(Continuing Lawrence of Arabia from week 5)
To quote Mr Cranky: “Dorothy is obviously tripping her ass off on insecticides.”
I’ll say one small, simple thing, then pray that the sweet lord Jesus will blind me before I watch this tomorrow night.
[sub]ahem[/sub]
At least it’s not Tik-Tok of Oz.
Bump, because I know a few people expressed interest in this movie.
Or maybe everyone else is tripping their off ass on insecticides.
Tuesday isn’t here yet, but…
There are some things I liked about this movie, actually.
First, I like the use of color, especially when the movie is first colorized. That contrast between the black and white world of Kansas and the colorized world of Oz helps give Oz a sense of the mystical.
I also like the choice to use the same actors for the “real world” as for the Oz. The three farmhands became Dorothy’s companions through Oz, Ms. Gultch became the witch, and the fortune teller the wizard. Their “Oz” personalities were extensions of their “Kansas” personalities.
Margaret Hamilton, as usual, was a great actress.
I have to disagree with this being in the Top 10. I’m just not that impressed with Wizard of Oz. Yeah, using color to contrast Oz with Kansas was a nice touch, but this film as a whole does absolutely nothing for me.
And I hate films with “it was all a dream” endings. Worst cop out in the history of writing. Did the book end the same way?
Crunchy, the book did not end the same way. In the book, she really did go to Oz. And there was no parallel in the book between the characters in Kansas and the characters in Oz.
:too tired to write more, other than to say the movie is much better if you listen to Dark Side of the Moon at the same time: 
As one who just finished up working on a stage production of The Wizard Of Oz, I felt compelled to make these observations:
The message of the movie/play is terrible. Basically, it says “Don’t be adventurous, don’t try new things, fear the outside world”. This is shown by Dorothy’s “epiphany” just before she is transported back to Kansas.
I made the prediction that, as Dorothy grew into her teens, she would become hopelessly depressed and ultimately commit suicide, because her adventure in Oz would cause her so much trauma.
Despite the song that calls the Emerald City “the most glorious place on the face of the Earth and the sky”, the EC doesn’t seem that great. It seems downright dumpy and pathetic. Additionally, the denizens of the City remind me very much of Lotus Eaters.
I always thought that the message of the movie was the exact opposite: "Don’t be afraid of leaving home, because you have the power to go home at anytime. (You’ve had the power all along.) You bring a little bit of ‘home’ with you where ever you go: that’s why the Oz-ites resemble the farm-hands.
I loved the Wizard of Oz. The colors, the music, the dancing, it’s all planned so perfectly. Of course, I’ve only seen up to the part where Dorothy and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Man because that’s when Dark Side of the Moon ends. It’s soooo creepy too, with that heart beating while they’re listening to tin man’s heart. And “black” when the witch appears? I mean, what are the odds that THAT happened at random? None, I tell you. And Money right when it all turns to color? man, that gave me the munchies something wicked. It’s all there, man, you just need to look for it. Mr. Floyd can deny it all he wants to, but he’s not fooling me. No sirree, I know a good sync when I see one.
Oooh, oooh! I have seen past the Tin Man now that I think about it. My dad’s friend’s uncle worked on the set and he told me that one of the midget’s stunt doubles committed suicide in the background. I think you can see it too! Pretty cool, huh?
“If I ever again go searching for my heart’s desire, I should never have to go farther than my own backyard.” (Paraphrased from the stage production). Dorothy’s main focus throughout her trip in Oz was an obsession with returning to the safe confines of her home… all the time, it’s “I’m trying to get home” this and “I’m trying to get home” that. She couldn’t enjoy the “splendor” of Oz (it really wasn’t that splendid, but I digress…) because she just wanted to hide behind Auntie Em’s skirts.
None of the munchkins committed suicide during the making of TWOO. Cecil debunked that UL either in a column or one of his books, I can’t recall which. There are several scenes where technicians are visible, but there weren’t any deaths (Margaret Hamilton got burned pretty badly when her green makeup caught fire as she descended through the soundstage floor, but that’s it for serious injuries). Burt Lahr HATED his role as the Cowardly Lion - IIRC he bitched the whole time about the heat. Jack Haley couldn’t sit down during breaks, so the crew rigged a plank for him to lean against - again, not a fun role.
TWOO is one of my favorites - “Can I go with you to see the crowned heads of Europe?” “Do you know any?”
I have a love/hate thing with this movie. First, it’s a huge freak show from beginning to end. Forced to watch it as a child, Miss Gultch scared me, the Munchkins scared me, the Flying Monkeys scared me, the guy who worked the door at the Emerald City scared me, the big disembodied talking floating head scared me …
Second, despite the fact that Dorothy is essentially trapped in a nightmare of mammoth proportions, the things that do seem vaguely interesting have no effect on her at all. Like SPOOFE pointed out, she spends all her time trying to get home, and doesn’t even notice she is in a magical land, even though home seems pretty dismal as well, what with skanky Miss Gultch on the prowl. You would think she would at least eat the giant candy given to her by the Lollipop Mafia.
Third, as creepy as the movie is, the book is worse.
Fourth, it causes me to have one giant anxiety attack about Toto and his fate.
The only good part, IMHO, about this movie is that the Emerald City horse changes color. That’s neat.
The love part of my love/hate relationship, I suppose, is that now in my old age I do feel somewhat nostalgic about something that was a big part of my childhood (even though it was dreadful), which just goes to show that anyone can get used to just about anything, even prison I suppose.
Just a bit of trivia regarding the forest scene with the weird bird running about (where everone thinks they see the ‘suicide’): that weird bird is an East African Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum), not an ostrich as I’ve read somewhere.
Also, check out http://www.movie-mistakes.com/ for some blatant and subtle continuity errors. [Click on “Top Films” in the left column - TWOO is #10.]
I was born in the mid-fifties. We didn’t have a color TV, so for all my young years I watched the annual Oz broadcast in black and white. I remember marveling when classmates told of a brightly colored Munchkinland, the horse of a different color, the poppy field, and the yellow brick road. The movie was in color only in my imagination! But I loved it, never missed a year and never felt I was missing out.
Ditto. And another bit of TWOO trivia, apparentely, the movie didn’t break even until 1959. TV saved it.
I have a feeling that, if the movie had been made some 20 or so years later, it would have a Twilight Zone twist. The final scene would be Dorothy removing her covers and sees that she’s wearing the ruby slippers!
At the third lions roar in the mgm title opening start the cd Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon. You’ll be in for an interesting suprise. It adds a spooky spin to an already strange movie.
Maybe. WWoO is the first in a long series, and I admit it moves kinda slow, but the sequels are charming examples of 1900s-10s literature. Anyway, there are a couple of scenes from the book that made an impression on me.
It was never shown, in the movie, how they got back to the Emerald City from the WWotW’s lair, but in the book, the flying monkeys, who were no longer the witch’s slaves, carried Dorothy and pals most of the way. En route, the leader tells her a bit of their history. Originally, they had lived in Glinda’s territory, but didn’t belong to anyone. Glinda was engaged to the finest, handsomest, bravest, most noble and so on guy in all of Oz. In other words, a perfect target. The monkeys decided to play a joke on him the morning of the wedding, and grabbed him up and threw him into a river. He was perfectly okay, but Glinda was furious anyway, because no one messes with her man! As a punishment, she put them under a spell to keep them from jerking anyone around again. Eventually, of course, the West Witch subverted the spell; another slap against Glinda.
The real Wizard was seen by the four travelers individually, and always in a different form. The disembodied head was one of those, and the most cinematic, so that’s what ended up in the film. Anyway, he gave basically the same speeches about brains and love and courage coming from within, but to placate them, he filled Scarecrow’s head with bran and pins ("Bran-new brains!), installed a plush heart in the Woodman’s chest, and gave the Lion something nasty to drink “so you will have courage inside you”. When they had left, he thought, “It’s so easy to fool people who want to be fooled…but how can I make Dorothy think she’s back in Kansas?” Bit of John Edwards there.
Also, I’ll have to hit the library and look at some of the sequels, but I seem to remember Dorothy being a blonde pixie, not a wholesome pigtailed brunette. I can picture her thus in the original illustrations, which were exquisite, and I think I heard her described as blonde at least once.
Also also, my favorite dialogue from the movie is:
Scarecrow: First they took my legs off and they threw them over there! Then they took my chest out and they threw it over there!
Lion: Well that’s you all over!
Before this gets going again, check this article out, from the Straight Dope Archive.
I think Cecil was overreacting there. He seems to be trying to disprove the DSOTM/WOO synchronicity, as if it’s a theory. There is no theory, just the simple fact that much of the music on the album coincides with many of the visuals in the film, and the overall effect is impressive. I’ve never heard anyone claim that the coincidences mean anything; no one’s presented an underlying theme, or drawn predictions from it. It’s just cool to watch. I don’t believe there was any deep mystical message in The Prisoner, but that’s cool to watch too.
He had the same attitude about Wilson Bryan Key, the subliminal advertising guy. Key may be overemphasizing the effect certain visuals have on the public, but I’ve seen his book, and unless he faked the photos himself, those ice cubes do spell “SEX”, and the woman on the Playboy cover is nursing a baby.
Lactic Acid, I like your username.