Wizard of Oz (1939)

Why it's here:
Like most everyone, we've seen the Wizard of Oz many times. Its here in our festival, because we wanted to see it in its proper time.

Specs:
Just over an hour and a half. Color - with a black and white beginning and ending. Available on dvd with tons of special features.

Our family's average rating (on a scale of 1-10):
8.5

More about the film and our reaction to it:
Seeing The Wizard of Oz "in" 1939 in our festival made it just that much better. 1939 was a profoundly good year for film. In that year alone we watched The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Ninotchka, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Stagecoach! With so much competition from these and other great films that year, it is perhaps not surprising that the Wizard of Oz did not actually take the world by storm when it was released. It was only a modest success.

However, its popularity endured and continued to grow after it started to be aired on TV every year. It is now probably the best known and most watched of all classic film and has been enjoyed by people for generations. What makes it so good? and so enduring? A mix of excellent musical numbers, a wonderfully appealing story, a fantasy element, an element of close friendship and the important bonds of family, along with a great plot full of danger, adventure and magic. And on top of all that, there are incredibly great performances from Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Jack Haley as the Tin Man and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion  -- not to mention Margaret Hamilton's intensely frightening Wicked Witch of the West. These performances and characters are iconic for a reason.

At its core, the movie is great because the central idea is so compelling. The idea of a twister picking up a child and transporting her to a fantasy world is so appealing that it is bound to continue to enthrall for decades.

We enjoyed the film immensely -- especially the very clean, beautiful and painstaking restoration that has been done on it. The dvd we checked out from the library contained enough special features to keep a fan busy for many hours.

This is, obviously, the quintessential classic movie for families and not surprisingly rated as one of our very favorites in the festival. It is tailor-made for families to enjoy together.

Iconic shot: