Live Life Team
Genre: Musical
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
The Wizard of Oz, now a perennial classic, was released in Hollywood’s golden era; the film is full of characters that have since become genuine pop-culture icons.
The story begins with Kansas farm-girl Dorothy (Garland) who is feeling rather sad as a mean neighbour is looking to have her sole friend, a dog named Toto, put to sleep. She makes a plan to run away when a tornado carries away her farmhouse home. When it returns to the ground, Dorothy discovers she is in the Land of Oz. She then sets out to find the Wizard, who can help her return home. On her way she finds a Scarecrow who needs a brain, a Tin Man who needs a heart, a Cowardly Lion who needs courage, the Good Witch of the North (who, she believes will save her from the Wicked Witch of the West) and lots of Munchkins. Her subsequent escapades show her that the magical is wondrous, but home is ultimately best.
The first time you watch the Wizard of Oz, ideas and imagery like The Yellow Brick Road, heartless Tin Man and the truly iconic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are likely to be with you forever. The soundtrack fitted the story to perfection, enhancing the dreamlike plot. The Wizard of Oz is secure as a cornerstone of the musical genre and it would now be impossible to imagine early cinema without it.
