If you have all ready visited my site prior to todays blog, you might have been given the misleading impression that I am only a fan of suspense/thriller movies. Well, I have decided to remove that idea far from any of your minds by taking a complete 180 and blogging on a entirely different genre of movie.
In my opinion, the Wizard of Oz is the most classic movie of all time because it successfully targeted audiences of all ages(young and old). I would like to begin my critique by mentioning that if any of you out there have not seen this movie, there is simply no reason or excuse! In fact, you should stop reading this blog right now and go find a copy!
All right. "Wizard of Oz" was released in late August of 1939. The director of this movie was Victor Fleming, who won an oscar for it. If you are not aware of who this director was, you might be delighted to know that he also directed perhaps a movie on your top movie lists("Gone With the Wind" which won Best Picture Oscar). Judith Garland(Dorothy) Ray Bolger(The Scarecrow), Frank Morgan(The Wizard), Bert Lahr(The Cowardly Lion), and Jack Haley(The Tin Man), co-star in this movie. The chemistry between these actors, especially the four friends that embark down the yellow brick road, is incredibly remarkable to say the least.
An interesting theme that this movie portrayed is the powerlessness of man. In most movies, the guy is the hero. Think of "The Hulk", "Ironman1 &2", "Batman"(all of them), Thor,and too many more to count. You get the picture. Whereas in this movie, all the men seem sort of powerless, unable to control their own fate. Even the Wizard seems weak in his own way. The power figures in the movie are Dorothy, Glinda, and the Witch. In fact there are several themes in this movie, but for sake of avoiding pain in my hands due to the laborious typing, I will refrain from delving in too much. I will leave it up to you to share what you think the important themes are.
I think that what makes this movie so amazing in my mind was the director's genuine ability to relate to the audience's imagination. There are no special effects in this movie, like "Transformers" or "Super 8". What you do see in this movie, if you were to call it "special effects" merely depict the framework or skeleton of the movie. Victor Fleming leaves the rest to the imagination of the viewer. This then allows the viewer to create his/her idea of the movie. As I have all ready mentioned before, this movie has the ability to both enchant children and adults. If you think about it, Disney borrowed this idea for its animated pictures("Beauty and the Beast" "The Little Mermaid") It is this aspect of incorporating a dose of comedy, adventure and catchy soundtracks together. "Wizard of Oz" laid the groundwork for all of these movies to come. It was the first of its kind!
I will avoid summarizing this movie, just in case, for some very peculiar reason, some of you have not yet had the opportunity to be captivated by its beauty and wonder. But, I will say that in the beginning of the movie, Dorothy wanted nothing to do with where she was. But, as she walked down the yellow brick road with her friends, the only thought that enraptured her mind was how she could get back home. This irony leads me back to the question I chose to title my blog with, "Is it productive to leave the here and now to find a better place?"
Is is productive? What are some other themes you saw as important in this movie? Do you think the journey down the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard was all just a dream, or was it actually reality? What could Fleming of done better?
If you have just visited my site, you are probably wondering what it is all about. My name is Josh and I am using this blog as a site where readers can receive movie buzz and plugins for movies and share their opinion on those movies. I would love to hear your opinion on whether or not the director and actors did a good job and what could of made the movie better.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/
I was so excited when I saw that you have written a blog on my all time favorite movie and a job well done on it as well. There is many reasons why I enjoy this movie! One being, it is a movie for all audiences, the young and the old. I believe that you couldn't find no better actors to do this film and of course I am a huge Judy Garland fan, I have enjoyed all the movies she has played in, but Wizard of Oz is by far the best one. And also what amazes me is that Frank L. Baum didn't even intend for the book to be a children's story, he meant for it to be a dark, wicked story for adult readers. I give kudos to Victor Fleming for such an amazing film for all audiences.
ReplyDeleteI also like what you said about Dorothy at the time not wanting to be home, but when she was in that dream, home was all she wanted. She had realized home was where the heart was. Also what I enjoyed was the Wicked Witch, which was played by actress Margaret Hamilton, she was my favorite character in the movie. Yes, I know I like her more than Dorothy lol. I think her character was very outstanding and the witch certainly did make the movie.
But we can all relate to this movie in some, way, shape or form. I am sure we all have been a scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion, a Dorothy and sometimes even a witch. But in this movie, we see how they have all overcome their fears and realized what they thought was missing was always there.
This was a job well done and can't wait til the next blog!
Thank you for your input!
ReplyDeleteI think how you mentioned your favorite character was great! I do not know if I have one, but it is an excellent topic starter. And as you echoed my blog, Fleming did an outstanding job in targeting his audience! This movie has the intrinsic ability to compel the viewer to relate to at least one of the characters, if not several, or all of them at differnt points in the movie.
I agree and to answer the question was it a dream or a reality? I would have to say a little bit of both. To everybody that was around her, it was a dream, but to Dorothy it was so real, because everybody that had an impact in her life was part of the journey that bought her back home.
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