A student's look into the world of cinema and all its elements.



Friday, March 22, 2013

Fred’s Top 50 Films: 44.The Wizard of Oz (1939)



 We're off to see the Wizard the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!


“Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my!”
-Dorthy

If any film provides pure whimsy it’s the Wizard of Oz. The 1939 classic is perhaps the most magical film of all time with every frame dripping of pure filmmaking bliss. It’s a classic in absolutely every sense of the word, from the wonderful songs to the whimsical visuals to Judy Garland’s heartfelt performance. It’s no wonder that The Wizard of Oz is easily one of the most recognizable films of all time.

The main magic of the Wizard of Oz is that it can be watched and interoperated in so many ways. The film is just as appealing to me today, with its themes of childhood love and protection, as it was when I was a young child when the colors, songs, and the heart of the film dazzled me. Over the years, the film has been interoperated in so many ways binging out so many different themes and ideas that it truly is astounding. It says something about the film when different people can interoperate it’s meanings in completely different, unrelated ways.

The Wizard of Oz’s other quality is heart that it has. The characters and plot all have a center that is both sweet and powerful. The characters aren’t soft archetypes (in fact they created character archetypes) instead they have their own qualities and problems that are all valid in every way. It really makes one long for the days when characters in films made for children were well conceived instead of just part of a whole.

And The Wizard of Oz is just plain entertaining and nostalgic!
-Frederick Cholowski

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