Wizard of Oz 3D IMAX- Page 4

[mntwister]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 3:03pm

Best12bars, thank you for the short review, I can't wait to see this tonight on my 159" screen at home in 3D. As this is your favorite movie, mine is The Sound of Music and I am equally excited about the rumored (and probably true say a few of my sources) 3D release of The Sound of Music for its 50th anniversary in 2015. That opening scene closing in on Julie in 3D and the entire movie with all of its wonderful cinematography will give me tears as well.







Updated On: 10/1/13 at 03:03 PM

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 5:30pm

Hi All

I'm going to change topic direction here for a second since I don't think this needs it's own thread.

Was browsing youtube today when a video came up as my suggestions about the OZ Munchkin Suicide. How many times have we heard this? Anywho, it was a video taken from the last VHS release and it got me thinking.

What you see in this VHS version looks completely different (COMPLETELY IMO) than what I saw in the new 3D version, or on any of the other copies of the movie I own. I pulled out my VHS copy today to confirm it's not an edited trick on youtube, and it's not. On the VHS it's clearly not a bird spreading it's wings - it's a hanging mass swaying slightly through the entire scene. It doesn't go away/fold wings like it did in theatres last week.

I'm not saying it's a Munchkin hanging himself/herself, because historical evidence supports that no munchkins would have been on the lot. Perhaps WB noticed what we thought was a dead munchkin when restoring this release (it could be a sandbag, hanging light, anything...) and edited in the bird?

One thing for sure, there is a huge change from the last VHS release/DVD to the current one.

Edited to Clarify: My VHS shows the same thing I'm seeing on Youtube, and so does my Laserdisc. My more recent DVD shows something completely different (the bird like figure). And the laser disc is a pretty good picture.

See the VHS versiom Updated On: 10/1/13 at 05:30 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 7:37pm

I honestly don't know what that is. By the time I heard about the "hanging Munchkin" it was very clearly not in the image anymore.

Hey, by the same token, Warner Bros. has removed the very thick black wire used to wave the Cowardly Lion's tail from above every time he's on screen. It used to be obvious even on a small screen in "low def."

Wire removal is common today, done all the time for stunts, etc. So it was an easy post-production fix. Still, the image has most definitely been altered.

As far as that "bag of laundry" in the background. No idea.

BUT ... as far as The Sound of Music in 3D ... I am so totally there!

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 7:39pm

I with you on the sound of music. Imagine that opening sequence in IMAX 3d on a big screen? I'd pay $20 for that, easy.

But, yes. In terms of this - obviously not a hanging munchkin, but WB has clearly done some fixing up in those frames to change what we're seeing.

No one can deny it doesn't look like that in the IMAX release.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 7:53pm

I wondered about the tail!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 8:05pm

By the way, there was also a fly buzzing around Judy's mouth when she wakes up in bed in Kansas. When she says "But it wasn't a dream ..." You can still see her (very gracefully) shoo it away when she says the line. She even blows a little puff of air just before the line because the fly goes by her mouth.

But the fly is gone now. It used to be there even in earlier DVD releases.

Oh, and since Sound of Music was shot in 70mm, it should make for a nice conversion.

[morosco]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 10:04pm

I just finished watching the 3D Blu-ray and I'm simply speechless. All I can say is that it's absolutely stunning! Words can hardly do it justice. (Besty, now might be the right time for you to get that 3D television!)

A nice special feature is the ability to watch and choose the audio option to hear only the music and sound effect tracks. Nice to clearly hear all of that brilliant underscoring. And it's interesting that Margaret Hamilton's cackling screams were apparently recorded in advance (or perhaps afterwards) and treated as an effect probably so that she wouldn't ruin her voice doing them take after take.

Such a beautiful film. And every time I see it I marvel at Garland's performance. She's so right for the role and so damn good. (I just can't imagine how the film would have turned out had Shirley Temple played Dorothy.)

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 12:51pm

Honestly, Iwill need to comment at greater length late, but suffice to say I agree with all the praise here.
Now I want the new DVD release, if for no other reason than the underscoring and effects version and the new documentary.
Honestly, it was absolutely remarkable and i cried a few times throughout the movie.
There are so many little details that i had never really noticed before, even though I've seen the film COUNTLESS times.
My one complaint, I guess that's the appropriate term, was the altering of images - the bird, the wires, the fly. There are dozens of little impefections throughout the film - most of which can't be edited out, but in some way, that was always part of the film's charm.. And the charm of that period in hollywood.
Judy Garland is amazing and absolutely perfect as Dorothy, but I have to offer up Bert Lahr. His Cowardly Lion is the Iconic performance in the movie.. And one of the most iconic comedic performances in film history. Rveryone in the theatre was in dtitches every time he opened his mouth (and purses were FLYING out.),

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 3:01pm

It makes me happy to read that others have also been wowed by this 3D release and feel pretty much the same way I did watching it.

I'm also thrilled to hear that the home video 3D experience is comparable to the theatrical experience. I had heard from others that it translated well onto disc.

morosco---aside from the fact that my disposable income is far less disposable these days, it breaks my heart to think of ditching my current 2D TV for a 3D set, although with a few recent releases: Wizard of Oz, Gatsby, Hugo, and Disney's A Christmas Carol high up on my list of "must have 3D discs," I just can't justify it right now. My 2D set is terrific ... cost a fortune in its day ... and is still one of the highest ranked sets after almost six years now. I'll probably run it into the ground before I upgrade. But eventually ... I will! And Oz will doubtlessly be the first disc I buy.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/6/13 at 4:17pm

Slightly off-topic but I found a video today that contains some audio of Margaret Hamilton reuniting with Judy Garland on 'The Merv Griffin' show in 1968. I believe that people should believe the stories of how Judy had a very hard time pretending to hate Margaret in the film because they seem to have so much respect for each other in this video. I know she also visited Margaret in the hospital after she injured herself after falling through the trap door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCK9aUG1h7c

ETA: I found a photo of the reunion.




Updated On: 10/6/13 at 04:17 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/6/13 at 6:22pm

Maggie was a gem. I knew her as a child. We met first in NYC and corresponded many times. She was anything but a "wicked witch."

Just a quick clarification that she didn't fall through a trap door (are you thinking of Idina Menzel in a similar situation?). Maggie was severely burned during an extra take of her "explosive" exit in Munchkinland. The first take went well, and that's the one you see in the film. Then they broke for lunch and tried it one more time, just to make sure they got it. Her platform was lowered into the ground too slowly, and before she was safely underground, the flames shot up around her. She was burned on her face and hand. Severe burns. She was in the hospital for weeks, and the entire shooting schedule had to be rearranged until she could rejoin the production.

In today's world, she probably would have sued (and won). But Maggie wanted to work, so she "played nice," even for a wicked witch.