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Movies / Upcoming / The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz

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The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Reviews Counted:70

Fresh:70

Rotten:0

Average Rating:9.1/10

Consensus: An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant. A must-see film for young and old.

Runtime: 5 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Judy Garland stars as Dorothy in a musical based on the classic children's book by L. Frank Baum. When Dorothy's neighbor, Miss Gulch, threatens to take away Dorothy's precious dog, Toto, Dorothy... Judy Garland stars as Dorothy in a musical based on the classic children's book by L. Frank Baum. When Dorothy's neighbor, Miss Gulch, threatens to take away Dorothy's precious dog, Toto, Dorothy runs away from home. Attempting to return, she and her house are caught in a twister and blown to the garish, color-saturated Land of Oz. The house lands atop Oz's Wicked Witch of the East, killing her and making Dorothy an instant celebrity. The Wicked Witch of the West, the sister of the deceased witch, soon arrives and threatens revenge. Dorothy must escape from Oz by following the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where the great Wizard of Oz can help her return to Kansas. Along the way, Dorothy picks up some new friends--the heartless Tin Man, the brainless Scarecrow, and the courage-less Cowardly Lion, each of whom hopes that the Wizard can offer him what he lacks. The long journey to see the Wizard is filled with dangers and traps planted by the Wicked Witch of the West--as well as lots of phenomenal musical numbers. Filled with extravagant sets and costumes and 40 minutes of rambunctious song and dance routines, Dorothy's adventures in Oz are pure delight. The film deservedly holds a precious place in the hearts of millions. [More]

Starring: Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr

Starring: Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Morgan, Clara Blandick, Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe, Mickey Carroll

Director: Victor Fleming, King Vidor

Director: Victor Fleming, King Vidor
Screenwriter: Noel Langley, Edgar Allan Woolf
Producer: Mervyn LeRoy
Composer: George Bassman, Robert W. Stringer, Herbert Stothart, George E. Stoll
Screenwriter: Florence Ryerson
Producer: Arthur Freed
Composer: Harold Arlen

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Wizard of Oz

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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I am 8 years old and I think I've seen The Wizard of Oz about 50 times.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mia Addiego
Mia Addiego
San Francisco Examiner

The key to The Wizard of Oz is its pure, simple theme: Dorothy's desire to get back home, to safety, to comfort, to family and to love.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/03/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

More than a movie classic, it's an essential part of the popular culture...

Full Review Source: Seanax.com | comment Comment
10/26/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com

A movie like this is so exhilarating, because, if you look deeper into it and go beyond its status, you find that it's more than just a musical lark.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

It's been 25 years since the movie's last theatrical run, which means that just about eveyone is overdue for seeing this marvelous spectacle the way it was meant to be seen.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

One of only a handful of films that nearly everyone is familiar with.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
06/10/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

The film is probably as entertaining now as it was in 1939.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/03/04
David Bezanson
David Bezanson
Filmcritic.com

Seeing The Wizard of Oz in a movie theater, the way God and Louis B. Mayer intended you to see it, is like being at Cape Canaveral for a space shuttle launch instead of watching it on television.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's a movie that speaks of Hollywood's unacknowledged fascination with the exotic, the mad, the unreal.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/30/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If through some incredible chance you haven't [seen it], all I can say is: do so immediately. Make this the very next movie you watch. Literally.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
08/31/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

It's more than a movie; it's an American rite of passage. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment 1 Comment
09/28/09
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

The Wizard of Oz (1939) is everybody's cherished favorite, perennial fantasy film musical from MGM during its golden years. For many seasons, it was featured

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

I wish they would start making musicals again. I'd love to see scenes like that on the big screen once more.

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

Its underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's an audience for Oz wherever there's a projection machine and a screen.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/12/08
John C. Flinn Sr.
John C. Flinn Sr.
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Victor Fleming's movie has never needed super-technique to be enchanting.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

Remains the weirdest, scariest, kookiest, most haunting and indelible kid-flick-that's- really-for-adults ever made in Hollywood.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

an insightful philosophical commentary on the fears, questions, and desires with which all children grapple

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Ranks among our earliest and most defining experiences of wonder and of fear, of fairy-tale joys and terrors, of the lure of the exotic and the comfort of home.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
05/08/02
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

I'll see you on the dark side of the moon...and your little dog, too!

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/19/07
Phil Hall
Phil Hall
Film Threat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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all

Latest News for The Wizard of Oz

September 23, 2009: The World of The Wizard of Oz Opens in new window
With a new restoration appearing on DVD and Blu-ray next week, along with a one-day theatrical re-release, "The Wizard of Oz" is turning 70 in style. More...

August 24, 2009: Dakota Fanning Heading to Oz? Opens in new window
According to multiple reports, Dakota Fanning is set to star as Dorothy's granddaughter in a sequel (of sorts) to "The Wizard of Oz." Basil Iwanyk and Todd McFarlane are listed... More...

August 20, 2009: The Wizard of Oz Returns to Theaters in September Opens in new window
Mark September 23 on your calendars, "Wizard of Oz" fans -- that's when, for one night only, Warner Bros. will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the classic by returning it to... More...

May 14, 2008: Total Recall: Our Favorite Talking Animals
Now that the second film in Disney/Walden's big-budget reimagining of the Narnia series, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, is heading to theaters, we here at RT thought... More...

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