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The Wizard of Oz

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The Wizard of Oz
File:Wizard oz movieposter.jpg
theatrical poster
Directed byVictor Fleming
Uncredited:
Mervyn LeRoy
Richard Thorpe
King Vidor
Written byNovel:
L. Frank Baum
Screenplay:
Noel Langley
Florence Ryerson
Edgar Allan Woolf
Produced byMervyn LeRoy
StarringJudy Garland
Ray Bolger
Jack Haley
Bert Lahr
Billie Burke
Margaret Hamilton
Frank Morgan
Adriana Caselotti(Uncredited)
CinematographyHarold Rosson
Music bySongs:
Harold Arlen (music)
E. Y. Harburg (lyrics)
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
25 August 1939
Running time
Theatrical cut
101 mins.
Preview cut
112 mins.
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageTransclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.
Budget$2,777,000 (est.)
Box office$16,538,431

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical-fantasy film mainly directed by Victor Fleming and based on the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.[1] The film features Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Frank Morgan as the Wizard.

The film follows schoolgirl Dorothy Gale who lives on a Kansas farm with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, but dreams of a better place "somewhere over the rainbow." After being struck unconscious during a tornado by a piece of broken window, Dorothy dreams that she, her dog Toto, and the farmhouse are transported to the magical Land of Oz. There, the Good Witch of the North Glinda advises Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to Emerald City and meet the Wizard of Oz, who can return her to Kansas. During her journey, she meets a Scarecrow, Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion, who join her, hoping to receive what they lack themselves (a brain, a heart, and courage, respectively), all of this is done while also trying to avoid the many plots of the Wicked Witch of the West, in her attempt to get the ruby slippers that Dorothy received from the squashed Wicked Witch of the East.

Initially, The Wizard of Oz was not considered a commercial success in relation to its enormous budget, although it made a small profit and received largely favorable reviews. What impact it had upon release was reportedly responsible for the release of two other fantasy films in Technicolor the following year - The Blue Bird and The Thief of Bagdad. The songs from The Wizard of Oz became widely popular, with "Over the Rainbow" receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the film itself garnering several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

The film received much more attention after its annual television screenings were so warmly embraced, and has since become one of the most beloved films of all time. In fact, The Wizard of Oz is believed to be the most-watched film in history, owing greatly to its television and video screenings.[2] It is often ranked among the top ten best movies of all-time[citation needed] in various critics' and popular polls, and has provided many indelible quotes to the American cultural consciousness. Its signature song, "Over the Rainbow," sung by Judy Garland, has been voted the greatest movie song of all time by the American Film Institute.[3]


Plot

Orphan Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) lives a simple life in rural Kansas with Aunt Em (Clara Blandick), Uncle Henry (Charley Grapewin) and three colorful farm hands, simple-minded Hunk (Ray Bolger), blustery-but-timid Zeke (Bert Lahr), and would-be engineer Hickory (Jack Haley). One day, stern neighbor Miss Elvira Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) is bitten by Dorothy's dog, Toto. Dorothy senses that Miss Gulch will try to do something dreadful, but her aunt and uncle, as well as the farmhands, are too busy with their work to listen. Dorothy yearns for a better place in the song "Over the Rainbow". Miss Gulch shows up with a court order and takes Toto away to be destroyed. Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, who is momentarily elated, but then realizes that Miss Gulch will soon return to retrieve Toto. Fearing for his life, Dorothy decides to take Toto and run away. On their journey, Dorothy encounters Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan), a fake but kind and lovable fortuneteller who, out of concern for Dorothy, tricks her into believing Aunt Em is ill so Dorothy will return home, as a storm is approaching. Dorothy rushes back to the farm just ahead of a sudden tornado. She tries to get into the storm cellar under the house, but it is locked and nobody inside can hear her pleas for help over the noise. She takes shelter inside the house and is knocked unconscious by a loose window frame.

A confused Dorothy awakens what seems like a few minutes later to discover the house has been caught up in the twister. Through the bedroom window, she sees several people fly by, including Miss Gulch, who seemingly transforms into a frightening witch. Moments later, the twister drops the house, Dorothy, and Toto back onto solid ground. Opening the door and stepping into full three-strip Technicolor, Dorothy finds herself in a village and parkland of unearthly beauty. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), arrives magically. She informs Dorothy that she is in Munchkinland and that she has killed the ruby-slippered Wicked Witch of the East by "dropping a house" on her.

File:MargaretHamiltoninTheWizardOfOz.jpg
Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.

Encouraged by Glinda, the timid Munchkins come out of hiding to celebrate the demise of the witch, while singing "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" and proclaiming Dorothy as their national heroine. The witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (also played by Margaret Hamilton), makes a startling appearance in a blaze of fire and smoke to claim the powerful ruby slippers. Glinda magically transfers the slippers from the dead witch onto Dorothy's feet and reminds the witch of the west that her power is ineffectual in Munchkinland. The witch vows revenge on Dorothy before leaving the same way she arrived. Glinda advises Dorothy, who is anxious to return home, to seek the help of the mysterious Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City in her quest to return home to Kansas; Glinda explains that she can find Emerald City by following the yellow brick road. She also advises Dorothy that she must never remove the slippers or she will be at the mercy of the Wicked Witch of the West. After a farewell kiss, Glinda too disappears, leaving Dorothy and Toto to find their own way to Emerald City.

On her way Dorothy befriends a Scarecrow with no brain (also played by Ray Bolger), a Tin Man with no heart (also played by Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (also played by Bert Lahr). The three decide to accompany Dorothy to the Wizard in hopes of obtaining their desires. Along the way, they behave in various ways which demonstrate that they already have the qualities they think they lack: the Scarecrow has several good ideas, the Tin Man is kind and sympathetic, and the Lion is ready to face danger even though he is terrified. The group confronts a forest of angry apple trees, a poisonous field of poppies, and a warning from the witch to the others that they are not to help Dorothy. Undaunted, the group reaches Emerald City. They are greeted kindly, but the Wicked Witch appears on a broomstick over the city, while skywriting the message "Surrender Dorothy." The group talks to the Wizard of Oz - a disembodied and imposing head with a booming voice - who says that he will consider granting their wishes if they can bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch.

On their way to the witch's castle, they are attacked by flying monkeys, who carry Dorothy and Toto away and deliver her to the witch, who then demands that Dorothy hand over the ruby slippers. After the witch threatens to kill Toto, Dorothy agrees to give her the shoes; but a shower of sparks prevents their removal. The witch says that the shoes cannot be removed unless Dorothy first dies. While the witch is distracted, Toto takes the opportunity to escape. The witch then locks Dorothy in the chamber and leaves to consider how to kill Dorothy without damaging the shoes' magic. Toto finds Dorothy's friends and leads them to the castle. Once inside they free Dorothy and attempt an escape. The witch and her Winkie soldiers corner the group on a parapet, where the witch sets the Scarecrow on fire. To douse the flames, Dorothy throws water on them, while accidentally splashing water on the horrified witch, causing her to melt. To the group's surprise, the soldiers are delighted. Their captain (played by silent film actor Mitchell Lewis, who played the Sheik in the silent Ben-Hur) gives Dorothy the broomstick in gratitude. Upon their return to Emerald City, Toto inadvertently exposes the great and powerful wizard as a fraud; they find an ordinary man hiding behind a curtain operating a bunch of buttons and levers. They are outraged at the deception, but the wizard solves their problems through common sense and a little double talk, rather than magic, by explaining that they already had what they had been searching for all along and only need things such as medals and diplomas to confirm that someone else recognizes it. The wizard explains that he too was born in Kansas and his presence in Oz was the result of an escaped hot air balloon. He promises to take Dorothy home in the same balloon, leaving the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Lion in charge of Emerald City. Just before takeoff, Toto jumps out of the balloon's basket; Dorothy jumps out to catch him and the wizard, unable to control the balloon, leaves without her. She is resigned to spend the rest of her life in Oz until Glinda appears and tells her that she has always had the power to return home. Glinda explains that she did not tell Dorothy at first because she needed to find something out for herself. When asked what she has learned, Dorothy replies: "The next time I go looking for my heart's desire, I won't look any further than my own backyard; if it's not there, then I never really lost it to begin with." Dorothy says a tearful goodbye to the friends she has met in Oz, and then follows Glinda's instructions to "tap your heels together while repeating the words, 'There's no place like home'." Back in sepia tone she awakens in her bedroom in Kansas surrounded by family and friends and tells them of her journey. Everyone laughs and tells her it was all a dream, except Uncle Henry, who says sympathetically "Of course we believe you, Dorothy". Toto appears and jumps onto the bed. A happy Dorothy, still convinced the journey was real, hugs Toto and says, "There's no place like home." No mention is made in the film of the ultimate fate of Miss Gulch who, it is implied, does not return to get Toto.

Differences from the original novel

Main article: The Wizard of Oz book to film comparison

For the most part, the movie only follows the novel in a very general way. Many details are omitted or altered, while many of the perils that Dorothy encountered in the novel are not even mentioned in the movie. To take advantage of the new vivid Technicolor process, Dorothy's silver shoes were changed to ruby slippers for the movie. Due to time restraints a number of sub-plots from the book, including the China Country and the Hammerheads, were cut. Nevertheless, the film was far more faithful to Baum's original book than many earlier scripts (see below) or film versions - there were silent versions in 1910 and 1925, and a seven-minute animated cartoon in 1933. The 1939 movie interprets the Oz experience as a dream, in which many of the characters that Dorothy meets represent the people from her home life (such as Miss Gulch, Professor Marvel, and the farmhands, which don't appear anywhere in the book.) Oz is meant to be a real place in the book.

Cast

Production

Development and pre-production

In January 1938, MGM bought the rights to the hugely popular novel from Samuel Goldwyn. The film's script was adapted by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf. Several people assisted with the adaptation without official credit: Irving Brecher, William H. Cannon, Herbert Fields, Arthur Freed, E. Y. Harburg, Samuel Hoffenstein, John Lee Mahin, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Jack Mintz, Ogden Nash, Sid Silvers, Richard Thorpe, George Cukor and King Vidor. In addition, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr are known to have written some of their own dialogue for the Kansas sequence.

The script went through a number of revisions before the final shooting. The original producers thought that a 1939 audience was too sophisticated to accept Oz as a straight-ahead fantasy; therefore, it was reconceived as a lengthy, elaborate dream. Because of a perceived need to attract a youthful audience through appealing to modern fads and styles, the script originally featured a scene with a series of musical contests. A spoiled, selfish princess in Oz had outlawed all forms of music except classical and operetta, and went up against Dorothy in a singing contest in which Dorothy's swing style enchanted listeners and won the grand prize. This part was initially written for Betty Jaynes.[4] The plan was later dropped.

Another scene, which was removed before final script approval and never filmed, was a concluding scene back in Kansas after Dorothy's return. Hunk (the Kansan counterpart to the Scarecrow) is leaving for agricultural college, and extracts a promise from Dorothy to write to him. The implication of the scene is that romance will eventually develop between the two, which also may have been intended as an explanation for Dorothy's partiality for the Scarecrow over her other two companions.[5]

The final draft of the script was completed on October 8 1938 (following numerous rewrites).[6]

A persistent rumor suggests that negotiations took place early in pre-production for Shirley Temple to play the part of Dorothy, on loan out from 20th Century Fox, who in turn was promised Clark Gable and Jean Harlow as a loan from MGM. The tale is almost certainly untrue, as Harlow died in 1937, before MGM had even purchased the rights to the story. Despite this, the story appears in many film biographies (including Temple's own autobiography). The documentary The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, states that Mervyn LeRoy was under pressure to cast Temple, then the most popular child star; but at an unofficial audition, LeRoy listened to her sing and decided that an actress with a different style was needed. Newsreel footage is included in which Temple wisecracks "There's no place like home," suggesting that she was being considered for the part at that time. [7] A possibility is that this consideration did indeed take place, but that Gable and Harlow were no part of the proposed deal.

Rumors that the completed film shows an actor who played one of the Munchkins committing suicide by hanging in the background of one scene have been shown to be untrue. [8]

Casting

Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man. Ebsen fell ill due to contaminates in the makeup he wore for the role, and was therefore replaced by Jack Haley two weeks into shooting.

Casting The Wizard of Oz was problematic, with actors shifting roles repeatedly at the beginning of filming. One of the primary changes was in the role of the Tin Man. The Tin Man was originally to have been portrayed by Ray Bolger, and Buddy Ebsen (later famous for his role as Jed Clampett on the 1960s TV show The Beverly Hillbillies) was to play the Scarecrow.[6] Bolger, unhappy with being assigned the role of the Tin Man, convinced producer Mervyn LeRoy to recast him in the role of the Scarecrow. Ebsen did not object to the change; he recorded all of his songs, went through all the rehearsals as the Tin Man and started filming with the rest of the cast.[9] However, nine days after filming began, Ebsen suffered a reaction to the aluminum powder makeup he wore as the Tin Man; the powder had coated his lungs from his breathing it in as it was applied daily. By that point in critical condition, Ebsen had to be hospitalized and left the project. MGM did not publicize the reasons for Ebsen's departure and even his replacement, Jack Haley, did not initially know the reason.

The makeup used for Jack Haley was quietly changed to an aluminum paste makeup; although it did not have the same dire effect on Haley, he did at one point suffer from an unpleasant reaction to it. Despite his near-death experience with the makeup, Ebsen outlived all the principal players, although his film career was damaged by the incident. His career did not fully recover until the 1950s, when he began a string of popular film and TV series appearances that would continue into the 1980s. Although his lungs had presumably recovered from the effects of the powder makeup, he eventually died from complications from pneumonia on July 6, 2003 at the age of ninety-five.[10]

The book The World of Entertainment (1975) by Hugh Fordin, created with the full cooperation of uncredited associate producer Arthur Freed before his death, is said to suggest that Victor Fleming fired the actor when he took over as director. In a later interview (included on the 2005 DVD release of Wizard of Oz), Ebsen recalled that the studio heads initially did not believe he was ill. No footage of Ebsen as the Tin Man has ever been released — only photographs taken during filming and test photos of different makeup styles remain.

Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch. She became unhappy with the role when the witch's persona shifted from sly and glamorous (thought to emulate the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) into the familiar "ugly hag." She turned down the role and was replaced on October 10, 1938 by Margaret Hamilton. Sondergaard said in an interview for a bonus feature on the DVD that she had no regrets about turning down the part. Hamilton was severely burned in the Munchkinland scene when she was to disappear in a puff of fiery smoke. When she returned from the hospital, Hamilton refused to do the scene where she flies a broomstick billowing smoke, so the directors chose to have a stand-in perform the scene instead. The stand-in was also severely injured doing the scene after a malfunction occurred during filming. Margaret Hamilton plays a remarkably similar role in the Judy Garland film Babes in Arms released that same year. She is a busybody social worker who wants to remove Judy Garland's character from the custody of her parents, much as Almira Gulch wants to remove Toto from the Gale family.

On July 25, 1938, Bert Lahr was signed and cast as the Cowardly Lion. Frank Morgan was cast as the Wizard on September 22, 1938. On August 12, 1938, Charley Grapewin was cast as Uncle Henry.

Filming

Filming commenced on October 12, 1938 on the MGM Studios lot in Culver City, California, with Richard Thorpe directing. After an unknown number of scenes were shot, Thorpe was fired and George Cukor temporarily took over. Initially, the studio made Garland wear a blond wig and heavy, "baby-doll" makeup, and she played Dorothy in an exaggerated fashion. Cukor changed Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton's makeup and costumes and told Garland to "be herself." This meant that all scenes Garland and Hamilton had already completed were discarded and refilmed. Cukor did not actually shoot any scenes for the film, and because of his prior commitment to direct Gone with the Wind, left on November 3, 1938, at which time Victor Fleming assumed the directorial responsibility.

Ironically, on February 12 1939, Fleming replaced Cukor in directing Gone with the Wind. The next day, King Vidor would be assigned as director to finish the filming of The Wizard of Oz (mainly the sepia Kansas sequences, including Judy Garland's singing of "Over the Rainbow"). In later years, when the film became firmly established as a classic, King Vidor chose not to take public credit for his contribution until after the death of his friend Fleming.

Filming concluded on March 16, 1939; with subsequent test screenings on June 5, 1939.[11]

Release

The Wizard of Oz premiered at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on August 12, 1939 and Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on August 15 1939. The New York City premiere at Loew's Capitol Theater on August 17 1939 was followed by a live performance with Judy Garland and her frequent film co-star Mickey Rooney. They would continue to perform there after each screening for a week, extended in Rooney's case for a second week and in Garland's to three. The movie opened nationally on August 25 1939.

The film grossed approximately $3 million against production/distribution costs of $2.8 million in its initial release. It did not show what MGM considered a large profit until a 1949 re-release earned an additional $1.5 million.

Beginning with the 1949 re-issue, and continuing until the film's 50th Anniversary videocassette release in 1989, the Kansas sequences were printed and shown in ordinary black-and-white, not sepia, and so TV viewers saw them in black-and-white for more than thirty years. However, with the film's fiftieth anniversary restoration, the sepia tone was brought back to the Kansas scenes, and beginning in 1990, the film was shown on television as originally released in 1939.

The film was again re-released in 1955 in a widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio version, with portions of the top and the bottom of the film removed via hard mattes to produce the effect. The re-release trailer falsely claimed "every scene" from Baum's novel was in the film, including "the rescue of Dorothy", though there is no such incident in the novel.

Main article: The Wizard of Oz on television

The film was first shown on television November 3, 1956 on CBS, as the last installment of the Ford Star Jubilee. It was shown in color (posters still exist advertising the broadcast, and they specifically say in color and black-and-white), but because most television sets then were not color sets, few members of the TV audience saw it that way. An estimated 45 million people watched the broadcast. However, it was not rerun until three years later. On December 13, 1959 the film was shown (again on CBS) as a two-hour Christmas season special, and at an earlier time, to an even larger audience. (Commercial breaks were much shorter then, enabling the film to run in a two-hour time slot without being cut.) Encouraged by the response, CBS decided to make it an annual tradition, showing it every December from 1959 through 1962. The film was not shown in December 1963 as might have been expected, perhaps due to the proximity of the John F. Kennedy assassination November 22, 1963. Others say that there was no room on the schedule, due to the fact that by then there were other Christmas specials on television, though not nearly as many as in later years.

Still, the film was shown very early in 1964, and the showings were therefore still only roughly a year apart. The January 1964 broadcast marked the end of the Christmas season showings, but The Wizard of Oz was nevertheless still televised only once a year for more than two decades. In the late 1960s, the film was bought for annual TV showings by NBC, but by 1976, it had reverted to CBS. It is now shown several times a year, on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, Turner Network Television, and the TBS Superstation, often several times during the same week "in rotation" on these three channels.[12]

The Wizard of Oz became the first videocassette released by MGM/CBS Home Video in 1980; all current home video releases are by Warner Home Video (via current rights holder Turner Entertainment). The first laserdisc release of The Wizard of Oz was in 1989, with a second in 1993, and a final laserdisc release on September 11, 1996. The first DVD release of the film was on March 26, 1997, and contained no special features or supplements. It was re-released for its 60th Anniversary on October 19, 1999, with its soundtrack presented in a new 5.1 surround sound mix. The DVD also contained an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, produced in 1990 and hosted by Angela Lansbury. Despite being a one-disc release, outtakes, the deleted "Jitterbug" musical number, clips of pre-1939 Oz adaptations, trailers, newsreels and a portrait gallery were also included, as well as two radio programs of the era publicizing the film. In 2005, two new DVD editions were released, both featuring a newly restored version of the film with audio commentary and an isolated music and effects track. One of the two DVD releases was a 2-disc "deluxe edition", featuring production documentaries, trailers, various outtakes, newsreels, radio shows, and still galleries. The other set, a 3-disc edition, included these features as well as complete copies of the 1925 silent film version of The Wizard of Oz and a 1933 animated short version. Warner has also stated that The Wizard of Oz will be released on BluRay Disc in 2009 for the 70th anniversary of the Motion Picture.

In 1999, the film had a theatrical re-release in Australia, in honor of the 60th Anniversary. The film was also scheduled for theatrical re-release in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2006.

Reception

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale.

Regarding the original Baum storybook, it has been said: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is America's greatest and best-loved home grown fairytale. The first totally American fantasy for children, it is one of the most-read children's books . . . and despite its many particularly American attributes, including a wizard from Omaha, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has universal appeal."[13] The film itself is widely considered to be one of the most well known, beloved films of all time, and was one of the earliest films to be deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In June 2007, the film was listed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.[14] It was placed at number 86 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.[15]

In 1977, Aljean Harmetz wrote The Making of The Wizard of Oz, a detailed description of the creation of the film based on interviews and research; it was updated in 1989. [16]

All of the film's stars except Frank Morgan lived long enough to see and enjoy at least some of the film's legendary reputation after it came to television. The last of the major players to die was Ray Bolger, in 1987. The day after his death, a prominent editorial cartoonist referenced the cultural impact of this film, portraying the Scarecrow running along the Yellow Brick Road to catch up with the other characters, as they all danced off into the sunset.

Neither director Victor Fleming, nor music arranger Herbert Stothart, screenwriter Edgar Allan Woolf, film editor Blanche Sewell, nor actor Charley Grapewin (who played Dorothy's Uncle Henry) lived to see the film become an icon of cinema and a television tradition. By a curious coincidence, Fleming, Stothart, Sewell, and Morgan all died in the same year - 1949, which was also the year of the film's highly successful first re-release. Costume designer Adrian died in September 1959, only three months before the highly successful second telecast of the film, the one that would persuade CBS to make it an annual tradition. The film's principal art director Cedric Gibbons passed away in the spring of 1960, after the 1959 telecast, but months before its next TV showing.

Awards and honors

According to The Observer, the film has the greatest soundtrack of all time.[17] The film was nominated for several Academy Awards upon its release, including Best Picture and Academy Award for Visual Effects. It lost the award in the Best Picture category to Gone with the Wind (another MGM release), but won in the category of Best Song (Over The Rainbow) and Academy Award for Best Original Score. Although the Best Song award went to E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, the Best Original Score Award went to, not the songwriters, but Herbert Stothart, who composed the background score. Judy Garland received a special Academy Juvenile Award that year, for "Best Performances by a Juvenile" (this meant that the award was also for her role in the film version of Babes in Arms). The Wizard of Oz did not receive an Oscar for its now-famous special effects - that award went to the 1939 film version of The Rains Came, for its monsoon sequence. Additional nominations were for Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning for Art Direction and to Hal Rosson for Cinematography (color).

In current reviews, The Wizard of Oz is still praised by critics. On the film's Rotten Tomatoes listing, 100% of critics give the film positive reviews, based on 65 reviews.[18]

In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Wizard of Oz was acknowledged as the best film in the fantasy genre.[19][20]

American Film Institute recognition

Other Noted Honors

Music

Main article: Musical selections in The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz is widely noted for its musical selections and soundtrack. Music and lyrics were by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who won the Academy Awards for Best Music, Song for "Over the Rainbow". In addition, Herbert Stothart, who composed the instrumental underscore, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

The song "The Jitterbug", written in a swing style, was intended for the sequence in which the four are journeying to the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West. Due to time constraints, the song was cut from the final theatrical version. The film footage for the song has been lost, although silent home film footage of rehearsals for the number has survived. The sound recording for the song, however, has survived, and it is included in the 2-CD Rhino Record deluxe edition of the film soundtrack, as well as on the VHS and DVD editions of the film. A reference to "The Jitterbug" remains in the film; the Witch remarks to her flying monkeys that they should have no trouble apprehending Dorothy and her friends because "I sent a little insect ahead to take the fight out of them."

The songs were recorded in a studio before filming. Several of the recordings were completed while Buddy Ebsen was still with the cast. Therefore, while Ebsen had to be dropped from the cast due to illness from the aluminum powder makeup, his singing voice remained in the soundtrack. In the group vocals of "We're off to See the Wizard," his voice is easy to detect. Jack Haley spoke with a distinct Boston accent and thus did not pronounce the r in wizard. By contrast, Ebsen was a Midwesterner, like Judy Garland, and thus pronounced it. Of course, Haley re-recorded Ebsen's solo parts later.

In modern popular culture

The film inspired the album and song, Living In Oz by Rick Springfield.

During the live segment's of Prince's seminal 1987 concert film Sign 'O' The Times, he encourages the crowd to call and respond with the "ooh-wee-ooh... oh-oh" marching song that the Wicked Witch of the West's Winkie army uses.

The film was an influence for Sara Evans' "Born to Fly" video in 2000. The video won the Country Music Association's Video of the Year the following year.

The American thrash metal band Metallica used in the intro of their song "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" from the album ...And Justice for All the "ooh-wee-ooh... oh-oh" marching song that the Wicked Witch of the West's Winkie army uses.

Ben Burnley of the band Breaking Benjamin wrote "Home", a song written about the movie. It is featured on the Breaking Benjamin EP and their debut album Saturate.

The band Aerosmith references the film in the song "The Farm" from the album Nine Lives.

The fourth album by Electric Light Orchestra, Eldorado, shows the ruby slippers repelling the touch of the Wicked Witch of the West.

The alternative rock band Breaking Benjamin has a song on their album Saturate called "Home" in which the whole song is about The Wizard of Oz. They have also been known to play clips of the Wicked Witch of the West before playing the song live.

The "ooh-wee-ohh... oh-oh" was used in LL Cool J's I'm That Type of Guy and the New Kids on the Block's Games.

Robin Williams's portrayal of Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam used various voices and lines from the movie in parody form involving the Vietnam War.

The 1939 film in particular has been parodied and referenced in countless films, commercials and television shows through the years, including the Energizer Bunny commercials, Beetlejuice, Futurama, Family Guy, and Kappa Mikey. The science-fiction television series, Stargate SG-1 often makes references to The Wizard of Oz. [27] In the series Digimon: Digital Monsters, the villain, Myotismon, tells one of the captured 'digidestined' Kari "I've got you my pretty, and your little cat [Gatomon] too!", a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West's line "I'll get you my pretty... and your little dog too!"

See also

References

  1. ^ Fricke, John (1989). The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0446514462.
  2. ^ 366 Unforgettable Films 2008 Box Calendar by Barnes & Noble Calendar, ISBN 0760774676, Publisher: Barnes & Noble, Pub. Date: July 2007.
  3. ^ Smithsonian Institute (2006). "Treasures of American History". National Museum of American History - Smithsonian Institute. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Fordin, Hugh (1976). World of Entertainment. City: Avon Books (Mm). ISBN 9780380007547.
  5. ^ ""Hollywood Reporter, Oct. 20, 2005"".
  6. ^ a b Warner Bros. "Wizard of Oz Timeline". Warnerbros.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Making of a Movie Classic. CBS Television, 1990, narrated by Angela Lansbury. Coproduced by John Fricke and Aljean Harmetz.
  8. ^ http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/ozsuicide.asp Hanging Munchkin
  9. ^ Fricke, John, and Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History, Warner Books, 1989
  10. ^ newsfromme.com (2003). "Oz Stuff". povonline. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Jim's "Wizard of Oz" Website Directory. ""The Wizard of Oz"... A Movie Timeline". geocities.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ The Wizard of Oz (1939) - TV schedule
  13. ^ "The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairy Tale".
  14. ^ "UNESCO chooses The Wizard of Oz as USA's Memory of the World". UNESCO. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  15. ^ Bravotv.com. "The 100 Scariest Movie Moments". Bravotv.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ ISBN 0-7868-8352-9
  17. ^ The Observer Music Monthly (2007). "The 50 Greatest Film Soundtracks". Guardian Unlimited. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "The Wizard of Oz garners full approval at Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  19. ^ American Film Institute (2008-06-17). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  20. ^ "Top 10 Fantasy". American Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  21. ^ http://www.filmsite.org/rstone.html
  22. ^ http://www.filmsite.org/ew100.html
  23. ^ http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html
  24. ^ http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/directors-long.html
  25. ^ http://www.totalfilm.com/movie_news/who_is_the_greatest
  26. ^ http://www.listsofbests.com/list/30267
  27. ^ "WikiQuote - Stargate SG-1".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Wizard of Oz (film).
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