The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz falls within the 1936-1943 period, which marks the years in which a teenage Judy Garland built a career in feature-length musicals based on her childhood training. It was only when her 21st birthday approached that she was allowed to slowly move into adult roles (the first of which was in Presenting Lily Mars). But the problem was that she looked grown up very early on and could never be believed in as a young girl. When I listen to "Over the Rainbow," I hear everything but little Dorothy. The bizarrely absurd world of sepia-toned Kansas and Oz in Technicolor is an experience in and of itself, without lacking a believable lead actress. (05/11/2012)

Still a beautiful fairy tale, which is perhaps even more beautiful in the restored version. It's been quite a few years since that gloomy afternoon when I first saw The Wizard of Oz. Since then, I've come across all the references (the ones I liked the most, of course, were the ones from Stephen King in The Dark Tower) to him, and I've always been reminded of the wonderfully lovely (how else) magical atmosphere. Today I enjoyed The Wizard of Oz in the original version with beautiful picture and sound... And I'm simply enchanted again.__P.S. And I'm really looking forward to Sam Raimi's Oz. (01/27/2013)

This Hollywood Technicolor fairytale does not disappoint even in the new century, the presence of five directorial greats simply cannot be denied on the overall visual aesthetics and fresh narrative. The visuals looks gorgeous, even though we are not used to such sharp and garish colours, the title characters deliver good performances (the Cowardly Lion is great), and the basic content supported by the maddeningly repetitive central melody fulfils its purpose as a conveyor of formally creative design and clever situational comedy. And as for the humour, it's understandably childish at times, but the ending, for example, brought me to my knees with its timeless satirical ideas. 85% (12/09/2015)

A film of films, an absolute classic. Finally seen on the big screen and with heavy tears during "Over the Rainbow". [KVIFF 2022] (07/23/2022)

Although "The Wizard of Oz" is a newer film, it lacks a certain charm. This charm is exactly what "The Wizard of Oz" possesses. It's like with Czech fairy tales. After 1990, practically no one was able to make a truly beautiful Czech fairy tale anymore. There are a few exceptions, but they are as rare as saffron. Similarly, no one can make a film anymore that would be so beautifully innocent and wonderfully depict the struggle between good and evil, as "The Wizard of Oz" managed to do. Moreover, it also has catchy songs, which Sam Raimi dared to do with only one number, which fortunately quickly faded away. "The Wizard of Oz" has elements of a musical, a fairy tale, but also grotesque, and it skillfully combines them into a truly beautiful hour and a half, when you will feel that everything can be beautiful. Is it just a dream? Well, which version of the story told by Pi in the movie "Life of Pi" will you believe? The beautiful, fantastic one, or the boring realistic one? This is a film for people who like to play with their imagination, for people who are still a little bit like children. "The Great and Powerful Oz" cannot be compared to this piece. Its playfulness and innocence are completely gone. (11/19/2013)