Wizard Of Oz, The 3D

The Wizard Of Oz tells the story of Dorothy (Garland), a young girl from Kansas, who journeys over the rainbow with her little dog Toto, to the Land Of Oz. Joining up along the way with such characters as the Scarecrow (Bolger), The Cowardly Lion (Lahr), and the Tin Man (Haley), Dorothy and crew go in search of the "Wonderful Wizard" (Morgan) himself, while always trying to stay one step ahead of the Wicked Witch of the West (Hamilton). From the book by L. Frank Baum and directed by Victor Fleming, who also directed Gone With The Wind. (Tricia Spears)

Warner Bros. released a limited and numbered The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition on Oct. 1, which will debut as a five-disc set that will include Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray Disc™, DVD, and UltraViolet™ versions of the film; a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; bonus features, and premium collectibles ($105.43 SRP). New exclusive collectible 75th Anniversary memorabilia includes a deluxe pin set from The Noble Collection™, a 52-page hardcover photo book, RUBY SLIPPERS™ Sparkle Globe, a hard-covered journal, a Map of Oz, and more. Three more editions will be available separately: a two-disc Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray ($35.99 SRP), a one-disc Blu-ray ($19.98 SRP), and a two-disc DVD ($16.95 SRP). All four will contain the new documentary and extra content. For more information, visit www.thewizardofoz.com. Special features include commentary by Historian John Fricke and Cast and Crew, the featurettes The Making Of The Wizard Of Oz (HD 69:02), The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz Storybook (HD 10:27), and We Haven't Really Met Properly with nine character introductions (HD 21:23); Music and Effects track; the Original Mono Track, an audio Jukebox featuring 18 tracks; the Leo Is On The Air radio promo, Good News Of 1939 Radio Show; and the 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast. There are also ten songs to choose from to sing along to with the movie; a stills gallery; trailers; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The film's opening Kansas sequence is presented in sepia-tinted black-and-white. Warner Brothers has perfectly transferred this digital restoration, maintaining the slight appearance of natural film grain, for a very authentic period look. Once Dorothy's house falls into Munchkinland and she opens the door, the picture magically transforms into a saturated color palette that is positively pleasing to the eyes. Hues are warm and varied. All along the 3D sense of depth and perspective is absolutely engaging. In the scene with the Wicked Witch of the West and the flying monkey in the witch's castle, the hues are quite rich and vivid. As Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion approach closer and closer to Emerald City, the color palette appears to deepen in saturation. Fleshtones favor a reddish push overall. Blacks are deep and solid, and contrast is quite good, with shadow delineation that is revealing. While resolution is generally soft, the imagery is dimensional, especially when contrasted against the studio sets. Still, this is the sharpest rendering ever to be released on a home video format and is perfectly satisfying. The picture (and the production) is fascinating to watch and admire. The visual quality is so good that the production design elements are clearly discernible throughout. No matter what your age, this is a memorable picture full of dramatic color and historic filming imagery. If you've only seen The Wizard Of Oz on TV, video tape, or DVD, you've never really experienced it. The restoration in terms of color and resolution is gorgeous, and the 3D is amazingly effective as a window into the world of Oz, exhibiting impressive depth and dimensionality without apparent double image ghosting. The image is pristine throughout and most definitely the best that an audience of any age has ever seen. And the sound is pristine as well, with effective dynamics and deep bass extension. You owe it to your childhood memories and to your children and grandchildren's memories to experience this remastered Blu-ray presentation. You will not be disappointed! (Gary Reber)

The original Western Electric Sound System monaural soundtrack is available in the Dolby® Digital format, but the preferred sound is the repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack, which presents the most faithful fidelity. Of course, in 1939 dynamics were very much compressed, but the sound is faithful to the original production. At times the sound slightly overloads and some distortion is heard, but the overall quality is excellent, for a soundtrack produced seventy years ago. Bass extension is limited as well, with occasional .1 LFE enhancement, such as in the cyclone opening sequence and in the witch's castle. The Harold Arlen music score is nicely presented and provides enhanced surround envelopment, as do the atmospheric and sound effects, which are decorrelated in the front and surround channels. The result is vastly far more involving than the original monaural soundtrack, while still maintaining a frontal hemisphere focus. The songs are terrific throughout, especially the memorable "Over The Rainbow" and "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead." This is a wonderful soundtrack true to its origins. (Gary Reber)