(out of )When I read The Wizard of Oz as a child, I remember there was a Witch of the South. I remember that North told Dorothy to go see South and on the journey her three companions had the chance to make use of their newly found virtues to solve problems. In the film, when the Wizard leaves, there was not enough time for us to feel sorry for her, because North immediately appears and shows her home. In the version that I read, North tells Dorothy what she should do, and this presents a sense of hope over the sympathy. I liked that story better, so that's perhaps one reason that I've it 8.5 instead of something higher.
Another factor is the overacting. I know it is family-orientated, but it is still overdone. Although Judy Garland became one of the most popular screen actors of her time, I was not impressed with her performance.
The film was very intelligent to leave Kansas unsaturated and only colour Oz. Oz was a land over the rainbow - superior, supernatural, and colourful (literally and symbolically). That approach has been used many times since.
Of course there is a lot of plot and prop manipulation, like why the Wicked Witch of the West keeps a bucket of water lying around considering her fatal fear. Why does her castle have a drawbridge when she can make her servants fly?
But that's all expected from what is essentially a crowd-pleaser. Most of the songs are highly entertaining, bar a couple, and the music was well directed.
: Classic
: Highly recommended; Excellent
: Recommended
: Okay; Passable
: Time-Killer
: Ill-advised cure for boredom
: Keep an alarm clock beside you, also usually suitable to end a relationship
: Try to restrain yourself from inflicting pain to anything nearby, including yourself and the screen, on realisation of how much time and money you have wasted
Zero: This is a film?
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� 1998 Michael Chen