The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Wizard of Oz
Directed by Victor Fleming
Written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf based on the book by L. Frank Baum
1939/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Repeat viewing/Warner DVD
#202 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Wizard of Oz: A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.[/box]

Not only should one see this movie before one dies, but preferably before the age of 10. This is more than a movie to me, it is part of my life.  Watching it yesterday brought back all the times I had seen it before – from my childhood on our black and white TV, to re-releases in the theater, to so many times on video and DVD.

As I sat watching it again, I began marvelling at how anything could be so perfect.  What happy accidents had to occur to bring these particular creative artists and craftspeople together on the same project to achieve this result.  Wonderful.

The only bone I have ever had to pick with this film has to do with the quote above.  It always seemed to me that it should be other way around – that a heart is judged by how much it loves. But maybe that depends on who is doing the judging?

The Wizard of Oz won Academy Awards for Best Original Song (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score (Herbert Stothart). It was also nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Color Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Special Effects. Judy Garland won the Juvenile Award for 1939 for her “outstanding performance as a screen juvenile”.

Trailer