The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
Synopsis:
A Kansas girl caught up in a tornado finds herself transported to the mystical land of Oz, While she seeks out the aid of the Wizard of Oz to find her way home, she is pursued by the vengeful Wicked Witch of the West.
Impressions:
You can't get much more iconic than this version of The Wizard of Oz. The sheer cultural impact can't be understated. Even if you somehow have never seen this film, as you watch it, you can barely skip a beat where you don't go, "Oh, that's where that comes from." While not the first film to feature three-strip Technicolor, it certainly gave the strongest sales pitch. The moment Dorothy steps out of her house into Oz, the whole world is awash in vibrant color. I can only imagine what it must have been like for audiences back in '39. Besides the bright and imaginatively crafted world, we have a pleasant dynamic that forms with Dorothy and her three companions and I'd actually forgotten how amusingly petty the Wicked Witch of the West is in her quest for revenge against Dorothy. (Margaret Hamilton is delightfully hammy in the role and it's such a contrast from her portrayal of Mrs. Gulch in the Kansas segment.) Pretty much all of the songs land well, even the ones that feel like a bit of a distraction that don't actually move things forward. Having just seen The Wiz, I find it a bit funny that at the time, the 16-year-old Judy Garland was seen as too old for the role of Dorothy. I mean, the character does seem to be written as someone younger, but it's not a dealbreaker, especially with her singing and dancing chops. It was a bit of a rough time behind the scenes, but out of all that came a timeless cultural treasure that definitely ought to be seen by everyone and almost certainly warrants a place in your collection as well.
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