103 minutes
Directed By: Victor Fleming
Written By: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, from the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Main Cast: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Margaret Hamilton

ON MY JOURNEY I FOLLOWED THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Probably one of the most famous films in the history of cinema, our journey finally brings us to "The Wizard of Oz". While I'm not as gaga about this as most people tend to be, I can still admit that it's a definite movie viewing experience, that everyone should probably see at least once in their lifetime.

Dorothy Gale (Garland) lives in Kansas, on a farm, with her Aunt Em (short for Emily), her uncle Henry and three farm hands, as well as her little dog Toto. The film starts with Dorothy arriving home and complaining that Ms. Gulch struck at Toto, when he ran into her garden and chased her cat. The adults don't have time to listen to Dorothy's problems, as their busy taking care of the farm. Soon Ms. Gulch arrives in person, accompanied by a creepy score. She alleges that Toto bit her leg and that she had orders from the sheriff to seize the dog and bring him in to the authorities. Dorothy, obviously upset, goes to her room to cry it out, but it's not long when Toto sneaks away from the creepy, crabby Ms. Gulch and runs back home to Dorothy. When Dorothy sees Toto, she feels that her only hope of keeping him, is to run away. Dorothy runs, but is soon shown the error of her ways by an old fortune teller, who convinces her to return home. When Dorothy arrives back at the farm, a twister is approaching and she gets inside the house just in time to get clocked in the head by a window that gets blown out. A few moments later she wakes up, but she's not in Kansas anymore.

When Dorothy opens the door to her house, she finds that she's in the bright and colorful world of Oz and here the film switches from black and white to technicolor. Dorothy soon learns that her house was blown there by the twister and when it landed, it did so on top of the Wicked With of the East, killing her. Glenda the Good With soon arrives and relates this information to Dorothy and introduces her to the town of Munchkinland. After they sing Dorothy's praises for killing the Wicked With of the East, the Wicked With of the West shows up to see who killed her sister. She doesn't seem to concerned with her sister, and more concerned with the ruby slippers that she was wearing, which are now magically upon the feet of Dorothy. The Witch departs and Dorothy is told that if she's ever to get home, she'll need to travel the yellow brick road, all the way to Emerald City, where she'll find the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. She does so, and along the way meets several colorful characters, including The Scarecrow, who is in search of a brain, The Tin Man, who wants a heart and The Lion, who has no courage. They all travel the yellow brick road together to Emerald City, to seek the Wizard's help and get the things that they most desire. But the Wicked Witch of the West is still at large and plotting against Dorothy, the killer of her sister and the wearer of the magic ruby slippers.

Like I said in the beginning of the post, I'm not as gaga over this as some people tend to be. I guess I'm just not a fairy tale kind of guy and while I'll admit there are some lasting images that appear in the film, such as: the reveal of Oz and even Emerald City for that matter, in the end this one just doesn't do a whole lot for me. Now, be that as it may, I'll also admit that I think this is a picture that everyone should see at least one time. The colors are bright and beautiful and eventhough this wasn't the first film shot in Technicolor, it's still a nice touch when the film switches from grainy black and white, to explosive color. While I would give this film a perfect 10/10 for sets, costumes and cinematography, I still find the plot to be more up a child's alley and as an adult a lot of the tale just bored me to pieces. I understand why it's in the book, however "The Wizard of Oz" will never make a Top list of mine, as I just can't get as wrapped up in it as others do. There's nothing terrible about it, it's just not for me and while it's pretty to look at, I think this is a film that is just a bit more difficult to enjoy when you're older.

RATING: 5.5/10 Beautiful movie, just not for me guys. Like I said, if all I was judging on was sets, costumes and cinematography, then this would've been a definite '10'.

NEXT UP: Destry Rides Again...More Jimmy Stewart! I'm hoping to have the decade of the 30s wrapped up by this coming weekend, so this will be watched and reviewed tomorrow (or later today - it's after midnight here)

March 1, 2010 3:29am