Product description

The Wizard Of Oz [1939]

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Average customer rating: 5.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 7321900651233
Label : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Release date : 2006-06-19
Title : The Wizard Of Oz [1939]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Universal, suitable for all
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1939-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 98
Studio : Warner Home Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 1939-08-25

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Like the Tin Man's heart, the true test of a real classic is how much it is loved by others. The enduring charms of The Wizard of Oz have easily weathered the vicissitudes of changing fashions making the film one of the world's best-loved, most-quoted and frequently imitated movies.

It's now as ubiquitous an American pop-cultural icon as McDonald's, making judging the movie purely on its own merits an almost impossible task. Judy Garland's tragic later life, for example, makes her naïve and utterly beguiling Dorothy seem all the more poignant in retrospect. But this at least is clear: much of this movie's success depends on the winning appeal of Garland's "Everygirl" figure, who creates the vital identification and empathy necessary to carry the audience with her into the land of Oz. We always care deeply about Dorothy, her quest for home and the strength of her friendship with her companions. Garland's assured dancing and singing routines with her ideally cast Broadway comedy co-stars Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley are still endlessly delightful, of course, and the songs and score (by Arlen, Harburg and Stothart) are as good as anything in the Hollywood musical canon. It is Garland's deeply felt rendition of "Over the Rainbow" that is both the film's emotional core and the reason why adults as much as children the world over still respond so strongly to this movie. So long as people long for home and the love of their friends and family, the nostalgic appeal of Oz will never fade.

On the DVD: another splendid digital restoration from the MGM vaults keeps this wonderful classic as vivid and alive as it was back in 1939, if not more so. The 1.33:1 picture is clear and defined, bursting with the vibrant colours of Oz (you can even see the wires holding up the Lion's tail). Even more remarkably, because the original microphone tapes have been preserved the soundtrack has been remastered in 5.1 stereo, thereby accentuating the lush tones of the MGM orchestra and Garland's famous singing.

The disc is also chock full of extras, including outtakes, audio sequences, composer Harold Arlen's backstage movies, extracts from earlier silent Oz films, clips from the Academy Awards and interviews with the stars among many other fascinating nuggets. The new 50-minute documentary hosted by Angela Lansbury, and irritatingly narrated in the present tense, is oddly the weakest part, with too little hard information and too much padding about how everyone loves the movie. The only gripe is Warners' trademark cardboard slipcase, which is awkward and easily damaged. But this is still an essential disc for the young at heart everywhere. --Mark Walker

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
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.

Customer reviews

review by: Skywalker date: 2007-11-01 rating:

Magical movie!
This movie is so iconic it is deeply ingrained in our culture. As a little girl, and as an adult too, we all want a magical pair of "Dorothy" shoes. The movie's message is very simple; there's no place like home. The magical world of Oz is in technicolor whereas the scenes in Kansas are in black and white. This helps to show how enticing Oz is. The characters are pretty damn good, they don't make em like that anymore. All of the characters go through a personal journey in the film; to get home, to become brave, to get a heart. The plot is as delightful as the characters and the setting, with a dash of humour added in; a must see for young and old, even my quite sensitive 6yr old daughter can handle the scarier bits. The replay value is immeasurable, I have seen the movie so many times and will watch it many times more. The music is enchanting too!

Overall I think this movie is a must see.

I would rate it 9/10

review by: date: 2007-07-27 rating:

Quite simply a classic
This is one of the all time best films. I can't wait for my babies to be big enough to watch this as I am sure they will get as much fun out of it as I did when I was little.

Why write this comment? To remind people that just because it is an old film does not mean that it is not suitable for children of today. Buy it for them and you and you will remember why you loved it so much!

Simply amazing.

review by: date: 2007-05-02 rating:

Why is it listed as "Disney's"?
Why is it listed as "Disney's"? Never mind that. The question you will more likely ask, when you can tear yourself away from this internet terminal, is "why do I need to see this yet again, on DVD, when it's so often played on TV?" The answer is, because you will be making a special appointment to see a very special film, something that's almost become a part of our collective memory. Another answer is because this DVD presentation looks and sounds terrific, and yet another answer is the extras included, which build on your already personal relationship with the movie. Many thanks to all involved for putting it together, I seem to remember that you were there. And you, and you...

review by: date: 2007-02-12 rating:

A Review for PINK FLOYD fans only
This is the version you require to try your own sync to the DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. The sync is unbelievable. The lyrics are uncanny. The music is awesome. The Great Gig In The Sky / Money, well they might have been original videos. The first playback of DSotM has to be seen to be believed. You can buy pre-synced versions elsewhere on the net but the picture quality is poor, and of course you don't get the original soundtrack. Check out all the sync pages on the web when searching "wizard of oz dark side of the moon" on a search engine.

Enough of Floyd. This is a classic film with some excellent moments. The picture and sound are fantastically remastered. If you have never seen it before then you must have been living on the dark side of the moon.

A lovely family film and must for Floyd fans. Honest, the sync works. The only question left, Is it a fluke ??

Thanx for reading this review.

review by: da_dolphin_boy date: 2005-10-27 rating:

Bounty of color and whimsy, with underlying meaning
This movie is so well-known and so much-reviewed, that I will say little in the standard way of a review: "The Wizard of Oz" is a colorful, musical, enchanting fairy tale that was done as well as any movie ever was. It overflows with color and whimsy, the bad guys are abhorrent (as they should be), and you want the good guys (and girls) to move into your neighborhood. Everyday pieces of reality are enhanced and patched together into a fantasy land that looks part abstract and part American primitive art. This is one of the few movies that can be watched yearly (or more often) without viewers getting tired of it.

On to my more non-standard point: after watching this movie many times as I grew up, I realized one day that one way to view it is as an existential expedition in search of the self. Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow all go to see the wizard in search of that which is most dear to them (home and belonging, a heart, courage, and intelligence (a brain), respectively). In the end, they realize that, through their journey and through coping with adversity, they have discovered, or created within themselves, that which they sought outside of themselves. The lesson: do not look too far for what you seek, for the answer probably lies within and not without.

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