The
Wizard Of Oz 3D
(1939/MGM/Warner Bros. Blu-ray 3D w/Blu-ray 2D)
3D
Picture: B 2D Picture: B+ Sound: B Extras: B- Film:
B+
The
original Wizard
Of Oz
is back, with an IMAX (if only digital and not 70mm) 3D release for a
week before this new round of home video releases, including Blu-ray
3D for the first time even though the film was not originally made
that way. To their credit, Warner has been pouring millions of
dollars into the film since they acquired Turner Entertainment and
Ted Turner himself had spent serious money at the time to save and
preserve the film. If anything hardly any classic film of its time
has been as preserved, protected and had as much money spent on it as
this one. Not bad for a film that was a box office dud in its
original release. It eventually turned a profit by the 1950s before
becoming the beloved film and money machine it is today. All family
entertainment, fantasy films and children's entertainment (even
Spielberg/Lucas films of this type) all want to reach the platinum
standard this film represents.
I
have already made some of my basic comments and observations on the
film were already stated in my previous coverage of the film at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9073/The+Wizard+Of+Oz+(1939/Warner+2-Disc+Special
This
time out, I should add that this new version is better than the
previous ones, but more extended detail on that in a moment. This
time, the standouts in seeing the film that deserve note include the
visual effects team whom without any digital technology created some
of the most enduring images of all time with simplicity that barely
dates and is the way all such effects should be, invisible, in
context to the narrative and not overdone. They should not be the
star of the film. To George Cukor who saved the film by finalizing
the design of Dorothy after early designs made her look like a
Shirley Temple clone. Temple was first considered for the role, but
Fox (the studio she was under contract with and made tons of money
with) refused and it worked out. And to those set designers,
production designers, costumers and people from Technicolor who
pushed the color as far as they could without making the look a spoof
of itself, by proving color on film could be great and added to the
possibilities of world cinema and the moving image forever.
Converting
a classic like this to 3D is rightly controversial and the film was
never meant to be seen this way, especially since the film was shot
in the classic studio style with plenty of depth and detail, along
with its groundbreaking use of three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor.
However, it is that very gran style of shooting that ironically
makes the new 3D conversion (along with the Disney prequel from
earlier in the year being issued that way) possible and as a result,
the 1080p 1.33 X 1 MVC-encoded 3-D - Full Resolution digital High
Definition image is not bad. However, it also changes the look, feel
and visual meaning of the film in ways even the converters may not
have expected, which deserves a separate essay sometime, but there's
no way it cannot.
For
example, the 3D is able to hide the walls of the sets, so obvious in
all previous copies, which some would rightly say is altering the
film and others would point out strips it of some of its Great
Depression context or Feminist context (i.e., potential heroine
Dorothy is trapped in her own fantasy world, et al) so that is more
than enough to always consider the 3D version a alternate version at
best. Effects suddenly become more pronounced and other fakeness of
the sets is slyly moved aside to make this seem more modern and
surreal than intended. Nice, fun and interesting, it is not
definitive and no one converting it has claimed so. Still, MGM
produced a first rate big budget production and that is why this was
possible 75 years later.
Even
better is the 1080p 1.33 X 1 (both versions centered, of course, in a
1.78 X 1 frame) digital High Definition image transfer that may come
from the same 8K frame-by-frame the previous releases, older Blu-ray
(5 years old by now, issued for the first time in the Blu-ray format
for the 70th
Anniversary) as well as the color range best displayed by the best
3-strip Technicolor prints issued as late as 1998 during that
format's all-too-short revival. That older Blu-ray (unreviewed)
looked better than the DVD (reviewed elsewhere on this site) issued
by Warner, yet I noticed it has color range limits and some grain
that was acceptable, yet did not totally represent the film properly.
By
comparison, this new version has the color range, less grain, more
clarity, depth & detail, yet never looks like any details have
been washed or worn away by some phony digital process or other bad
judgments. For 1080p, the film will never look better, yet the best
film prints in real Technicolor (especially 35mm prints going for at
least $100K) will not be dropping in value, price, rarity or demand
anytime soon. If anything, this amazing transfer will likely
increase demand for such prints, even in 16mm. You can really see
the money and color MGM put into the film like never before and it is
incredible. This is now one of the best Blu-rays on the market to
show you how great Technicolor is and shows without words why it was
always referred to as Glorious
Technicolor because
it was!
As
for sound, the film was originally monophonic, but attempts at
upgrading it to stereo and multi-channel sound are more recent and
the first Blu-ray had a lossless Dolby True HD 5.1 mix that surpassed
the PCM Mono 12-inch LaserDiscs (including from Criterion) and any
DVD Dolby Digital mixes, yet that TrueHD was nice. This new Blu-ray
has a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that is a bit better
than the previous TrueHD Blu-ray and not because one format may or
may not be better than the other, but because this simply sounds a
bit warmer, more transparent, slightly less dated and closer to
original soundmaster materials. Too bad any isolated music and sound
effects are still in lossy Dolby Digital, but this DTS-MA (on both
the 3D & 2D versions of the film) is the best the film has ever
sounded and likely ever will.
Combined
with the great picture, especially on the 2D version, it is hard to
see, hear or experience the film better anywhere save the best
theatrical screenings.
Obviously
if you want extras on this film, you can go bankrupt becoming a
collector on it after 75 years and counting of tie-ins from the
vintage releases to the pricey, detailed Mego Action Figures of the
1970s (including some remarkable playsets), you can get obsessive by
picking up collectibles only hardcore fans would want (old VHS &
Beta tapes, 12-inch LaserDiscs, including the Criterion Collection
version, et) and Warner even issued two box sets that are very
different between the 70th
and 75th
Anniversary releases in content.
For
this single Blu-ray edition alone, extras include Digital HD
Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and iTunes
capable devices, while the actual Blu-ray disc ads a feature length
audio commentary track hosted by historian & scholar John Fricke
with cast and crew audio throughout, a Sing-Along feature, all-new
feature length documentary The
Making Of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz,
Wonderful
Wizard Of Oz
storybook, a We
Haven't Properly Meet...
piece in 9 parts about the actors who played the nine main
characters, Audio Jukebox, Leo
Is On The Air
radio promo for the film, Good
News Of 1939
Radio Show promoting the film, 12/25/50 Lux Radio Theater version of
the film with Judy Garland, several Stills Gallery sections and 7
Trailers including a 1939 teaser.
This
reissue is a true upgrade that does not make all previous versions
obsolete, yet stuns with amazing fidelity and accuracy of delivering
one of the most important films of all time!
-
Nicholas Sheffo
