‘1 Man 365 Films 365 Days’ – Day 231

#190 / 365 – ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939) – 101 mins
IMDb Challenge #116 / 250 – Ranked #122 – Via DVD Collection

Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is swept away to a magical land – with her dog Toto – in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home. She meets a strange assortment of fellow travellers like The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) The Lion (Bert Lahr), The Tin Man (Jack Haley) and the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke) as well as the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

There’s no place like home, well there’s no place like the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Whats not to like about the straightforward, cheerful and lively fantasy musical film that I and millions of others have grown up with on every Christmas, Easter, Bank holiday afternoon as a child.

Looking back on Oz today 71 years after its 1939 release. I’m happy to say the cheer, the charm and the sublime sense of quality storytelling have not weakened against its vivid technicolor backdrop of spectacular set and costume design, and to me, perhaps, never will. You’ll find yourself singing along to the classic songs “Over the Rainbow”, “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”, “We’re Off to See the Wizard”, “Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead” which are still as fresh as they when they were in 1939.

For nearly two hours The Wizard of Oz soars, you are whirled away to a magical world, where no one is unloved, everyone is caring and a little girls dreams find their resting place in a small Kansas farmhouse amongst family and friends. This is why The Wizard of Oz eternally endures. If you don’t own The Wizard of Oz in your film collection then you really should remedy this right now, as quite simply it’s one of the greatest films ever made.

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