The Wizard of Oz* (1939)

Having only started rating films eight years ago, I’ve seen far more movies than I have rated here on my site. There are plenty of big name films that I have seen but have not re-watched in order to rate over the last few years. I grew up watching and loving The Wizard of Oz. For a long time, I have known that this film deserves my highest rating. It was just a matter of sitting down to take it in again.

Dorothy Gale resides in Kansas where she feels ignored by her family and persecuted by an old woman who hates her dog, Toto. Dorothy sings of a world ‘over the rainbow,’ where everything is paradise and longs to see it. When a tornado ravages the countryside, Dorothy is whisked away to the Land of Oz. Intrigued as she is by her new surroundings, Dorothy seeks to go home to Kansas.

Through the guidance of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy learns that she must travel to the Emerald City and seek the help of the powerful Wizard of Oz. Along the way to the Emerald City, Dorothy meets a variety of colorful and helpful characters while also drawing the ire of the Wicked Witch of the West. Many hazards lie in Dorothy’s path but she takes them on with the help of her new friends, all of whom discover the very qualities they believe themselves to lack.

Everything about The Wizard of Oz is fantastic. The sets, the costumes, the music, the themes- it’s all there. I’ve never read L. Frank Baum’s classic story that this film is based on but it is clearly the root of its success. It’s hard to believe that this film was a box-office flop on its initial release. Over the years (and thousands of TV airings) America fell in love with this captivating and charming fantasy tale.

Before watching this film to rate it recently, my last viewing of The Wizard of Oz involved playing it to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. While not as mind-blowing as the process is hyped up to be, it only serves to reinforce how amazing this film is. Without the dialogue to listen to, you can focus on the little details like the intricacy of the costumes or the fact that someone had to be walking around on a catwalk high above the set to make the Cowardly Lion’s tail swish around. If you ever have the chance to synchronize The Wizard of Oz and Dark Side of the Moon, do it. It’s a fun little experiment.

Sure, you could probably find a few cynics who will find minor details to pick at with this film but the legacy of The Wizard of Oz is so enormous that any minor flaws are easy to forget. That’s just part of the magic of this film. I can’t think of any other movie capable of eliciting the ‘warm fuzzies’ quite like this one. Not everyone may like The Wizard of Oz but there is no denying that it is one of the all-time greats.

This was an easy review and a tough review to write. Everything about this film oozes greatness, making it impossible to put into words. If you’ve seen the film, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m thrilled to declare The Wizard of Oz, only the sixth film in eight years, worthy of my highest possible rating.

RATING: 4.75 out of 5