Information about The Wizard Of Oz (film)
"The Wizard of Oz (film)" redirects here. For other film adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, see The Wizard of Oz (adaptations). For other uses, see The Wizard of Oz.
| The Wizard of Oz | ||
|---|---|---|
) Original film poster | ||
| Directed by | Victor Fleming Uncredited: Richard Thorpe George Cukor King Vidor | |
| Produced by | Mervyn LeRoy | |
| Written by | Novel: L. Frank Baum Screenplay: Noel Langley Florence Ryerson Edgar Allan Woolf | |
| Starring | Judy Garland Frank Morgan Ray Bolger Jack Haley Bert Lahr Billie Burke Margaret Hamilton | |
| Distributed by | 1939-1986: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (all rights) 1986-1997: MGM (video) Turner Entertainment (TV and theatrical) 1998-present: Warner Bros. (all rights) | |
| Release date(s) | August 25, 1939 | |
| Running time | 101 minutes | |
| Country | ){kind=small} United States | |
| Language | English | |
| Budget | US$ 2,777,000 | |
| Followed by | Journey Back to Oz | |
| All Movie Guide profile | ||
| IMDb profile | ||
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film, written by Noel Langley and directed by Victor Fleming, among several other uncredited directors, 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, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, 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, and Frank Morgan as the Wizard. Morgan also plays Professor Marvel, a carnival sharkster, the doorman to Emerald City, the cabby driving "the horse of a different color," and the guard at the gate to the Wizard's sanctuary, for a total of five different roles in the film.
One of the most beloved of all American films, The Wizard of Oz is often ranked among the top ten best movies of all-time in various critics' and popular polls, and has provided as many indelible quotes, entered upon the American cultural consciousness, as any other film in history. Its signature song, Over the Rainbow, sung by the young Judy Garland, has been voted the greatest movie song of all time by the American Film Institute.[2]
Theatrical release history
In 1938, Metro Goldwyn Mayer purchased the rights from Samuel Goldwyn to the hugely successful novel, and Richard Thorpe signed on to direct the film on a $2,777,000 budget. He was quickly fired after the first few weeks of shooting proved unsatisfactory, and it was finally Victor Fleming who directed the majority of the film. When Fleming was transferred over to Gone with the Wind, King Vidor, who was 1938 in the final release print, shot the remaining scenes, which took place in Kansas. The film was released in 1939, and became only a moderate success at the box office, considering its then inconceivably large budget.It was first re-released to movie theatres in 1949 by MGM (when it earned yet more money and became a bigger success than before), and again in 1955 by MGM (in a pseudo-widescreen version). It was sold to TV the following year, and was not given a major theatrical re-release again until 1998, when it was released by Warner Bros. (who currently own the rights to the film). It was re-released again in 2006, but only in the United Kingdom.
Only when the film was screened on television in 1956 did it become the cultural phenomenon it is known as today.
Plot
Summary
The film centers on Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas who is transported , along with her dog Toto, to the fantasy world of Oz by a violent cyclone that sweeps her farmhouse home away. The storm carries the house with Dorothy and Toto to Munchkinland, a magical place far way from anything that Dorothy has ever seen or dreamed of. She is proclaimed a national heroine by the tiny inhabitants because the luck of the house's landing has caused the house to fall on and kill the Wicked Witch of the East, who holds power over the Munchkins. Suddenly, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North appears and explains all that has happened to Dorothy. Dorothy naturally wishes to return home. However the sister of the now dead Wicked Witch of the East (the Wicked Witch of the West) makes a startling appearance. Dorothy receives protection from the Wicked Witch of the West by Glinda when magically the Ruby Slippers that were worn by the dead Witch of the East are now on the feet of Dorothy: as long as she wears the slippers, says Glinda, Dorothy will be safe. The Witch of the West leaves, and thus Dorothy is sent along the Yellow Brick Road by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North to find The Wizard of Oz and get his help to return to Kansas and home. Along the way, Dorothy overcomes various obstacles and meets a talking Scarecrow (played by Ray Bolger), a Tin Man (played by Jack Haley) and a Cowardly Lion (played by Bert Lahr), who also are unsatisfied and need to find the Emerald City, of which The Wizard is master, believing that he will give them each what they desire. Instead, the Wizard sends the fellowship on a quest to kill the Wicked Witch of the West.Extended
Orphan Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) lives a simple life in Kansas with Aunt Em (Clara Blandick), Uncle Henry (Charley Grapewin) and three colorful farm hands, Hunk (Ray Bolger), Zeke (Bert Lahr) and Hickory (Jack Haley). One day the stern neighbor Miss 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 and takes Toto away to be destroyed, by order of the sheriff, over the impassioned protests of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, who is momentarily elated but soon realizes Miss Gulch will return. She decides to take Toto and run away.)
Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West
A confused Dorothy awakens to discover the house has been caught up in the twister. Through the bedroom window she sees a parade of people fly by. Then she sees Miss Gulch, also caught in the tornado, and pedaling her bicycle in midair, transform into a witch. Moments later the twister drops the house, Dorothy and Toto over the rainbow and into Oz. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), arrives and informs Dorothy they are in Munchkinland. She tells Dorothy she has killed the ruby-slippered Wicked Witch of the East by "dropping a house" on her.
Encouraged by Glinda, the timid Munchkins come out of hiding and celebrate the demise of the witch singing "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" among other cheerful songs until her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (also played by Margaret Hamilton), appears to claim the powerful ruby slippers. Glinda magically transports the slippers onto Dorothy's feet and reminds the witch her power is ineffectual in Munchkinland. The witch vows revenge on Dorothy and leaves the same way she arrived, in a blaze of fire and smoke. Glinda tells Dorothy, who is anxious to return home, that the only way to get back to Kansas is to ask the mysterious Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City for help. Glinda advises Dorothy to never take off the slippers and "follow the yellow brick road" to reach the Emerald City.
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Dorothy comforts the Cowardly Lion (Although this still has been printed here in black-and-white, this scene, like all the other Oz scenes, is actually in color)
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 demands the ruby slippers. When Dorothy refuses the witch tries to remove them but is prevented by a shower of sparks. She realizes the shoes cannot be removed as long as Dorothy is alive and plots on how to destroy her without damaging the shoes' spell.
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This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Thursday, 25 October 2007.
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 after leaving the scarecrow, tin man and lion in charge of Emerald City. Just before take off, Toto jumps out of the balloon's basket after a cat. Dorothy jumps out to catch Toto and the wizard, unable to control the balloon, leaves without her. She is sadly resigned to spend the rest of her life in Oz until Glinda appears and tells her she can use the ruby slippers to return home with Toto. Glinda explains she didn't tell Dorothy at first because she needed to learn "if you can't find your heart's desire in your own backyard, then you never really lost it to begin with." Dorothy and Toto say goodbye to their friends, and Dorothy follows Glinda's instructions to "tap your heels together and repeat the words, 'There's no place like home'." 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 bad dream. A happy Dorothy, still convinced the journey was real, hugs Toto and says "There's no place like home."
When Dorothy wakes up from her trip to Oz, the issue with Toto and Miss Gulch appears unresolved and left to the audience to interpret; Miss Gulch may be intended to have died in the cyclone, possibly in conjunction with the deaths of the Wicked Witches of Oz.
Differences from original novel
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Publicity still showing main characters from 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz.
Nearly all of the Kansas characters have matching counterparts in Oz, and therefore most of the cast playing characters in Kansas play matching characters in Oz. One convenient opportunity that this presents for some of the actors is that we do not have to wait for Dorothy to get to the Land of Oz in order for Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Margaret Hamilton to make an appearance in the film. Frank Morgan plays Professor Marvel, the Wizard, and several other people in the land of Oz. Margaret Hamilton plays both Miss Gulch and The Witch of The West. Ray Bolger plays Hunk and The Scarecrow. Jack Haley plays Hickory and The Tinman while Bert Lahr plays Zeke and The Lion.
Though the final film was far more faithful to Baum's original book than many earlier scripts (see below), the movie still had several notable differences. Due to time restraints a number of sub-plots from the book were cut. In the original, Dorothy and friends encounter a "Dainty China Country" where everyone is made of china, fight a gang of odd-looking "Hammer-heads," vicious half-tiger half-bear "Kalidahs" (who are made passing reference to in the film by the Scarecrow), and liberate an animal village from the rule of an evil spider king. None of these episodes appear in the movie, though the china country was invoked in the design of the Emerald City.
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Posed cast shot of Wizard of Oz.
A notable visual change made to the film was the changing of Dorothy's Silver Shoes to Ruby Slippers [1], to make them visually dazzling against the yellow brick road on the Technicolor screens. Baum's original world was made dramatically more colorful overall; in his original story the different areas of Oz only had one color each, with the Munchkin country being entirely blue and the City of Emeralds being entirely green. This was originally done to save costs on printing illustrations.
The Wicked Witch of the West was much more cowardly in the novel, afraid of the dark, never left her castle, and carried an umbrella rather than a broom, for obvious reasons. The witch's skin was pale from lack of blood, but not green. She was also missing an eye, covered with a patch, with the other described "as powerful as a telescope". Her presumably blond hair (based on the original illustrations) was tied in three pigtails.
Perhaps the most severe change is that of Dorothy becoming a damsel in distress figure needing to be rescued by her male friends. In the novel, Dorothy administers the rescue of her friends after she has dispatched the witch. Her behavior toward the witch in the novel is much more aggressive; in the novel, the Silver Shoes can be taken off with no harm, and the witch trips Dorothy in order to be able to do this. Outraged, Dorothy deliberately douses her with the bucket of water, though still unaware that this will cause the Witch to melt.
Production
In January 1938, MGM bought the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The final draft of the script was completed on October 8, 1938 (following numerous rewrites).[3]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, Jack Haley, E.Y. Harburg, Samuel Hoffenstein, Bert Lahr, John Lee Mahin, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Jack Mintz, Ogden Nash, and Sid Silvers. Victor Fleming signed on to direct, and Richard Thorpe (uncredited), George Cukor and King Vidor also have uncredited writing credits. Costume design was by Adrian Greenburg.
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; that was why 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] In addition, the song The Jitterbug, written in a swing style, was not intended for this sequence, but for the one in which the four are journeying to the Castle of the Wicked Witch. It was supposed to have taken place just before the group was attacked by the Flying Monkeys. The Jitterbug was cut for the final theatrical version, and the video footage for the song has been lost (except in some silent home movie footage of rehearsals for it). But the soundtrack for the song 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. An attempt has been made on both the videocassette and the DVD to synchronize the silent home movie footage with the soundtrack.
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Buddy Ebsen originally cast as the Tin Man
The makeup used on Jack Haley was quietly changed to an aluminum paste makeup: although it didn't 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 and he didn't 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 95, some 65 years after his near-fatal reaction to the makeup.[6]
The book The World of Entertainment (1975) by Hugh Fordin, created with the full co-operation of uncredited associate producer Arthur Freed before his death, is said to suggest that the actor was fired by Victor Fleming 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, test photos of different make–up styles remain.
Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Witch villain. She became unhappy with the role when the Witch's persona shifted from a sly glamorous witch (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 with Margaret Hamilton. Margaret 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. Perhaps not surprisingly, the stand-in was herself severely injured doing the scene, after a malfunction occurred during filming that one as well. 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.
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Publicity still showing The Wizard of Oz in production, 1938
Coincidentally, on February 12, 1939, Victor Fleming replaced George 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.[7]
Premiere and reissues
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. The movie opened nationally on August 25 1939.)
The film grossed approximately $3 million against production/distribution costs of $3.8 million in its initial release. It did not show a profit until a 1949 re-release earned an additional $1.5 million.
The film was again re-released in 1955 in a pseudo "widescreen" 1.85:1 aspect ratio version. Portions of the top and the bottom of the film were removed to produce the effect . The re-release trailer 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. The 1998 re-release again used the pseudo widescreen. The original theatrical release was 1.37:1 aspect ratio, which is projected in 1.33:1, with the additional width accommodating the soundtrack. All of the film's VHS and DVD releases have been in the original format, and not in the pseudo widescreen one.
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. 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. It became an annual CBS television tradition every December from 1959 through 1962. The film was not shown in 1963, 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 many other Christmas specials. Still the film was shown very early in 1964 so the showings still were only roughly a year apart. That January 1964 broadcast marked the end of the Christmas season showings, but it was nevertheless still televised only once a year for more than two decades. In the late 1960s, the film was bought for TV showings by NBC, but by 1976, it had reverted back to CBS. It is now shown several times a year, on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, Turner Network Television, and the TBS Superstation (see the article The Wizard of Oz on television).
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, and again in 1993, and finally on September 11, 1996. The long-awaited 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, and contained an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, hosted by Angela Lansbury. Outtakes, the deleted music number known as the "Jitterbug sequence", clips from the 1925 Wizard of Oz and the 1933 animated short based on the book, trailers, newsreels and a portrait gallery were also included, as well as two radio programs of the era publicizing the film - all on one disc. In 2005, two exclusive collectable DVD editions were released. The film was completely restored with superior quality and new audio sound in a 5.1 audio, perhaps the biggest re-release of the film yet. One of the two DVD releases was a 2-disc "deluxe edition", featuring a large portion of rare special features: documentaries, trailers, various outtakes, newsreels, an in-depth look on the restoration of the new DVD release, a behind the scenes look at the set design of the film, radio shows, and still galleries. The 3-disc edition featured even more supplements, including the complete 1925 film and 1933 short and re-prints of the 1939 tickets for the opening night screening.
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.
Worldwide release dates
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Lobby card for the 1955 re-release of The Wizard of Oz.
Musical selections
The Wizard of Oz is widely noted for its musical selections and soundtracks. 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".
The songs were recorded in a studio prior to filming. Several of the recordings were completed while Buddy Ebsen was still with the cast. So, 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. Ray Bolger 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 the r.
Academy Awards
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, which went to, not the songwriters, but Herbert Stothart, who composed the background score. Judy Garland was given a special honorary Oscar 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). But rather incredibly, The Wizard of Oz did not receive an Oscar for its Special Effects - that award went to the film version of The Rains Came, for its monsoon sequence.Winner of 2 Oscars
- Music (Original Score) -- Herbert Stothart
- Music (Song) -- " Somewhere Over The Rainbow," Music By Harold Arlen; Lyrics By E. Y. Harburg
- Art Direction -- Cedric Gibbons, William A. Horning
- Cinematography (Color) -- Hal Rosson
- Outstanding Production -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie, Douglas Shearer
Special Award
- Judy Garland received a miniature Oscar statuette for her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile performer. This was not an award solely for "The Wizard Of Oz" but for her performances over all during the past year.
Awards and honors
The Wizard of Oz 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.The film has gained many listings from the American Film Institute (AFI). In 1997, the AFI ranked The Wizard of Oz sixth on its "100 Greatest Movies" list; in its Tenth Anniversary Edition, it was rated tenth. Two songs from the film are on AFI's 100 years, 100 songs list ("Over the Rainbow" at #1 and "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" #82). In 2006, this film ranked #3 on their list of best musicals. In 1999, Entertainment Weekly released a guide celebrating the greatest films ever made, with The Wizard of Oz listed in the top 10. It is also in the top 100 on the IMDB Top 250 Films List. In addition, a 2005 poll by the AFI ranked Dorothy's line "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" as the fourth most memorable line in cinema history.[8][9] It was also placed at number 86 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.[10]
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. ISBN 0-7868-8352-9
All of the film's stars except Frank Morgan lived long enough to see and enjoy at least some of the film's acclaim. The last of the major players to pass on was Ray Bolger. 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, nor co-screenwriter Edgar Allan Woolf, 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, and Morgan all died in the same year - 1949.
According to The Observer, the film has the greatest soundtrack of all time.[11]
Sequels, pre-quels, and related works
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Ruby slippers. Original costume made of silk, leather, sequins, and rhinestones.
- The Wizard of Oz was recorded live on Christmas day, 1950, and starred Judy Garland in this radio version of the classic film. Her daughter Liza Minnelli was in the audience (see link to audio in external links below)
- Noel Langley penned a direct sequel based on The Marvelous Land of Oz that utilized similar conflicts created for this film, which centers upon a girl named Tippie living in an orphanage who dreams that she goes to Oz. The script is undated, but was probably created in the 1950s.
- The Wizard of Oz has an official sequel, the animated production Journey Back to Oz (most of its work was done in 1964, but funding for finishing the project could not be raised until eight years later), featuring the voice of Liza Minnelli, Garland's daughter, as Dorothy, and Margaret Hamilton as the voice of Aunt Em. A section of the music at the start of the film is probably more familiar to viewers in the United Kingdom as the theme music for ITN's "News at Ten".
- The 1974 John Boorman sci-fi film Zardoz starring Sean Connery is a look at a dystopian future that uses many elements from the classic story (including the abbreviated title).
- The 1974 musical and 1978 film The Wiz were adapted from the same story.
- The considerably darker Return to Oz, was made by Walt Disney Studios in 1985 starring Fairuza Balk as Dorothy. It holds the world record for for longest period of time for a film sequel. It would be 46 years after The Wizard of Oz when Return to Oz was in theaters.
- An animated series set after the original movie was created for the ABC Network's Saturday morning lineup in the fall of 1990. According to the opening, Dorothy discovers the ruby slippers in her closet one day and uses them to return to Oz and reunite with her three friends. However, the Wicked Witch of the West, resurrected by a handful of remaining loyalists, returns to blow the Wizard's balloon off-course and steal the awards that he "gave" the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion their desired character traits. The series covers the heroes' journey through Oz to rescue the Wizard, reclaim their treasures, and utterly defeat the Witch. The cartoon lasted one season of thirteen episodes.
- In 1995, Gregory Maguire released the critically acclaimed novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an other-side-of-the-story look at the witches of The Wizard of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West). Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman turned it into a musical entitled Wicked in 2003 with Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the show was a box office smash. In 2004, it was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, winning 3 (including one for Idina Menzel). There are currently six productions running, on Broadway, on a U.S. national tour, in Chicago, in Los Angeles, in London's West End, and in Tokyo, Japan.
- In 2005, Illusive Arts Entertainment launched Dorothy, a fumetti-style comic book series that is an updating of Baum's original story, though it also references numerous elements of the 1939 film, including starting out in a "colorless" Kansas and referencing dialogue from the film. Absent from the first issue at least is any reference to Toto. Like Return to Oz, this is a much darker take on the story, with Dorothy (portrayed in the photographs by Catie Fisher) depicted as a rebellious, disfranchised teenager who steals her uncle's truck as she runs away.
- The Sci-Fi Channel has a mini-series entitled Tin Man with a dystopian futuristic look that is scheduled to air in December 2007, starring Zooey Deschanel as "D.G.", Alan Cumming as Glitch, a man with only part of a brain, and Neal McDonough as the title character: a law man with a "tin" badge, who is also tortured by the witch in an Iron Maiden-like device.
- It was announced in August 2007 that the film is to be remade, with a 'dark', more "tough action figure" role for the lead 'Dorothy' role.[12]
Several versions were produced prior to the 1939 film:- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)[13]
- Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz (1910 film)
- His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz<ref name="Bonus" />
- The Magic Cloak of Oz<ref name="Bonus" />[14]
- The Wizard of Oz (1921 film - never completed or released)
- Wizard of Oz, which includes Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodman.<ref name="Bonus" />
- The Land of Oz, a Sequel to the 'Wizard of Oz' (1932)
- The Wizard of Oz (1933 cartoon)<ref name="Bonus" />
- The Wizard of Oz (1938 short film)
- Conductor and arranger John Wilson transcribed Harold Arlen's music and conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in a live performance of the original score accompanying the original film, stripped of all its musical elements to leave only sound effects, dialogue and singing. It premiered on January 7 2007 at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.[15]
- Fantasy Movie, a film spoofing the fantasy genre and using The Wizard Of Oz as the main parody. An October 2008 release is planned.
- Wizard of the Hood, a 2003 album by Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse that makes up story with songs loosely based on The Wizard of Oz, with a Ghetto theme. It features Violent J as the main character that gets sucked into at tornado and lands in Oz. He meets the Scarecrow(Monoxide Child),The Tin Man(Jamie Madrox), and the Lion(Blaze ya Dead Homie).They eventually mee The Wizard(Shaggy 2 Dope) Who gets J home by smoking the magic blunt with him.
Trivia
- Because of the "Dark Side of the Rainbow" effect (numerous moments at which the two works appear to correspond), Turner Classic Movies aired a version of The Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album as an alternate soundtrack.[16]
- In the music video Run-Around performed by the jam band Blues Traveler, featured on the 1994 album Four depicts 4 underage fans dressed up as Dorothy, the lion, the tin man and the scarecrow attempting to get into a concert.
- In the earlier days of the show Ally McBeal, the perceived ill-tempered and hard-nosed character of Ling Woo (Lucy Liu) was emphasized by having her frequently stormy entrances to episodes underscored by the Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch musical motif.
- The ZAZ comedy team have made references to Oz in all of their movies both as a team and in their individual careers.
- The witch's dying cry, "I'm melting! Melting!" has been referenced or spoofed in films such as The Kentucky Fried Movie, Wicked Stepmother, Field of Dreams, Spaceballs, (where the Gremlins are melted due to Billy combining the Electric Gremlin with water), Batman (where the Joker's flesh-colored makeup melts when Vicki Vale pours water over it), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (when Judge Doom meets his demise), Casper (where sunlight melts the Ghostly Trio, although they are just faking it), and Shrek 2.
- When receiving an award, English band the Arctic Monkeys dressed as the four characters of the Wizard of Oz in the acceptance video.
- It has been rumored that a munchkin commits suicide, or stage hand can be seen hanging from a tree in the background following the Tin Woodman sequence. This rumor is untrue, and the entity is actually a bird flapping it's wings.[17]
- Inspired the name of the performance art group Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer!
- In the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, players fight "Dorothee", "Tito", "Tinhead", "Roar", "Strawman" and "The Crone" in a boss event inspired by the film.
- In one of the episodes of The Simpsons Mr. Burns has flying monkeys, much like the Wicked Witch of the West, he also stands at the window yelling 'Fly, my pretties, FLY!' Of course, the monkeys crash to the ground. He quietly turns to Smithers and mutters "Continue the research."
- The Wicked Witch of the West appears in Shrek the Third as part of Prince Charming's villain army.
- In the 2004 science fiction film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Wizard of Oz is playing in the Radio City Music Hall theater during the meeting between reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Dr. Jennings. Also, "Over the Rainbow" is sung by jazz singer Jane Monheit during this film's end-titles.
See also
- Dark Side of the Rainbow, the effect created by synchronizing the sound from the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visuals from The Wizard of Oz film.
- Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a novel by Gregory Maguire
- The Wizard of Oz book to film comparison
- The Wizard of Oz on television
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the novel
- Yellow brick road
- Dona Massin, choreographer assisting Bobby Connolly
References
1. ^ Fricke, John (1989). The Wizard of Oz. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0446514462.
2. ^ Smithsonian Institute (2006). Treasures of American History (English). National Museum of American History - Smithsonian Institute. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
3. ^ Warner Bros. Wizard of Oz Timeline (English). Warnerbros.com. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
4. ^ Fordin, Hugh (1976). World of Entertainment. City: Avon Books (Mm). ISBN 9780380007547.
5. ^ Fricke, John, and Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History, Warner Books, 1989
6. ^ newsfromme.com (2003). Oz Stuff (English). povonline. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
7. ^ Jim's "Wizard of Oz" Website Directory. "The Wizard of Oz"... A Movie Timeline (English). geocities.com. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
8. ^ Reuters (2005). 'Frankly, my dear...' named number one movie quote (English). ABC News. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
9. ^ American Film Institute (2006). AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes (English). American Film Institute. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
10. ^ Bravotv.com. The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (English). Bravotv.com. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
11. ^ The Observer Music Monthly (2007). The 50 Greatest Film Soundtracks (English). Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
12. ^ id="CITEREF2007">"'Dark' Wizard of Oz to be made", ITN News, August 23, 2007, <[2] (retrieved on 2007-08-25)
13. ^ Included as a bonus feature on the 3-disc DVD set release of 2005.
14. ^ Not actually an Oz-related film; the Oz title was added to capitalize on the popularity of the books, then removed when this proved box office poison.
15. ^ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (2006). Judy Garland Sings with the Liverpool Phil! (English). Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
16. ^ Chicago Sun-Times (2000). Dark Side of Oz (English). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
17. ^ Barbara and David P. Mikkelson (2006). Hanging Munchkin Claim - False (English). snopes. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
Sources
- The Making of The Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz, (November, 1977)
- The Wizard of Oz: The Screenplay, edited by Michael Patrick Hearn, 1989.
- Liner notes from the 2-CD "Deluxe Edition" set issued in 1995.
External links
- Official DVD Website
- The Wizard of Oz at All Movie Guide
- Return to Oz Movie Website
- The Wizard of Oz Online
- The Generations of Oz Tour
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website
- Jim's Wizard of Oz Website
- Wizard of Oz Characters
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film.
Adaptation introduces complications in audience perception and aesthetics. The most obvious and common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a film, but film adaptation includes the
..... Click the link for more information.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Original title page.
Author L. Frank Baum
Illustrator W. W. Denslow
Country United States
Language English
Series The Oz Books
Genre(s) Fantasy, Children's novel
Publisher George M.
..... Click the link for more information.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland.
..... Click the link for more information.The Wizard of Oz may refer to:- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a 1900 book by L. Frank Baum
- The Wizard of Oz (1939 film), most notable adaptation
..... Click the link for more information.- For the Arkansas lawyer and judge Victor A. Fleming, see Vic Fleming.
Victor Fleming
Born January 23 1889
La Cañada, California, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.- For the historian and biographer, see D. R. Thorpe.
Richard Thorpe (February 24, 1896 - May 1, 1991) was an American film director.
Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe
..... Click the link for more information.George Cukor
Birth name George Dewey Cukor
Born July 7 1899
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died January 24 1983 (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.King Vidor
Birth name King Wallis Vidor
Born February 8, 1894
Galveston, Texas, USA
Died November 1 1982 (aged 88)
Paso Robles, California, USA
Spouse(s) Florence Vidor (1915-1924)
Eleanor Boardman (1926-1931)
..... Click the link for more information.Mervyn LeRoy
Born October 15, 1900
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died September 13, 1987 (aged 86)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Spouse(s) Edna Murphy (1927-1933)
Doris Warner (1934-1942)
Kitty Spiegel (1946-?) 2 children
..... Click the link for more information.Lyman Frank Baum (May 15 1856 – May 6 1919) was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of one of the most popular books in American children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
..... Click the link for more information.Noel Langley (December 25, 1911 – November 4, 1980) was a successful novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. While under contract to MGM he was one of the screenwriters for The Wizard of Oz.
..... Click the link for more information.Judy Garland
from the trailer for A Star Is Born
Birth name Frances Ethel Gumm
Born May 10 1922
Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.Frank Morgan
from the trailer for Sweethearts (1938)
Birth name Francis Phillip Wuppermann
Born May 1 1890
New York City, New York, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.Ray Bolger
in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Birth name Raymond Wallace Bolger[1][2]
Born January 10 1904
Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.Jack Haley
Jack Haley and Gary Owens
Birth name John Joseph Haley Jr.
Born July 10 1898
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Died May 6 1979 (aged 82) (heart attack)
..... Click the link for more information.Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion
in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Birth name Irving Lahrheim
Born July 13 1895
New York City
Died
..... Click the link for more information.Billie Burke
Billie Burke in the film Topper Returns
Birth name Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke
Born July 7 1884
Washington, D.C., U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz
Born November 9 1902
Cleveland, Ohio
Died May 16 1985 (aged 84)
Salisbury, Connecticut
..... Click the link for more information.Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
Subsidiary of Sony, Comcast and their equity partners
Founded April 16, 1924
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, USA
(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.)
Key people Harry E.
..... Click the link for more information.Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company established on August 4, 1986 as a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting to oversee its film library after its acquisition of the MGM/UA Entertainment Company (now Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
..... Click the link for more information.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., or Warner Bros. (pronounced Warner Brothers), is one of the world's largest producers of film and television entertainment.
It is currently a subsidiary of the Time Warner conglomerate, with its headquarters in Burbank, California.
..... Click the link for more information.August 25 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.Events
- 325 - Council of Nicea convened by Emperor Constantine.
..... Click the link for more information.19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1900s 1910s 1920s - 1930s - 1940s 1950s 1960s
1936 1937 1938 - 1939 - 1940 1941 1942
Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX
..... Click the link for more information.Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.English}}}
Writing system: Latin (English variant)
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng
..... Click the link for more information.United States dollar
dólar estadounidense (Spanish)
dólar amerikanu (Tetum)
dólar americano
..... Click the link for more information.IMDb profile
Journey Back To Oz is an official animated sequel to the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. It is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's second Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz. Baum received no screen credit.
..... Click the link for more information.-1939- 1940 1941 1942 1943 . 1944 . 1945 . 1946 . 1947 . 1948 . 1949
..... Click the link for more information.American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, Classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period (after 1980).
..... Click the link for more information.Fantasy media- Fantastic art
- Fantasy anime
- Fantasy art
- Fantasy authors
- Fantasy comics
- Fantasy fiction magazines
- Fantasy films
- Fantasy literature
- Fantasy television
..... Click the link for more information.
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