| | | The Greatest Picture in the History of Entertainment!
Features: DVD, Rated PG, Book
In this charming film based on the popular L.Frank Baum novel, Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado's path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she encounters some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage.
Editor's Note
Young Dorothy is bored of her gray life on a Kansas farm. When her house is whisked away by a tornado, it lands somewhere over the rainbow in a Technicolor world, and Dorothy knows she's not in Kansas anymore. This beloved, incomparable classic based on L. Frank Baum's turn-of-the-century novel is a musical and visual candy store. Dorothy's journey to find a way back to Kansas has permeated American culture and film for decades and remains one of the best musicals and children's stories ever filmed.
Plot Summary
Judy Garland stars as Dorothy in a musical based on the classic children's book by L. Frank Baum. When Dorothy's neighbor, Miss Gulch, threatens to take away Dorothy's precious dog, Toto, Dorothy runs away from home. Attempting to return, she and her house are caught in a twister and blown to the garish, color-saturated Land of Oz. The house lands atop Oz's Wicked Witch of the East, killing her and making Dorothy an instant celebrity. The Wicked Witch of the West, the sister of the deceased witch, soon arrives and threatens revenge. Dorothy must escape from Oz by following the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where the great Wizard of Oz can help her return to Kansas. Along the way, Dorothy picks up some new friends--the heartless Tin Man, the brainless Scarecrow, and the courage-less Cowardly Lion, each of whom hopes that the Wizard can offer him what he lacks. The long journey to see the Wizard is filled with dangers and traps planted by the Wicked Witch of the West--as well as lots of phenomenal musical numbers. Filled with extravagant sets and costumes and 40 minutes of rambunctious song and dance routines, Dorothy's adventures in Oz are pure delight. The film deservedly holds a precious place in the hearts of millions.
| Features | 2007 Hollywood Walk of Fame Salute to the Munchkins. | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Documentary Profile of Director Victor Fleming | | Includes A Digital Copy Of The Film For Portable Media Players! | | Interactive Menus | | Other Early Screen Adaptations of the Oz Books | | Over 16 Hours of Wonderful Wizardry About This Movie Classic | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English | | The Life and Times of Original Author L. Frank Baum | | TV-Movie The Dreamer of Oz |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | The Wizard of Oz - 70th Anniversary Two-Disc Special Edition (1939) - DVD Review By: The Masked Movie Snobs - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 9/29/2009 7:43 PM | | It's intimidating to sit down to write a review of The Wizard Of Oz. I put it right up there with reviewing The Beatles or Huck Finn. What do you say that hasn't already been said? How do you find an angle on something in its seventh decade? For full disclosure, I have to admit that this movie has been in my Top 5 films ever since I was probably five- or six-years-old. Movies have come and gone and this film has never wavered. When we got a VCR, it was the first film I taped off of TV and watched and rewatched. When it was released on VHS, I had the deluxe edition. And back again for another version for the 50th Anniversary. In 1999, I was put my money down for a bare bones DVD version for the 60th Anniversary. Just back in 2005, I purchased the three-disc Collector's Edition on DVD. Now, Warner Bros. has gone into full Oz-mode again for the 70th Anniversary of the film....read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 9/29/2009 |
| Running Time: 112 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1939 | | Catalog ID: 1000043710 | | UPC: 00883929042272 | | Number of Discs: 5 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: B&W and Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Academy Awards (1939) |  | Herbert Stothart, Winner, Best Original Score | | Harold Arlen, Winner, Best Original Song | | E. Y. Harburg, Winner, Best Original Song |
| Memorable Quotes| "I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog too!"----The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) | | "The great and powerful Oz has spoken!"----The Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan) | | "Ding--dong, the witch is dead."----Munchkin song | | "There's no place like home."----Dorothy (Judy Garland) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...It somehow seems real and important in a way that most movies don't....The special effects are glorious in that old Hollywood way..." 12/22/1996 p.5Entertainment Weekly
"We love it...because of the wonderful things it does! Those songs! Those effects! That cinematography!..." 01/11/2002 p.25-6 Premiere
"...THE WIZARD OF OZ's status as a cultural icon has only strengthened through the years..." 12/01/2003 p.5 Total Film
"[The film] remains as entrancing as ever....So vibrant it's like watching the world being painted for the first time." 02/01/2004 p.120 Entertainment Weekly
"[It] proves as precious as Dorothy's ruby slippers....It's a journey every film buff should make." -- Grade: A 10/28/2005 p.66 New York Times
"There may be no movie more deeply embedded in the subconscious of the baby boom generation than THE WIZARD OF OZ." 11/01/2005 p.E3 Entertainment Weekly
Ranked #1 in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten DVDs Of The Year -- "[T]he extras are filled with heart, brains, and, yes, even courage." 12/30/2005 p.124 Rolling Stone
Ranked #16 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "[A] dazzling digital reproduction of the original Technicolor." 12/01/2005 p.98 |
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