Saturday, January 16, 2010

Capsule Review: The Wizard of Oz (1939)



Still staggeringly beautiful after all these years, The Wizard of Oz captures a feeling of near limitless imagination still not equaled in most modern fantasy epics. It's become such a part of our collective pop culture – from the music, costumes, red slippers, Wicked Witches, hearts, brains and courage, and flying monkeys – that it almost transcends any sort of criticism. You either buy in or you don't, but there's really nothing like it, and likely never will be. The performances are etched into the American mindset and the music - particularly "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" - are part of our consciousness. It's hard to be objective about a film that seems to exist outside of cinema, to be part of our collective pop culture DNA. Always worth watching.

No comments: