November 5–12, 1998

movie shorts

The Wizard of Oz

The digitally remastered The Wizard of Oz is not perfectly refurbished: the colors are still a bit wan, the black and white sequences range from sepia-toned to gray and white. But Victor Fleming's movie has never needed super-technique to be enchanting. The treat is sitting in a theater (see it in a big one if you can), surrounded by 6- and 7-year-olds who are swept away by its craziness. There's nothing quite like having your viewing experience punctuated by kids waving their arms and cheering during every crowd scene (Munchkins, Oz-ites) or screaming when Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch/Miss Gulch) shows up in all her green ghastly glory, or swaying to Judy Garland's big and belty vocals (despite the fact that she was trussed up inside that blue and white dress, her breasts bound down so she could pretend to be "young"). Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley work their magic as Dorothy's loyal and silly companions; Frank Morgan plays several roles, all wizard-related; and of course, there's Toto, too.

—Cindy Fuchs