Adapted from L. Frank Baum's timeless children's tale about a Kansas girl's journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz opened at Grauman's Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman. Frank Morgan was seen in six different roles, including that of the "wonderful Wizard" himself. Dorothy was portrayed by a 4'11" sixteen year old girl who quickly earned her reputation as "the world's greatest entertainer"-- the incomparable Judy Garland.
The Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and captured two Oscars -- Best Song ("Over the Rainbow") and Best Original Score -- plus a special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Judy Garland. The film was an overwhelmingly popular and critical success upon its initial release and repeated its ability to captivate audiences when M-G-M reissued the film in 1949 and 1955. The film made a new kind of history with its network television premiere in 1956 on CBS. Nearly 45 million people tuned in for this initial telecast, marking the beginning of an annual tradition. Ever since, The Wizard of Oz has been shown virtually annually on network (and then cable) television; its magical story and heartfelt performances have enabled it to grow from a perennial classic to its current status as a treasured icon of popular culture.
Special Features:
- Remastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio (NEW)
- Sing-along Track (NEW)
- Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman (daughter of Arthur Freed), Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr (son of Bert Lahr), Jane Lahr (daughter of Bert Lahr), Hamilton Meserve (son of Margaret Hamilton), Dona Massin (MGM choreographer), William Tuttle (make-up artist), Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy, and Jerry Maren
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
- Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
- We Haven't Really Met Properly
- Music and Effects Track
- Original Mono Track
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
- Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
- 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
- 3 Vault Shorts
- Audio Jukebox Selection
- Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo
- Good News of 1939 Radio Show
- 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
- Still Galleries
- Six Theatrical Trailers
- The following features are only available on both the DVD and Blu-ray Ultimate Collector's Edition:
- Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman (NEW)
- L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
- Celebrating Hollywood's Biggest Little Stars (NEW)
- The Dreamer of Oz [1990 TV special] (NEW)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)
- The Wizard of Oz [1933]
- His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz
- The Magic Cloak of Oz [1914] (NEW)
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz [1914] (NEW)
- The Wizard of Oz [1925 feature]
- Digital Copy
- MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary (Blu-ray only)
The Wizard of Oz was released August 15th, 1939 and stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin. The film is directed by Victor Fleming, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, King Vidor.
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CelluloidDreams
But I have "The Wizard of Oz" (3) Three-Disc Collector's Edition now ....what is the difference between the two!?!?!?
The Wizard of Oz DVD released in 1999 was loaded with extra features, but it's now safe to throw away that version in all its cardboard-package glory in favor of the new three-disc edition. First things first: All the bonus material from the earlier disc is there. That includes the Angela Lansbury-hosted doc*mentary The Making of a Movie Classic; the outtakes and deleted scenes, including Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow" reprise and the home-movie recording of "The Jitterbug"; the sketches and stills and composer Harold Arlen's home movies; the audio underscores and radio programs; the 1979 interviews with Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, and Jack Haley; and other items too numerous to mention. (Some text introductions to the features have been replaced by narration by Lansbury, for whatever reason.) Brand-new to the 2005 edition is a sharp restoration using Warner's Ultra Resolution process and an accompanying featurette on how it's done. The technicians also discuss how the sound was remixed, though that would have been more effective had it included surround-sound demonstrations (the featurette is in 2.0). Other features on the new set include a commentary track by critic John Fricke supplemented by vintage cast interviews (he offers a lot of trivia, and debunks the myth that Shirley Temple was ever close to getting the Dorothy role); profiles of nine cast members and clips of other movies they appeared in (including Toto); a lightly animated 10-minute storybook again narrated by Lansbury; 2001 and 2005 behind-the-scenes featurettes; and a 1950 Lux Radio Theater broadcast.
The 1999 disc also included one-minute excerpts of three early treatments of The Wizard of Oz. The third disc of the three-disc collector's edition includes the complete versions of those treatments and more. They are four silent films: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1910, 13 min.), "The Magic Cloak of Oz" (1914, 38 min.), His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914, 59 min., written and directed by Baum himself), The Wizard of Oz (1925, 72 min., Larry Semon). The fifth treatment is Ted Eshbaum's 1933 Technicolor cartoon short which has songs and sound, and is the first depiction of Kansas in black and white and Oz in color. The third disc also has a 38-minute biography of L. Frank Baum, and collector's-edition supplements include a gorgeous set of photo cards among other materials.
3 years agoby @2movieguysFlag
Moviemaniack1993
Considering that the film is being scanned at 8k, yeah this is pretty incredible. It is the best the film is EVER going to look or sound. Just take a look at the Baraka Blu-ray. It is going to be jaw dropping.
3 years agoby @moviemaniack1993Flag
slysnide
now that's what i call an ultimate edition!
"a replica of the film's original budget," What does that mean?
3 years agoby @slysnideFlag
reelmein
maybe not a big difference but for the ones that whant to have it
on Blu-Ray i think it is cool
3 years agoby @reelmeinFlag
Space101
A 1939 movie on Blu-ray shouldn't make a big difference...
3 years agoby @space101Flag