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The Wizard of Oz. What do you think of it?

Dream

Dream

Admiral
Admiral
The Blu-Ray of the movie was released yesterday and the dvd was finally rereleased after being put in the Warners' version of the Disney Vault for so long. So I saw it again after all these years.

I love the movie. The songs are catchy and the movie is full of colorful characters. Judy Garland is really adorable as Dorothy Gale. I still find it funny how the Witch gets several obvious chances to kill Dorothy but never takes them. I noticed Star Wars ripped a bit off this movie by having the main characters dress up as the bad guys to save the girl. The best part of the movie is that the friendship Dorothy has with The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion feels real.

I've recently read the novel Wicked so I look at this movie a little differently now. It had a neat twist with Glinda and the Wicked Witch being roomates in college. Great book by the way.

Did you like the movie? Is it a classic or overrated?
 
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I love it. Dearly. And I have to warn you all that I will have to work really hard not to think less of anybody who calls it overrated. (I am half-kidding there...;)...but only half!)

I must say, I did not, for the most part, enjoy the novel Wicked. (My sister-in-law and niece, both huge Oz fans, tell me I really need to see the musical, though.) I don't enjoy it when adults mess with my childhood.
 
Saw it on the big screen for the first time last week, as part of that one night only Fandango event. I'd seen the movie as a kid, of course, but this was the first time in about twenty years I'd watch the movie, and the first time ever on a theater screen AND without commercials!

I liked it, and will probably add the DVD to my library some time in the future, considerin' how clean it looked on the theater screen.

Haven't read or seen Wicked, though I wanted to go when they came to Austin last month. My friends hemmed & hawed about the ticket prices, and by the time I got 'em all to agree, the show was sold out.
 
Dream said:
I noticed Star Wars ripped a bit off this movie by having the main characters dress up as the bad guys to save the girl.
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I think that's happened in hundreds of movies.

Anyway, I adore the movie, and like JustKate I will have to work really hard not to think less of anybody who calls it overrated. When I was a kid, the year revolved around three important days: Christmas, my birthday, and the day they broadcast The Wizard of Oz on TV. It's great that kids have easy access to the movie through DVDs, but somehow I worry that it might feel less special to kids who can watch it any old time they like.
 
Only seen it once, after my supervisor (I was in the military) ordered me to watch the film. I can live with it or without it.
 
I have always liked it. Mostly now though for the nostalgia of watching it at home as a kid. Those were good times. But I can look at it more critically now. The one thing that sucks about the film is that it is mostly a dream. In the books it wasnt a dream. This would have been better for sequels. MGM dropped the ball on that one.

My little 2 year old niece has been recently introduced to the film. She loves it. My sister asks her what she wants to watch and she replies. "WOZ".
:lol:
 
I like it. Although I would love to see a straight retelling of the OZ books in future movies. I believe there's some great stories there, waiting for the right treatment.

I say this, not having seen or read Wicked, btw.
 
It's a classic, and has aged very well. The effects are simple, but look great and are effective. The make-up effects are still very impressive, and the musical numbers are fantasic.

Can't think of much to dislike about it.
 
JustKate said:
I must say, I did not, for the most part, enjoy the novel Wicked. (My sister-in-law and niece, both huge Oz fans, tell me I really need to see the musical, though.)
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The book and musical are quite different. Like the film, all three are unique interpretations of the source material. The musical has LOTS of playful nods to the film and easter eggs abound.
 
JustKate said:
I love it. Dearly. And I have to warn you all that I will have to work really hard not to think less of anybody who calls it overrated. (I am half-kidding there...;)...but only half!)

I must say, I did not, for the most part, enjoy the novel Wicked. (My sister-in-law and niece, both huge Oz fans, tell me I really need to see the musical, though.) I don't enjoy it when adults mess with my childhood.
Click to expand...

Wicked the book (haven't seen the musical, don't intend to) is interesting for the first three-quarters of the novel, but it falls apart as it approaches connecting to the Wizard of Oz. Which is unfortunate. The author did a good job of making a feasible fictional reality out of Oz in terms of its society, but he couldn't seem to make a decent plot out of how Elphaba's desire to reform Oz connected with Dorothy.

Meanwhile the WoO is a fantastic classic, and I'm extremely disturbed that my 6 and 8 year old nephews have yet to see it!
 
od0_ital said:
Saw it on the big screen for the first time last week, as part of that one night only Fandango event. I'd seen the movie as a kid, of course, but this was the first time in about twenty years I'd watch the movie, and the first time ever on a theater screen AND without commercials
Click to expand...

I am SO mad at myself for missing that! I wanted to go so bad!

I grew up watching a VHS that was the 50th anniversary edition. Had a booklet attached to the front of the box, and the video had a special on it that showed rare clips like the bit with Dorothy and her gang doing the jitterbug out in the forest.

I love this movie. I remember my sister was always freaked out by the Wicked Witch, but I always thought it was so awesome the way she got melted.

I also like that they took the artistic license and changed the color of the shoes. The deep sparkling ruby red against the pretty periwinkle blue socks is just so... BEAUTIFUL.

Joy
 
Lapis Exilis said:
The author... couldn't seem to make a decent plot out of how Elphaba's desire to reform Oz connected with Dorothy.
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Can't speak for the book, but in the musical (as in the film) Elphaba's only connection to Dorothy was the shoes. Plus the fact that Dorothy's house squashed Nessarose, but that's neither here nor there. :)
 
As I recall the book (and it's been a while) Elphaba's major concern in the story is fighting the corruption of Oz. While she's worried about that, the book is really interesting. Once she stops worrying about that and starts worrying about the shoes, the book takes a sharp turn into incomprehensible and boring. I was never even entirely clear as to why she cared so much about the shoes.
 
I saw it when I was a kid and it was alright. I loved how they incorporated the color of 'Oz' into the film itself, as a contrast of the black and white of the real world.
 
^ That's actually what bugs me about an otherwise wonderful film: It's a dream. It's not a dream in the original stories.
 
Lapis Exilis said:
I was never even entirely clear as to why she cared so much about the shoes.
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Elphaba's sister Nessarose (the future Witch of the East) was born a cripple and spent her life confined to a wheelchair. Elphaba was unable to cure her so instead she empowered a pair of jeweled shoes which allowed Nessa to stand and walk, finally freeing her from the chair. After the close encounter with Dorothy's flying house, the shoes were all that Elphaba had left of her sister.
 
I have never cared for this movie. I love the original books. I love LOVE LOVE Return to Oz. Which was so much more faithful to the original material. I would love to see a modern day retelling of the Wizard of Oz. I'm sure it would be animated though.
 
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