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Posted on 08/20/2025 8:00:28 PM PDT by nickcarraway
“The Wizard of Oz” was released over 85 years ago, but the timeless classic remains one of the most influential films ever.
From Judy Garland as Dorothy to her performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the film has remained a go-to for generations. Visually, there’s the beautiful shift from black and white to technicolor, which has viewers enthralled to this day. Film critic Leonard Maltin described why the film has and continues to draw in audiences. “You have to know you’re facing utter perfection.”
Maltin told the crowd, upon its release in 1939, the film was a flop. “It was a very expensive movie to make and it shows. It was very difficult to make their investment back. And it only turned a profit through re-reissuing to theaters and then ultimately being sold to television, which is where it took root in our popular culture.”
The film historian and critc was speaking as part of the Variety 120 Screening Series presented by Barco, a summer-long program hosted by Jazz Tangcay that celebrates Variety‘s 120th anniversary by showing iconic films such as “Citizen Kane,” All About Eve” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He was joined by “Wicked” cinematographer Alice Brooks and “Wicked” composer John Powell.
Brooks recalled being allowed to stay up late if she could read the opening credits. “I learned to read that way because I knew my reward would be that I could stay and watch the movie.”
She also recalled her father owning the MGM Musicals coffee table book. “My dad died when I was in my twenties, and I have very few things of his, but that is one of the books I still have. And I brought it with me and put it in my office when we went into London for ‘Wicked.'”
Speaking to the film’s cultural impact: It would go on to spawn sequels and musical productions, but perhaps its most famous evolution was the Broadway spinoff and eventual film adaptation of “Wicked.” The musical and film are based on the book by Gregory Maguire and tells the story of the witches before Oz.
Audiences turned out for Jon M. Chu’s big-screen adaptation in droves. The film grossed $756 million at the box office. Powell spoke about how, in working with Stephen Schwartz, he embedded Easter eggs into the film’s score. “When they’re on the bicycle, we did this incredibly cheerful version of the witch’s theme from ‘The Wizard of Oz.'” While he didn’t reveal all the hidden notes, Powell revealed, “There’s probably loads of things that I didn’t realize, the influence of this stuff, it goes in and it stays in.” The “How to Train Your Dragon” composer then added, “I’ve probably stolen from this film in lots of other movies, but obviously ‘Wicked’ was a chance to finesse.”
Brooks explained how her cinematography had been impacted by the film. She noted how color represented something in the books by Frank Baum. “You see it in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and we have ‘Wicked’ and ‘Wicked: For Good.'” She went on to say how color was important in the upcoming animated film, ” Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.” She said, “In animation, you do something called a color script, where you do a painting of each frame that gives a tone or a feeling, and then you just put little thumbnails together. When you look at this color script and you just make your eyes soft, you can see the entire color of the whole movie all at once. I hadn’t realized I had done the exact same thing for ‘Wicked.'”
In addition to “Wicked,” Brooks revealed how she had created a color script for the film’s sequel, “Wicked: For Good.” “Color was so important, and it needed to have an arc to it. [In] ‘Wicked: For Good’ everything shifts. It starts in one place at the beginning, which is very effervescent. And there’s a weight and density that comes in through the second movie.”
Later this month, the Sphere will release a fully immersive, reimagined and enhanced version of “The Wizard of Oz.” When asked for his thoughts on it, Maltin replied that he had mixed feelings about it. “I’m entranced by this. I don’t need any bells and whistles to make me fall in love more with ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ I don’t wanna be a luddite either. Technology can do amazing things. I saw the 3D release of this 10 years ago or so, and I didn’t think it added any great depth, but they remastered the print and it looked wonderful. I’m not buying tickets to Vegas just yet. I don’t wish them ill. I just don’t have any need.”
Watch the video above.
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Pink Floyd agrees.
I thought that was a myth.
Some movies…lots of Disney classics…I appreciate more with time…
It’s a Wonderful Life ditto.
For some reason Wizard of Oz doesn’t fill me with the same sense of wonder it did as a child. I can feel the corporate studio-ness of it all. And Judy Garland’s emotional baggage.
…For the first 40 minutes or so?
I’m still afraid of the flying monkeys.
Try Sergeant York.
As I’ve aged, I think Glenda was terrible for making her take that dangerous journey instead of telly her about clicking her heels together after she got the shoes.
It’s like she was playing a game and using Dorothy as her game piece.
She seems to have been a member of the political swamp.
This seals it, I am promising myself that I will finally watch the movie sometime this winter.
Helicopter parent? They have to grow up sometime.
Here's a breakdown of the common interpretations:
Dorothy: Represents the average American, particularly from the Midwest.
The Yellow Brick Road: Symbolizes the gold standard, the basis of the US monetary system at the time, according to some interpretations.
The Emerald City: Represents Washington D.C. or the power of money.
The Wizard: Often interpreted as a symbol of powerful political figures, particularly those associated with the gold standard, according to some analyses.
The Wicked Witch of the East: Represents the Eastern financial interests that controlled the gold standard. The Wicked Witch of the West: Represents the forces of nature that farmers struggled against.
The silver slippers (or ruby slippers in the movie): Represent bimetallism (the use of both gold and silver as currency), a key issue for the Populist movement. The Scarecrow: Represents the American farmer.
The Tin Woodman: Represents the industrial worker.
The Cowardly Lion: Represents William Jennings Bryan, a prominent politician who advocated for bimetallism.
The overall message, according to this interpretation, is that the common people (Dorothy and her companions) have the power to overcome adversity and create a better world, even without the help of those who seem to hold all the power.
“Myth, myth.”
“Yes?”
*Young Frankenstein
For entertainment purposes only:
https://www.looper.com/1468592/the-wizard-of-oz-theory-glinda-good-witch-actually-villain/
“As I’ve aged, I think Glenda was terrible for making her take that dangerous journey instead of telly her about clicking her heels together after she got the shoes.
It’s like she was playing a game and using Dorothy as her game piece.”
I see the witch of the North as guaroangel figure. She kept her safe and got her home. Dorothy had to learn the hard way to stop despising home and see it as a place she could grow. She was getting into danger. Getting too close to the real witch- Miss Gulch- annoying her, sending Toto into her garden; running away, getting into bad situations, getting caught in tornadoes, threatening her family’s safety
The 1925 version of The Wizard of Oz is available for free on Youtube. It features Oliver Hardy before he teamed up with Stan Laurel, and I like it better than the '39 version.
Having done this in college, I totally agree.
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