I can't imagine the grotesque thing they're showing in the Sphere. Ugh. This post is such a great celebration of the collaborative nature of filmmaking. The auteur theory is largely bunk. Only a very few directors could be called auteurs. I'm gonna write a little essay about my one sad experience with Wizard. Also, I don't think you mentioned that Oz was created by L. Frank Baum, who wrote 14 novels set in that world. I've only read a few of them but they are much darker in tone than The Wizard of Oz. The 1985 movie, Return to Oz, was far more faithful to that darkness, so much so that it flopped in the theaters but now has a cult following.
I wish Henry would write a little something about the books (or the first couple) also. Not that they’re good lit, even by genre standards. But as an artifact of their time they are interesting — proto-speculative fiction from an America as alien as another planet.
The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie of all time. Your article is an excellent overview of the Hollywood machine and actors that gave it life. As a fan of the golden age of song writing in the early and mid Twentieth century, it’s my view that the movie’s success was due to the memorable and infectious SONGS that lingered in people’s memories long after they saw the film. Yes, Judy Garland sang them like no one else, but the unsung heroes of that film are composer Harold Arlen and lyricist “Yip” Harburg, who wrote hundreds of hits during their career, with the best being “Over the Rainbow”. Wizard of Oz is the apex of production, creativity and multi-media because it all works together brilliantly, and the creative elements (script writers AND song writers) were all at the top of their games. As the quality of songwriting has devolved from high culture to decadence and banal nonsense it’s sadly evident that a movie like the Wizard of Oz will never be made again…
The book, as Alexie points out, is much darker. It was a political satire of the 1893 panic. The slippers were silver not ruby and you couldn’t enter the Emerald City without being fitted with green-tinted glasses that were not removable — among many other differences. As for the film it does well engaging with what you mentioned: “when we think of the perils of childhood, of the thrills and disappointments of adulthood, and of the perennial longing for home.”
We must be stronger in our resistance to AI. I want to believe that we haven’t already lost the war — that somewhere over the rainbow humans will still be there.
What an amazing piece of criticism! I grew up watching the film annually on CBS, knew most scenes by heart by the time I was in my early teens – which enhanced the multiple obligatory viewings in college with the Dark Side of the Rainbow soundtrack – and still feel I found new appreciation reading your insights. We are still mining this cultural touchstone for inspiration and remix, and still haven’t quite captured its essence, as you point out. My daughter watches an animated series on Nickelodeon that’s a fan-fic spinoff of the original story, also with a lot of generative art. As an adult I wouldn’t give it much thought, but in light of this review, it’s fascinating how much the myth still carries.
So much rich material in this post! Just smart, beautiful & necessary writing. Really love your work.
Thanks very much -- I, Fatty fan over here
Glad you dug Fatty!
My mom was at the Hollywood premiere in 1939. A cousin worked at the studio, and got her in. She claimed that Jack Haley stepped on her toes.
Reading Salman Rushdie’s wonderful New Yorker piece on Oz aloud to my wife during a long drive on our first date is when she decided to marry me:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/05/11/out-of-kansas
I can't imagine the grotesque thing they're showing in the Sphere. Ugh. This post is such a great celebration of the collaborative nature of filmmaking. The auteur theory is largely bunk. Only a very few directors could be called auteurs. I'm gonna write a little essay about my one sad experience with Wizard. Also, I don't think you mentioned that Oz was created by L. Frank Baum, who wrote 14 novels set in that world. I've only read a few of them but they are much darker in tone than The Wizard of Oz. The 1985 movie, Return to Oz, was far more faithful to that darkness, so much so that it flopped in the theaters but now has a cult following.
I wish Henry would write a little something about the books (or the first couple) also. Not that they’re good lit, even by genre standards. But as an artifact of their time they are interesting — proto-speculative fiction from an America as alien as another planet.
The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie of all time. Your article is an excellent overview of the Hollywood machine and actors that gave it life. As a fan of the golden age of song writing in the early and mid Twentieth century, it’s my view that the movie’s success was due to the memorable and infectious SONGS that lingered in people’s memories long after they saw the film. Yes, Judy Garland sang them like no one else, but the unsung heroes of that film are composer Harold Arlen and lyricist “Yip” Harburg, who wrote hundreds of hits during their career, with the best being “Over the Rainbow”. Wizard of Oz is the apex of production, creativity and multi-media because it all works together brilliantly, and the creative elements (script writers AND song writers) were all at the top of their games. As the quality of songwriting has devolved from high culture to decadence and banal nonsense it’s sadly evident that a movie like the Wizard of Oz will never be made again…
The book, as Alexie points out, is much darker. It was a political satire of the 1893 panic. The slippers were silver not ruby and you couldn’t enter the Emerald City without being fitted with green-tinted glasses that were not removable — among many other differences. As for the film it does well engaging with what you mentioned: “when we think of the perils of childhood, of the thrills and disappointments of adulthood, and of the perennial longing for home.”
We must be stronger in our resistance to AI. I want to believe that we haven’t already lost the war — that somewhere over the rainbow humans will still be there.
Brilliant post.
I got weepy reading about people getting weepy over Judy Garland!
The original is perfect. I still see it in my mind.
How exactly do you "interview sound," even if you're an engineer who likes "proponents," even if you do it "uncannily"?
A most enlightening, edifying, and entertaining read. Sublime, in fact. Thank you; needed this read this Sunday morning. Godspeed
What an amazing piece of criticism! I grew up watching the film annually on CBS, knew most scenes by heart by the time I was in my early teens – which enhanced the multiple obligatory viewings in college with the Dark Side of the Rainbow soundtrack – and still feel I found new appreciation reading your insights. We are still mining this cultural touchstone for inspiration and remix, and still haven’t quite captured its essence, as you point out. My daughter watches an animated series on Nickelodeon that’s a fan-fic spinoff of the original story, also with a lot of generative art. As an adult I wouldn’t give it much thought, but in light of this review, it’s fascinating how much the myth still carries.
Pay no attention to the chat bot behind the curtain 🤔😂
… will never be made again…
Too good.