The Wizard of Oz

NOVEMBER 9, 1998: Newcity Chicago

Those of us who have watched "The Wizard of Oz" on the small screen may have trouble figuring if the feel of its big-screen re-release is due to re-mastering or to the fact that we're no longer watching it on twelve inches. But who cares? Judy Garland's 16-year old skin looks flushed but flawless, and the details of the costumes--like the way Ray Bolger's Mazola facepaint melds seamlessly into his ragged canvas neck--are a joy. The black-and-white Kansas scenes are actually sepia: they paint the Dust Bowl in the hues of a brown paper bag that make Dorothy's hushed entrance into Technicolor that much more awesome.

The audience at the Halloween preview--though vibrating throughout with the rumble of costumed children--was sincere. When Garland set into the most guileless rendition of "Over the Rainbow," the woman beside me let out a lyrical sigh. And when at last Dorothy melts the Witch, the audience found itself moved to genuine applause of gratitude, with nary a whistle or a "woo!" to be heard.

 Every time I watch "Oz" I notice something new. This time around, I saw the love story. We all remember how Dorothy bids farewell to the Scarecrow: "I think I'll miss you most of all." (He says nothing in response but seems to understand.) But I'd never noticed that as she leans into whisper this teary confession, passionate violins swell, and, with her face tipped towards his, if only for a moment, they look an awful lot like a scene from that other saga of a willful, dark-haired farm girl starring Vivian Leigh (which, according to the press notes, lured Victor Fleming away from Oz three weeks shy of completion). Why the Scarecrow? Because she's known him the longest? Because the Tinman's a queen and the Cowardly Lion's too much of a chump? Much has been made of the Scarecrow's allegorical ties to the land, and, when Dorothy wakes and swears she'll never ever leave home again, it's not unreasonable to see a marriage to Hunk implicit in that promise.

But what I liked best of all was the suggestion that Dorothy's not too much of a goody-goody to be caught dreaming fondly, as we all have, of someone she'd never before considered in a romantic light, but who was there, like home, all along. (Ellen Fox)