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

[Broccoli]

Love the movie. Love the book.

When I got my first teaching job, I was also assigned to be the fall play director. I chose to do Wizard of Oz. It was a non-musical. One teacher wouldn't stop her bitching about how the Wizard of Oz is only a musical and how I shouldn't be doing that play. I continually pointed out that Oz was adapted into several stage plays before it was adapted into a musical, but she refused to listen. Then again, she had an axe to grind with me because, apparently, her daughter also applied for the job that I received.

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.)

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.

Among the other differences, the novel of Wicked plays more into the Oz book series whereas the musical plays more into the movie.

 

[Daneel]

I've always enjoyed the film version of The Wizard of Oz -- very memorable, quotable, iconic... a classic in every way.

Of course, the Oz universe will always hold a special place in my heart for very personal reasons: when I was in 9th grade, my first year of high school, I decided to try out for the musical that the drama department was mounting for that year, which, as it so happened, was The Wizard of Oz. Now, my elementary school hardly ever staged any major theatrical productions, so this was really the first time I had auditioned for anything substantial since I played Peter Cottontail in kindergarten.

I didn't know what to expect. I would have been happy playing any part in the chorus, but as luck would have it, the director cast me in the role of the Cowardly Lion! I was floored, and so ecstatic. I had a blast doing it -- we even got to borrow the costumes from a professional theatre company in our city which had staged the show a couple years before (which led to some discomfort on my part, as the actor who played the Lion in their show wore shoes that were two sizes smaller than mine, but I managed to grin and bear it). It really helped ignite my love for the stage and for acting, a love which continues to this day.

I've never read Wicked or seen the musical; I had the chance to see it in London last year with my sister. She had already seen it, loved it, and was open to seeing it again with me, but I wanted to take in a show that neither of us had seen before. We settled on We Will Rock You. If Wicked comes back to Toronto at some point, I may go see it.

I also think that the sequel film, Return to Oz, is quite underrated. Yes, it's a very different kind of movie, one that is not so cheery. In fact, it's rather dark in places: Princess Mombi and her many heads, the Deadly Desert... and I gotta say, those Wheelers are kind of freaky! But I admire the fact that the filmmakers didn't just try to mimic the tone and style of the earlier film, instead presenting us with a unique vision of Oz, one that is just as imaginative as the previous one. I think it's a solid little film that is well worth checking out if you haven't done so.

 

[Samurai8472]

Someday Tim Burton will want to remake it in his own "special way" and it'll be terrible.

It will be a surrealistic adventure with LSD induced imagery. Tin man will be a steampunk freak.

Or if directed by James Cameron with CGI that will blow your eyes and mind. Tin man will be a mecha that "D" pilots against the flying monkeys.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

I'd like to see a film made of the novel "A Barnstormer in Oz". The central character is Dorothy's adult son Hank, a pilot, who crashlands in Oz and discovers that his mother's "dream" was real. My favorite scene is when Hank meets the Scarecrow. He breaks down and weeps, realizing at last how special the Scarecrow was to his mother.

 

[Lapis Exilis]

I was never even entirely clear as to why she cared so much about the shoes.

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 understand the plot points - what I meant was I didn't feel the book justified her intense interest in the shoes emotionally. In the book her relationship to Nessa is complicated and filled with jealousy as well as love. And up until this section of the book she's been cast as a passionate revolutionary, then suddenly she becomes a bitter recluse who'll hunt down and murder an innocent over shoes. It just doesn't hold up and the author goes through some painful contrivances to try to make it all fit.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

And up until this section of the book she's been cast as a passionate revolutionary, then suddenly she becomes a bitter recluse who'll hunt down and murder an innocent over shoes.

The same can be said about the musical. Act II has a very different feel than Act I, and the change in Elphaba is jarring. They even comment on it in the dialogue, coming just this close to breaking the fourth wall. Paraphrasing, an empassioned Glinda tells Elphaba: "They're just shoes, for God's sake! Let it go!" The line always gets a big laugh.

 

[Dream]

Wicked book SPOILERS

Spoiler: SPOILERS

In Wicked it's stated that Elphaba believes that the shoes are a symbol of power over Munchkinland. Whoever has the shoes will have an easy time taking over the other nations. Elphaba fears the Wizard getting them and gaining more power. Of course she also thinks the shoes belong to her by right.

Dorothy is given greater importance in Wicked. You get the feeling that it wasn't an accident that Dorothy arrived in Oz and that a higher power sent her there to kill Elphaba and force the Wizard to leave. The people actually fear Dorothy because of her name. I found it a little amusing thinking of Dorothy as a bringer of death.

 

[Broccoli]

And up until this section of the book she's been cast as a passionate revolutionary, then suddenly she becomes a bitter recluse who'll hunt down and murder an innocent over shoes.

The same can be said about the musical. Act II has a very different feel than Act I, and the change in Elphaba is jarring. They even comment on it in the dialogue, coming just this close to breaking the fourth wall. Paraphrasing, an empassioned Glinda tells Elphaba: "They're just shoes, for God's sake! Let it go!" The line always gets a big laugh.

Yeah. I love the music in Wicked, however, I think it would have been a better musical if the story ended where Act One ended. Act Two feels very distorted and a little "fanwanky" in order to match it up to WoO. Some stuff was just hard to digest such as Boq still being in love with Glenda after years and years.

 

[Dark Gilligan]

^ But everybody loves Glinda. She says so.

 

[Dream]

But everybody loves Glinda.

While checking out some Wicked fansites I've come across several fans that have stated that they believe that that Elphaba and Glinda were lovers in college. I might be remembering wrong but I never got that impression after reading the book. Sounds like wishful thinking me.

 

[Ktrek]

It just so happens that my wife and I bought and watched the Blu-ray version today. Walmart has an exclusive single disc version on sale for only $19.99 btw for those of you who don't want to shell out $55.00 for a collectors version. Anyway, I have to say that this is the best transfer we have seen of the film. The detail and colors are fabulous and the Dolby audio really sound fantastic even though it's in mono. The audio effect when the house hits the ground was awesome on the surround sound stereo. This is a timeless classic and has been in my list of top 20 films of all time for quite a while. The movie is superbly cast and well directed. The pacing of the movie is perfect with nary a dull moment to be had. A film that everyone should show their own children.

Kevin

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

So was the wicked witch the last female of her race? Her guards were men. And her sister was dead. So...did Dorothy committ genocide with a bucket of water?

I like Family Guy's take on "I'll miss you most of all, Mr Scarecrow!"

Lion (or was it the Tin Man?): "Hey, hey, we are standing RIGHT HERE!"

 

[Gojira]

So was the wicked witch the last female of her race? Her guards were men. And her sister was dead. So...did Dorothy committ genocide with a bucket of water?

I like Family Guy's take on "I'll miss you most of all, Mr Scarecrow!"

Lion (or was it the Tin Man?): "Hey, hey, we are standing RIGHT HERE!"

I loved Family Guy's spoof of that too. It is true too. She does tell the scarecrow that she liked him best.

But the movie is a classic that has stood, and will continue to stand, the test of time.

 

[SeerSGB]

Used to really hate this movie when I was younger, then it grew on me over the years.

Someday Tim Burton will want to remake it in his own "special way" and it'll be terrible.

"Wizard of Oz" was "Tim Burton" before there was a "Tim Burton"

 

[Winterwind]

I've loved the movie since I was a kid. I've got some find memories of watching its annual showing on TV as a little family event.

 

[Dream]

I've loved the movie since I was a kid. I've got some find memories of watching its annual showing on TV as a little family event.

I've never seen WoO on television. It's always been vhs or dvd for me.

However I've seen It's a Wonderful Life a dozen times on television.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I've loved this movie since I was four or five.

No VCRs, no DVDs, no cable TV, not a single luxury, like Robinson Crusoe - oh, wait, never mind. Anyway, we didn't have any of that stuff back in the Paleolithic, and you could see this movie exactly once a year when CBS ran it as a special presentation.

I was absolutely spellbound by it.

A little more historical context: before 1961, relatively few lavish, famous films played on television even on network. The big studios viewed the tube as unwanted competition, and pretty much refused to license anything that they thought might have re-release value at any point (this informal "embargo" was finally broken when Fox made a deal with NBC that resulted in NBC Saturday Night At The Movies). So TWWOZ was doubly remarkable to watch at home...and we were watching it in black-and-white.

I can tell you that even without the famous BW/color transition, Dorothy's first steps out into the land of Oz were magical.

 

[777]

Its a real classic, and just love the music!

Damn, now I have "Somewhere over the Rainbow" stuck in my head

 

[jefferiestubes8]

The American Film Institute (AFI) lists The Wizard of Oz as the #1 fantasy in their 'America's 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres' list of the last 100 years.

AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre where live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.

http://www.afi.com/10top10/

That list has the true classics on it. I cannot argue with that list.
If you want to narrow the list of Fantasy genre movies to only the last 25 years, or past 10 years I don't think it would be the #1 in that Genre.

 

[daedalus5]

I'd recommend "Tin Man" - a recent min-series about Oz. Really quite cool.