Whether this is art is open to doubt;
that it is a screen classic is unarguable.
And what it seems to indicate is that
classics, like art, can often be created
not only by accident but against the
odds. For consider: originally MGM
wanted Shirley Temple to play Dorothy
but 20th Century Fox wouldn't release
her; Buddy Ebsen was cast as the
Scarecrow, then swapped roles with the
Tin Man (Ray Bolger), discovered he
was allergic to the-metallic paint and
was replaced by Jack
Haley; Edna May
Oliver, first choice for the Wicked
Witch, gave way to Margaret
Hamilton; two directors were involved
- King Vidor for the sepia sceneess at the
beginning and end, Victor Fleming for
the rest; and when the film was found
to be too long, MGM had to be
restrained from loppmg out its most .
famous and most beloved song, Over
the Rainbow.
Yet despite all this and
some reviews that verged on the grudging, this fantastical story of a young
girl and her dog, transplanted by a
storm to the land of Oz and trying to
get back to Kansas, remains the yardstick against which all other cinematic
fairy tales must be measured. For sheer
enchantment and magic none has surpassed it and, I submit, only E.T. has
come close to matching it.
A cartoon
sequel, Journey Back to Oz, with Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli providing the voice of Dorothy, was made
in 1971; in 1978 Diana Ross starred in
an all-black grown-up version called
The Wiz, and there had been a silent
film of The Wizard of Oz in 1925. The
latter, lacking sound, was hardly in the
same class and the other two can best
be regarded as tributes, rather than
rivals, to the 1939 picture.
OSCARS:
- 1939: Best song (Over the Rainbow
mus by Harold Arlen, lyr by E.Y. Harburg);
best score (Stothart)
OSCAR NOMINATIONS:
1939: Best film; best art direction;
best special effects (A. Arnold Gillespie,
Douglas Shearer). In addition, Garland was
awarded a statuette for 'her outstanding
performance as a screen juvenile during the
past year'. (Winner best film 1939: Gone
with the Wind.)
5 STARS OUT OF 5
UK Dvd | UK 2 Dvd Set
the wizard of oz
dvds | videos
al pacino | michelle pfeiffer
yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider
the godfather | the godfather part ii
marlon brando |
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laurence olivier |
clark gable
| vivien leigh | leslie howard
|
alfred hitchcock |
robert montgomery
|
grace kelly
olivia de havilland |
humphrey bogart
|
howard hawks
|
frank capra
|
charlie chaplin
|
lauren bacall
|
fritz lang
jean harlow |
greta garbo |
ava gardner |
audrey hepburn |
edward g. robinson
|
john garfield
erich von stroheim
|
wim wenders
|
madeleine carroll
|
marlene dietrich
|
rita hayworth
victor fleming dvds
victor fleming videos
the wizard of oz
dvds | videos
al pacino | michelle pfeiffer
yul brynner | christopher plummer | romy schneider
the godfather | the godfather part ii
marlon brando |
james caan |
diane keaton |
al pacino
laurence olivier |
clark gable
| vivien leigh | leslie howard
|
alfred hitchcock |
robert montgomery
|
grace kelly
olivia de havilland |
humphrey bogart
|
howard hawks
|
frank capra
|
charlie chaplin
|
lauren bacall
|
fritz lang
jean harlow |
greta garbo |
ava gardner |
audrey hepburn |
edward g. robinson
|
john garfield
erich von stroheim
|
wim wenders
|
madeleine carroll
|
marlene dietrich
|
rita hayworth
Page created by: ihuppert5@aol.com
Changes last made: 2010
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