"The Wizard of Oz"

Title: "The Wizard of Oz"
Director: Victor Fleming
Producer: Mervyn LeRoy
Editing: Blanche Sewell
Composer:
- Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
- Music by Harold Arlen
Starring:
- Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale
- Ray Bolger as Hunk/The Scarecrow
- Jack Haley as Hickory/Tin Woodman
- Bert Lahr as Zeke/Cowardly Lion
- Billie Burke as Glinda, Good Witch of the North
- Margaret Hamilton as Miss Almira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West
- Claire Blandick as Auntie Em
- Terry the Dog as Toto

Plot and Critical Review: The opening and closing credits, as well as the Kansas sequences, were both filmed in black and white and colored in a sepia tone. Orphaned twleve-year-old Dorothy Gale lives a simple life in rural Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and three colorful farm hands. Shortly before the movie begins, the irascible townswoman, Miss Almira Gulch is bitten by Dorothy's dog, Toto. Dorothy is upset that Ms. Gulch hit Toto over the back of the head with a rake, but her aunt and uncle, as well as the farmhands, are too busy to listen. Miss Gulch shows up with a court order and takes Toto away to be destroyed. Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, who is momentarily elated. When she realizes that Miss Gulch will soon return, she decides to take Toto and run away. On their journey, Dorothy encounters the charlatan, Professor Marvel. He is a kind and lovable man who guesses that Dorothy is running away and feels unappreciated at home, and tricks her into believing Aunt Em is ill, so that she (Dorothy) will return home. As Dorothy leaves, there begin to appear signs of an oncoming storm. She rushes back to the farm's house just ahead of a sudden tornado. There, she takes shelter inside the house, where she is knocked unconscious by a loose window frame.

A confused Dorothy seems to awaken a few minutes later to discover the house has been caught up in the twister. Moments later, the twister drops the house back onto solid ground. Opening the door and stepping into full three-strip Technicolor, Dorothy finds herself in a village and parkland of unearthly beauty. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, arrives magically via bubble. She informs Dorothy that she is in Munchkinland and that she has killed the ruby-slippered Wicked Witch of the East by "dropping a house" on her.

Encouraged by Glinda, the timid Munchkins come out of hiding to celebrate the demise of the witch, while singing "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" and proclaiming Dorothy as their national heroine. The Wicked Witch of the West makes a startling appearance claiming the powerful ruby slippers. Glinda magically transfers the slippers from the dead witch onto Dorothy's feet and reminds the Witch of the West that her power is ineffectual in Munchkinland. The witch vows revenge on Dorothy before leaving the same way she arrived. Glinda advises Dorothy to seek the help of the mysterious Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City in her quest to return home to Kansas. Glinda explains that Dorothy can find Emerald City by following the yellow brick road. She also advises Dorothy that she must never remove the slippers or she will be at the mercy of the Wicked Witch of the West.

On her way to the city, Dorothy meets a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man with no heart, and a Cowardly Lion (these are played by the same actors as the farm hands back in Kansas). The three decide to accompany Dorothy to the Wizard in hopes of obtaining their desires. Along the way, they behave in various ways which demonstrate that they already have the qualities they think they lack: the Scarecrow has several good ideas, the Tin Man is kind and sympathetic, and the Lion is ready to face danger even though he is terrified. The group reaches Emerald City, where they are greeted kindly. The group talks to the Wizard of Oz - a disembodied and imposing head with a booming voice - who says that he will consider granting their wishes if they can bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch.

On their way to the witch's castle, they are attacked by a gang of flying monkeys. These carry Dorothy and Toto away and deliver her to the witch. The Witch demands that Dorothy hand over the ruby slippers. After the witch threatens to drown Toto in the river, Dorothy agrees to give her the shoes; but, a shower of sparks prevents their removal. The witch says that the shoes cannot be removed unless Dorothy dies. While the witch is distracted, Toto takes the opportunity to escape. The witch then locks Dorothy in the chamber and leaves to consider how to kill Dorothy without damaging the shoes' magic. Toto finds Dorothy's friends and leads them to the castle. Once inside, they free Dorothy and attempt an escape. The witch and her Winkie soldiers corner the group on a parapet, where the witch sets the Scarecrow's arm on fire. To douse the flames, Dorothy throws water on them, while accidentally splashing water on the horrified witch, causing her to melt. To the group's surprise, the soldiers are delighted. Their captain (Mitchell Lewis) gives Dorothy the broomstick in gratitude.

Upon their return to Emerald City, Toto exposes the great and powerful wizard as a fraud; they find an ordinary man hiding behind a curtain operating a giant console which contains a group of buttons and levers. They are outraged at the deception, but the wizard solves their problems through common sense and a little double talk rather than magic. He explains that they already had what they had been searching for all along and only need things such as medals and diplomas to confirm that someone else recognizes it.

The wizard explains that he, too, was born in Kansas, and his presence in Oz was the result of an escaped hot air balloon. He promises to take Dorothy home in the same balloon, leaving the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion in charge of Emerald City. Just before takeoff, Toto, sees a cat and jumps out of the balloon's basket. Dorothy jumps out to catch him, and the wizard, unable to control the balloon, leaves without her. She is resigned to spend the rest of her life in Oz until Glinda appears and tells her that she has always had the power to return home. Glinda explains that she did not tell Dorothy at first because she needed to find out for herself that "The next time I go looking for my heart's desire, I won't look any further than my own backyard. If it's not there, then I never really lost it to begin with."

Dorothy says a tearful goodbye to the friends she has met in Oz, and then follows Glinda's instructions to get home. Back in sepia tone, she awakens in her bedroom in Kansas surrounded by family and friends and tells them of her journey. Everyone laughs and tells her it was all a dream, except Uncle Henry, who says sympathetically "Of course we believe you, Dorothy". Toto appears and jumps onto the bed. A happy Dorothy, still convinced the journey was real, hugs Toto and says, "There's no place like home."

"Wizard..." is widely regarded as being one of the most musically superb films of all time. The talents of Harold Arlen manifest themselves in glorious fashion with songs that still remain at the heart of choir and solo canons all over the world. "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is one of the most covered songs of all songs! While "Wizard..." lost the Best Picture award (it lost to "Gone With The Wind"...not so bad when you lose to a film like that) it received the awards for Best Score, Best Music, and Best Original Song. Even though it didn't receive the Academy's highest honor, however, it remains a cherished and treasured film in the lives of many. More importantly, it consecutively ranks high on most "Top 100" lists, often in the top 25-10 films of all films. It is a film to be enjoyed by the young and old alike, and a film that can be enjoyed time and time again.

My Rating: 8/10

The "Reel Revelation": "Our Song Is The Same"

"The Wizard of Oz" is a film that is full and overflowing with more than enough suitable material to write and reflect on from a spiritual perspective. Themes of kindness, acceptance, respect, honor, love, and the battle between good and evil repeat themselves over and over as Dorothy embarks on her great adventure to return to Kansas. Any of those topics would make fine "Reel Revelations," indeed. My focus is on a very specific musical instance in the movie that leads to a very important development in the plot.

Recall, if you will, the songs sung by the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion. Do you notice anything peculiar about these songs? If you're able to hear the songs in your head you'll no doubt recall that the melodies of all three songs are identical. Give it a listen for yourself! They each carry the same delightful melody even though the lyrics are quite different. The Scarecrow croons "If I Only Had A Brain" while the Tin Woodsman offers up the simple "If I Only Had A Heart" and the Cowardly Lion sings his memorable "If I Only Had The Nerve". Their ballads of longing are set upon the pursuit of a different quality but the music is the same! I believe the same is true for our lives and for the very condition of humanity. Even though we all sing about different things, our song is the same.

Perhaps you know people who (though not yet Christian) are interested in spirituality/religion and are seeking after the Truth. We often find that those who are ardently seeking the truth do so in a way not altogether dissimilar from the way we approach and seek after God. We are both looking for a source of comfort, compassion, love, and unceasing favor. And we too want to receive something that will satisfy our longings and make us feel like we're really alive! Everyone is searching for God, everyone inherently desires the same thing...that's the way God made us, to long after righteousness and to thirst for justice. It's obvious enough, however, that many people don't make it to the cross...many fall short and give up the hunt when the great powers of this sinful world overwhelm honest attempts at finding true faith in the True God. Yet still, the song is the same.

For those of us who have found the love of Jesus and accepted his free gift of grace it is easy to think of ourselves as being "above" or "higher" than those who are still "climbing the mountain" of faith. We ought not think this way. We ought to have great security and confidence in Jesus' work on the cross and the everlasting power of his resurrection, yes! But we must humbly confess that we are searching for God now (when in relationship with him) just as we were before we found God for ourselves; before we came to know him in a personal and intimate way. We go through the same heartache and disappointment when God is silent and we rejoice in the same spirit of happiness and victory when God moves in our lives and blesses us. You see?! The song is the same!

So let us sing altogether as one. Let us not work against each other or cause each other to stumble, that one person might achieve some measure of victory over another. If you believe that we are all moving in the same direction (toward the cross of Christ) then embrace those who have not yet come into the full knowledge of God's grace. Tend to them with love and compassion. Do not be afraid to come alongside those who are struggling with things you've probably struggled with in your own life! We are singing together, and the song is the same.

See you tomorrow - E.T.