The Wizard of Oz (1939)

In this article, we will be looking at 2019’s book “1001 Movies to See Before You Die” and going through each film in a random order that I have chosen. We will be looking at what constitutes this film to be on the list and whether I think this film deserves to be here at all. I want to make perfectly clear that I won’t be revealing details from this book such as analyses by film reporters who have written about the film in question, so if you want the book itself you’ll have to buy it. But I will be covering the book’s suggestions on which films should be your top priority. I wouldn’t doubt for a second that everyone reading this article has probably watched many of these movies anyway. But we are just here to have a bit of fun. We’re going to not just look at whether it should be on this list but we’re also going to look at why the film has such a legacy at all. Remember, this is the 2019 version of the book and so, films like “Joker” will not be featured in this book and any film that came out in 2020 (and if we get there, in 2021). So strap in and if you have your own suggestions then don’t hesitate to email me using the address in my bio. Let’s get on with it then.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) dir. by Victor Fleming

Starring the legendary Judy Garland in one of her most famous roles, this film went on to be nominated for over five Academy Awards. When I was young, I had this film on VHS Tape and then when I got given the DVD, it had a whole load of new stuff on there. Honestly, this was a great film of my childhood. I adored it. I still watch it sometimes and I think my parents were correct in buying me this film as a toddler.

Whilst The New York Times stated that the film was a:

“…delightful piece of wonder-working which had the youngsters' eyes shining and brought a quietly amused gleam to the wiser ones of the oldsters. Not since Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has anything quite so fantastic succeeded half so well.”

But then again, it took issues with the special effects and some of the writing. Here is what it stated in the review further on:

“…with the best of will and ingenuity, they cannot make a Munchkin or a Flying Monkey that will not still suggest, however vaguely, a Singer's Midget in a Jack Dawn masquerade. Nor can they, without a few betraying jolts and split-screen over-lappings, bring down from the sky the great soap bubble in which Glinda rides and roll it smoothly into place.”

Harrison’s Reports wrote about the film in a good light, but honestly, not as good as I would have liked to see:

"Even though some persons are not interested in pictures of this type, it is possible that they will be eager to see this picture just for its technical treatment. The performances are good, and the incidental music is of considerable aid. Pictures of this caliber bring credit to the industry.”

And then, Film Daily wrote about the lion and the management of technicolour. Obviously, they then go into the box-office reception which was pretty damn good for the time:

“Leo the Lion is privileged to herald this one with his deepest roar—the one that comes from way down—for seldom if indeed ever has the screen been so successful in its approach to fantasy and extravaganza through flesh-and-blood... handsomely mounted fairy story in Technicolor, with its wealth of humour and homespun philosophy, its stimulus to the imagination, its procession of unforgettable settings, its studding of merry tunes should click solidly at the box-office.”

But when it comes down to it, the opinion that matters is Roger Ebert’s. He put it on his list of Great Films. So it has to be good. Here is what he said about the film:

"The Wizard of Oz has a wonderful surface of comedy and music, special effects and excitement, but we still watch it six decades later because its underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them.”

There have been many considerations about the film and most of them are positive. So you really cannot fault it as one of the greatest fantasy films of the century.