04 April 2014

Revisiting the Movies of the 1930's (Flashback Fridays #5)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)


“I’ll get you my pretty! And your little dog, too! Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeeee!!!!”

And so a legendary witch was born. There was no way that I wouldn’t talk about one of my childhood classics, a tale of magic, adventure, and a little dog name Toto. Although this movie borders on the psychedelically weird (ahead of its time by twenty years), it still continues to entertain kids all the way up till now. Follow me down the yellow brick road, as we exit the old years of black and white silent films and head into color, sound, and music.

Although it cuts out some of my favorite parts of the book (like the poor China doll people), it still covers what we all love: flying monkeys and flying cows. We follow Dorothy as she gets whisked away from rural Kansas into a bizarre world where all she can focus on is how she will get home. She makes some friends along the way and leaves them in better shape, as well as destroying the biggest villain in Oz, but she never really changes. She fits with many female leads of this era, where they create the illusion of progress through movement, but in the end, she’s no different than when she started (besides perhaps losing a few brain cells from that far-out trip!). Nonetheless, I still enjoy the authentic phrases and creatures of this film, like the Tin Man’s poor heart and all the lions-and-tigers-and-bears, oh my!



P.S. - Want to enjoy this classic film? Sorry, no more YouTube clips, but you have the following options from Amazon:

1) Rent digitally for $1.99
2) Buy on Blu-ray for $8.96
3) Buy on DVD for $10.96

4) Buy digitally for $9.99.

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