Wizard of Oz, The – Three-disc Collector’s Edition

Format: DVD
No. Discs: 3 + Reproductions of Premiere Program, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio News, Photoplay Studies, Campaign Book, Premiere Invitation and Ticket to The Wizard of Oz at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and 10 Reproductions of Kodachrome Publicity Art Portraits and On-Set Photographs.
Duration: 103min.

Technical Specs

Region: 1 – USA/Canada
Sound: English Mono / French Mono / English Dolby Digital 5.1ch
Video: Standard version – 1.37:1 Original Theatrical Exhibition
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish – Only Feature Film

Content

DVD Disc 1:

• Movie
• Commentary by Historian John Fricke
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
• Prettier than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
• We Haven’t Really Met Properly…
• Optional Music and Effects Track
• Original Mono Tracks

DVD Disc 2:

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic
• Memories of Oz
• The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
• Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
• Harold Arlen’s Home Movies
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
• It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! The Tornado Tests
• Off to See the Wizard
• From the Vault
  • Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
  • Cavalcade of the Academy Awards Excerpt
  • Texas Contest Winners
• Audio Vault
  • Jukebox
  • Leo is on the Air Radio Promo
  • Good News of 1939 Radio Show
  • 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
• Stills Galleries
• Theatrical Trailers
  • 1939 What is Oz? Teaser
  • 1940 Loews Cairo Theater Trailer
  • 1949 Reissue Trailer
  • 1949 Grownup Reissue Trailer
  • 1970 Children’s Matinee Reissue Trailer
  • 1998 Warner Bros. Reissue Trailer

DVD Disc 3:

• L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
• The Wizard of Oz (1910)
• The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)
• His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
• The Wizard of Oz (1925)

Released in 2005, remastered and digitally restored, this 3-disc collection includes loads of extras, including commentary by John Fricke and interviews with the cast and crew.

The film looks clear most of the time, and the colors look bright — especially when the film springs into color once Dorothy reaches Oz. The audio seems a little on the low side, but the track sounds good when songs start. It’s a shame that the only other language track is in mono, but they didn’t bother converting it. We appreciated the subtitles in, at least, some of the other extras.

The second disc includes an almost 50-minute documentary aired in 1990, a 30-minute TCM segment done in 2001 about the memories of people surrounding the film, including some of the extras and family members of the cast of the film. That’s followed by A Tribute to Oz, a 30-minute segment done in 2005 about the music, the visual effects, and how the film was put together, narrated by Sydney Pollack and including people like Richard M. Sherman, Peter Jackson, and David Shore. The 25-minute 2005 segment The Legacy of Oz talks about all the other Oz products that have invaded our pop culture throughout the years, including Oz fan meetings and the 1990 animated TV series.

The third disc includes a nearly 30-minute segment on L. Frank Baum, author of the book, as well as other shorts, including two other versions of The Wizard of Oz done in 1910 and 1925

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Part of the 1939 Film Blogathon. Don’t forget to check all our post on the Classic Film Blogathon ;D

Photos