In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday, 14 October 2014

THE WIZARD OF OZ [1939]

In all honesty, as a kid I never found a whole lot in Victor Fleming's extravagant musical film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.  In fact the greater portion of it bored me.
Having not seen it in nearly 30 years allowed me to see it in an entirely different light and find a awe-inspiring value in it I've never felt before.  Largely differing from it's source material (including the silver slippers altered into the iconic ruby red we've all accepted as the norm), the film turns Dorothy into a helpless young lady rather than the tough little girl she was originally written as but once you get past that you're invited into a colorful, musical world that shines with enthusiastic wide-eyed wonder.
It's beautifully designed sets, memorable music, outstanding performances, exemplary costumes and wondrous imagination all make it a definitive staple in film history.

4 scary ass flying monkeys out of 5

2 comments:

Neg said...

I hope this means we'll see a nut for Return to Oz in short order~

I've never been particularly enamored with this original film. Even as a kid I was mostly pretty disappointed and loved how Return veered closer to the books, was more willing to tread into the disturbing, and ramped up the Reality of Oz concept.

2 Pipers at the Gates of Oz, I guess?

cuckoo said...

Watched Return To Oz a few nights ago.
The Nut should be up within the next 2 days.