Reflections on the influence of “The Wizard of Oz”

posted by CSWalczak on September 3, 2009 at 7:45 am

As noted in an earlier posting here on Cinema Treasures, the “Wizard of Oz” will be shown in over 400 theaters on September 23 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its original release. In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, Ray Harryhausen, Joe Dante, Guillermo del Toro, Zack Snyder and others reflect on the iconic film’s influence and legacy.

That may sound like a lot of attention for an artifact from the FDR administration, but there’s a timeless quality to the cinematic adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s novel that still transports new generations over the rainbow. The movie remains an essential reference point — this December in James Cameron’s much-ballyhooed sci-fi epic “Avatar,” for instance, when the main character arrives on a dazzling jungle planet, moviegoers will hear a familiar line: “You’re not in Kansas anymore.” Cameron chuckled when asked about the line. “Yeah, it’s my favorite movie; I had to get it in there somewhere,” he said. Cameron is not alone in his ongoing romance with “Oz.” To mark the anniversary, The Times interviewed creators in film, television, music and books who have never wearied of the cinematic trip down the yellow brick road.

Comments (5)

Giles
Giles on September 3, 2009 at 11:20 am

I would assume all the screenings including the New York Flm Festival showing are a beamed hidef transmission. I’ve never seen a Fanthom Event, but only two Hot Ticket events (Rent and Cirque Du Soleil) those two hidef presentations looked and sounded great – the one Fanthom event I saw, ‘Coachella’ looked inferior in picture quality.

KingBiscuits
KingBiscuits on September 3, 2009 at 1:12 pm

The Wizard Of Oz is also John Woo’s favorite film.

MPol
MPol on September 5, 2009 at 2:39 am

This’ll be the first Fanthom Event that I’ve attended, especially since I’d never heard of Fanthom until now.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on May 16, 2010 at 12:48 pm

I do not thinks we are in Kansas anymore!

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on May 16, 2010 at 5:36 pm

I personally HATE this film.

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