"The Wizard Of Oz" 70th Anniversary Hi-Def Edition

Every few years (and most certainly for every anniversary) there seems to be a new improved version of "The Wizard Of Oz" available. I, personally, own every release since the late 70's. However, I must say that this latest Blu-Ray/DVD release puts everything we've seen before it to shame. The detail you see in this version is incredible! They've scanned it in 8K resolution and I'm sure it looks even better than it did in 1939. The sound is superb and it really is like watching it for the first time.

The real treasure of this latest box set, of course are the extras (all of which I have listed below). It has all the extras on the previous 2005 release plus a lot more. The crown jewel for me, though in this whole thing, is the inclusion of the 1992 Television movie, "The Dreamer Of Oz" starring John Ritter as L. Frank Baum. When i was a kid, I used to watch it literally every day. I never found out what happened to my video tape of it and searched for it for years. It's a wonderful movie and a great look at the man who I consider to be the most important author of the 20th century. He single-handedly defined it. "The Wizard of Oz" is actually a part of our language. There's no minimizing it's impact on American culture. Even if you own an old copy, pick this one up on blu-ray or dvd. You won't be disappointed! It's available in several single and double disc packages, but for the die-hard Oz fan, this is the one you should take home!

Special Features:

Disc 1 includes:

• BD-Live is included on this release which requires the user to be on a “Profile 2.0” internet capable Blu-ray Disc Player. This allows you to access Warner‘s BD-Live portal where you can have community screenings with friends, create your own “My WB Commentary” track and even download content such as trailers for upcoming Warner films. Sadly at time of writing this, no title (movie) specific content was available.
• Audio Commentary by Historian John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren
• Options Music and Effects Only Audio allows you to listen to just the music and sound effects section of the mix This just like the Mono mix is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 @192kbps sound quality.
• “Jukebox” (70:04) features the audio to all of the songs from the film selectable from a menu with their titles and even some stuff is unreleased like voice tests, rehearsals and such. This is a very nice feature, especially for those who love the musical aspect of the film. These are presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 @96kbps audio quality.
• “Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo” (12:26) is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo @192kbps sound quality.
• “Good News of 1939 Radio Show” (71:02) is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo @192kbps sound quality.
• “12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast” (60:49) is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo @192kbps sound quality.
• “Dolby 5.1 Sing-Along Feature” allows you to sing along with all the songs from the film such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“.
• “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic” (50:49)
• “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook: Read by Angela Lansbury” (10:27) This has Lansbury from “Murder She Wrote” fame reading which is definitely a cool feature to see included and that homage is paid to the original book itself which varies slightly from the motion picture.
• “Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz” (11:27) takes a look at mainly the video restoration done in 4K but it also takes a look at the new 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and Digital mixes made from the original mono source material, plus the original musical and sound effects tracks. This proves to be very informative and I’m glad to see this was included.
• “We Haven’t Really Met Properly… Supporting Cast Profile Gallery” (21:23) takes a look at the other folks in the film aside from the star Judy Garland.
• “Memories of Oz” (27:39) originally aired on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel.
• “The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz” (29:45)
• “Because of the Wonder Thing It Does: The Legacy of Oz” (25:05)
• “Harold Arlen’s Home Movies” (4:40) come from the composer of the film’s music.
• “Outtakes and Deleted Scenes” include:
“If I Only Had a Brain” (4:37)
“If I Only Had a Heart” (1:36)
“Triumphal Return to Emerald City” (1:54)
“Over the Rainbow” (2:08)
“The Jitterbug” (4:05)
• “It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! The Tornado Tests” (8:17)
• “Cavalcade of the Academy Awards Excerpt” (2:14)
• “Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power” (10:31)
• “Stills Gallery” is very, very thorough and sure to leave fans pleased.
• “Theatrical Trailer Gallery” includes the following:
“1939 What Is Oz? Teaser” (0:32)
“1940 Loews Cairo Theater Trailer” (1:59)
“1949 Reissue Trailer” (2:50)
“1949 Grownup Reissue Trailer” (2:22)
“1970 Children’s Matinee Reissue Trailer” (1:35)
“1998 Warner Bros. Reissue Trailer” (2:05)
• “Off to See The Wizard Excerpts” (3:57)
• “Texas Contest Winners” (1:26) in autumn of 1938 they made this little short film about lucky contest winners.

Disc 2 (a BD-25) features:

• “Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman” (34:08) is very informative and definitely worth the watch if you enjoyedFleming‘s other 1939 classic “Gone With the Wind” and/or didn’t know much about his other works and career.
• “L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain” (27:45) takes a look at the author of the original book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from which the film is based on.
• “Hollywood Celebrates It’s Biggest Little Stars!” (10:23)
• “1990 The Dreamer of Oz” (92:48) is a documentary about L. Frank Baum. It’s not in very good video quality but if you’re interested in the man behind the story — it’s worth a watch. In fact, the late, great John Ritter plays him in the documentary.
• “1910 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (13:18) is a silent film.
• “1933 The Wizard of Oz” (8:13) is a cartoon short in Technicolor done by animator Ted Eshbaugh based on the first ‘Oz‘ book.
• “1914 His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz” (59:07) is a silent film written and directed by the author L. Frank Baumhimself.
• “1914 The Magic Cloak of Oz” (43:15) is yet another silent film.
• “1914 The Patchwork Girl of Oz” (50:43) yet again, another silent film.
• “1925 The Wizard of Oz” (71:53) is yet another silent film.

Disc 3 (a DVD) contains:

• “MGM: When the Lion Roars” 6-hour documentary on a double-sided DVD in Standard Definition video.

Disc 4 (a DVD-ROM) contains:

• Digital Copy of the film is included which is compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media — Mac & PC as well as portable devices. As with all digital copies, this will only last 1 year after release date, meaning it will expire on September 29th, 2010.