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Theatre Souvenir Premiere Program (August 15, 1939) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio News - IntraCorporate House Organ/Newspaper for the week beginning Monday, August 14, 1939. Specifically Celebrating the Release of The Wizard of Oz Photoplay Studies - Rare Secondary Education Scholastic In Honor of The Wizard of Oz. Magazine, Volume V, Number 12 (circa August 1939) The Studio's Invitation to The Grauman's Premiere That Included Tickets to the Original Opening Night (plus a newly designed commemorative ticket) Deluxe Collector's Portfolio - Reproductions of Original 1939 Kodachrome Publicity Art -- nine portraits and on-set photographs
Like most baby boomers, I've watched this film dozens of times in the past on broadcast TV, then VHS tape, then LaserDisc ... but I had never actually SEEN "The Wizard of Oz" until this newly restored DVD came out. It's an amazing transfer. The sepia-tone Kansas sequences are startlingly sharp and clear, and the Technicolored world "Over the Rainbow" is truly dazzling. I found myself fascinated by details I had never noticed before: the glittering corn stalks in the Scarecrow's field; the mirror-like floors of the Emerald City; the polished buttons on the guardsmen's uniforms. Incredibly, even the individual grains of red sand in the Witch's hourglass stood out and glistened! All these minor-but-sumptuous visual details served to heighten the magical spell that the film has always woven, enhancing the performances, the story, and the music.
The DVD extras are a mind-boggling embarrassment of riches. The "Making Of" documentary hosted by the incomparable Angela Lansbury is worth the price of the DVD alone, but there's so much more: an international poster gallery, interviews with cast members, deleted scenes, production stills, radio clips, etc, etc. There's enough material to keep even the most casual viewer fascinated for hours, and a true Oz buff will be occupied for days!
If you only bought a DVD player to watch this one disc, it would well be worth the expense. Treat yourself, and fall in love with this classic film again ... for the first time.
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