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THE DVD SHELF: "The Wizard of Oz," and a Loaded Gift-Box Full of Paul Newman
By Steven Suskin
04 Oct 2009
Christmas comes but once a year, but it seems to be starting in October this time round. At least to those who dream up holiday gift packages of DVDs.
This month's releases of interest include two grand, and completely different, boxes that should appeal to those on your list. Some of 'em might understandably want both, yourself included. We've also got Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" and the TV series "Fame."
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"You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night," chirp those Optimistic Voices on the outskirts of Oz, "step into the sun, step into the light." The step from the dark into the sunny light of Technicolor, in the truest color sense, describes the effect of the new Blu-ray release of The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition [Warner]. All those Munchkins along that road of yellowest brick positively gleam in colors that could only be dreamed up by representatives of the Lollipop Guild. (Leave it to socially-conscious Yip Harburg to unionize makers of lollipops and lullabies.) At any rate, the Blu-ray "Oz" is truly splendiferous, as one might imagine; an "Oz"-of-a-different-color, as it were.
The film has been entirely remastered, with the Technicolor original camera negatives scanned using 8K resolution. From this scan, a final "capture" master was created in 4K, yielding twice the resolution seen in the master utilized for the film's previous DVD release. That's Greek to me; the preceding sentences come from the press release, and I suppose that accurately describes why the thing looks so good. They go on to say that the net result is of such unprecedented quality that it is sure to make this a benchmark in the history of the Blu-ray format. And maybe so; the film itself, in 1939, marked a stepping stone for the folks at Technicolor, so there is a precedent here. For me, the thing looks mighty good.
The "Ultimate Collector's Edition" includes 16 hours-worth of Oz, with four hours that are all-new and exclusive to this box.
Special bonuses included for fans start with a 52-page hardcover book, "Behind the Curtain," by historian John Fricke; facsimiles of the original press campaign book full of advertisements; and even a replica of the original movie budget. (Final cost $2,769,230 on an estimated budget of $1,721,154 — which is quite an overage. The director line, budgeted at $32,650, swelled to almost $150,000; but hey, they wound up with — what? — four directors?) What more can you want, bonus-wise? How about a "collectible 70th Anniversary watch"? With a picture of the five stars gazing out at you, "enhanced with genuine crystals." That's something you're not likely to see on every other wrist, are you?
The bonus material — four discs on the DVD version, three on Blu-Ray — include a documentary on director Victor Fleming (who did much of "Oz" but left to take over "Gone with the Wind"); a piece on seven of the original Munchkin actors; two complete 1914 silent films produced by L. Frank Baum himself, "The Magic Cloak of Oz" and "The Patchwork Girl of Oz," along with four other celluloid versions of the tale; the 1990 television film "The Dreamer of Oz," starring John Ritter; and for fans of Ray Bolger, the full version of "If I Only Had a Brain" (which is quite something). This 70th Anniversary "Wizard of Oz" is available in three alternatives. The plain, two-disc "Special Edition" features the remastered film along with already-seen bonuses and a new, sing-along track. The DVD Ultimate Collector's Edition includes just about everything mentioned above. The Blu-ray Hi-Def Ultimate Collection also includes the six-hour documentary "MGM: When the Lion Roars." Both of the Ultimates also include a digital copy of the film. Any way you look at it — DVD, Blu-ray, or Digital — it's a lot of "Oz," and it's never looked better. (Well, maybe on the big screen in 1939?) But it sure makes a special gift. Continued...
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