What accounts for the continuing appeal of a movie released in 1939? Be
specific!
Make one short comment on a film technique that you noticed was (look
at your handout “Film Terms” for examples) used in The Wizard of Oz. Choose one
scene that you would like to discuss in detail during our next class.
Bring
your writing, word processed, to class.
The Wizard of Oz is, quite simply, wonderful. It offers us a solid story about growth and change while being magical in a fun way. The munchkins are a particular favourite of mine, especially their voices. The efforts the film makers made to employ and costume these little folks never fails to amaze me. When watching the film for perhaps the 20th time, I still find myself smiling and wanting to sing along with “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.” As Galina noted last class, our culture is full of references to the film, making it very influential; a personal favourite of mine is “the man behind the curtain,” that makes a political point effortlessly without being hard to swallow!
ReplyDeleteA film technique I noticed was the low camera angle employed when Dorothy sings “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” while Toto, her devoted dog, sits high up on the seat of some kind of farm machinery. I like the balance in the shot as Toto sits higher than Dorothy. It is also a testament to the dog handler to get the little Toto to sit up there on what looks to be a slippery metal seat! In fact, the whole sequence for the song is worth seeing again. What a wonderful voice Judy Garland had and what a wonderful song!
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To be honest, it is not easy to review the film “The Wizard of Oz” after reading Roger Ebert’s review. I learned that the movie is a traditional movie for Christmas holidays in Canada. And I can understand why. Adult life has never been easy — not now, not 70 years ago. Especially nowadays we have to be very fast responsive to changes in all parts of life. Everyone can get lost and forget what is wrong and what is right. That is when the movie can help to obtain confidence again, as a part of tradition. All adults need some kind of psychological basic anchor – smells from grandma’s kitchen in mornings, staying all day in PJs, doing something traditional thins with our own family. The movie is great because it reminds to us that good always triumphs over evil, friendship is a magical power and a second family for many of us, and our families are safe places forever. The movie is full of symbols understandable for many cultures, that is why the movie is popular not only in North America. Personally I do not like really musicals, but in “The Wizard of Oz” there was not too much singing, but what a wonderful singing!
ReplyDeleteAs of film technique details I would like to mention close ups. As I understand it was a popular technique for the filming in 30-40th last century. This technique allows the heroes (Dorothy, or the Witch, or all the three friends) communicate through the screen with viewers.
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