Celebrating The Wizard of Oz at 75

In 1939, MGM hoped to bring the classic children’s story The Wizard of Oz to the big screen, but the production was fraught with difficulties from the beginning and even before a single frame of film was shot, the studio nearly pulled the plug on the film. Through the casting process — which almost rivaled that of another 1939 production, Gone With the Wind — spiraling costs, on-set accidents, and a never-ending stream of directors (five in all!), one man knew that this film had to be made, Arthur Freed. Freed championed the film, the fourth director Victor Fleming, who got exactly what Freed envisioned and then had to go save that other 1939 classic before the end of production (George Cukor then finished the film), and its young star, Judy Garland (the studio wanted Shirley Temple), as well as her signature song “Over the Rainbow,” which was nearly cut because MGM felt it dragged the film to a stop and they wanted to get to Oz as quickly as possible.

It’s safe to say that without Arthur Freed, we would probably not have The Wizard of Oz to celebrate this year, it’s 75th anniversary, or not the film we know and love today. And on this wondrous occasion, the folks at Warner Brothers (which owns the classic MGM library) have gone back to the film once again — having restored it beautifully already for the 70th anniversary — to give it a new sparkle, luster, size and dimension to give long-time fans and a new generation a completely new experience when viewing The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz was recently given a special theatrical release, having been given a new high definition scrubbing, resizing the frame for the IMAX format, and converted from it’s flat, original 2D presentation to a shockingly effective 3D presentation. Having seen the film in IMAX 3D, I can say that the film looked better than it ever had before, even five years ago, and the 3D conversion works marvelously adding a completely new depth to the image (especially to those painted backdrops that you worried Dorothy and her friends would run into while skipping down the Yellow Brick Road). The audio has also been cleaned up and given the IMAX stereo treatment and it simply sparkles with clarity.

Now, Warner Home Video has brought that newly restored and converted film to home video in several formats, including Blu-ray 3D. After Warner’s recent success with the classic House of Wax 3D Blu-ray, one can expect nothing less from The Wizard of Oz … and if you’ve been hesitant about jumping on the 3D TV bandwagon, both of these movies should be reason enough to take the plunge. Looking at the IMAX presentation to the 3D Blu-ray, the image quality is comparable, even on the smaller TV screen. Prior to this restoration, I never really noticed things like the freckles on Judy Garland’s or Billie Burke’s faces, or just how rusty the Tin Man actually was when Dorothy and the Scarecrow found him. The sharper clarity also reveals more tell-tale signs of the makeup appliances, but it’s not distracting enough to take you out of the experience.

Comparing the 3D image to the 2D image on the Blu-ray, I can confidently say the 3D image is actually a bit sharper and less grainy. The 2D image looks fine, but the grain seems to be a bit heavier, so I prefer the 3D presentation for the finer grain. Perhaps this was something that was scrubbed away for the larger format of the IMAX presentation — and sometimes the studios can go overboard with grain removal that also removes most of the film’s minute details — but it’s a much more pleasing image and there is no loss of detail. If anything, the detail is even more sharp and clear. The 3D is also just as stunning on TV as it was in IMAX, and I still can’t get over how much depth the process has given the sets. Dorothy and company look like they can ease on down that road forever. If you have a home theater system, the audio is beautifully reproduced as well.

The 3D Blu-ray package includes both 3D and 2D versions of the movie on 2 disks. Bonus material includes an all-new documentary, The Making of The Wizard of Oz, which details the film’s production from the battle over the budget, Judy Garland and “Over the Rainbow,” looks at the revolving door of directors, Arthur Freed’s impact on the film (he was also responsible for most of MGM’s best-loved musicals through the 1950s), reveals the casting changes from Buddy Ebsen’s ill-fated turn as the Tin Man to Gale Sondergaard’s much too glamorous Wicked Witch of the West, and highlights the contributions of the cast that came to make the film a classic. Those commenting on the documentary include Stephen Schwartz, Composer-Lyricist of Wicked; John Fricke, Oz historian; Robert A. Baum, Great-grandson of L. Frank Baum; Michael Sragow, film critic; Sam Wasson, film historian; Marc Shaiman, Composer-Lyricist, Hairspray; Buddy Ebsen; Leonard Maltin; Rob Marshall; and John Lahr, son of Bert Lahr. There is also archival footage with cast members and crew talking about their experiences while making the film and beyond.

Other extras on the 2-disk set are carry-overs from the 70th anniversary release including an audio commentary, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook (Angela Lansbury read a very truncated version of Baum’s book), We Haven’t Really Met Properly … (Lansbury, again, narrates biographies of the key players), Music and Effects track, Original mono track, Sing-along (songs are subtitled for those who want to sing along), Audio Jukebox (original recordings and outtakes of the film’s musical numbers), Leo Is on the Air radio promo, Good News of 1939 radio show (Robert Young interviews the cast), 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater broadcast (a 1950 Christmas radio broadcast of The Wizard of Oz featuring Judy Garland as Dorothy), Stills Gallery, and Trailers.

If you’re a fan of The Wizard of Oz, or if you want to introduce your kids to the movie, the new 75th anniversary presentation is a must-have for your video library. Several version of this anniversary edition are available depending upon your needs, from standard DVD to deluxe Blu-ray box set, so don’t feel left out if you don’t yet have a Blu-ray player or 3D capability. The Wizard of Oz is a true classic that almost never was, and the care that has gone into this new restoration shows that this is a film that everyone loves.