Rating of
4/4
We're not in Kansas anymore
TheWolf - wrote on 07/27/07
Dorothy's entrance into the land of Oz remains one of the screen's most memorable moments, as the black-and-white scene give way to glowing color photography… "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!" is her understated response as she enters Munchkinland… The sequence in Munchkinland, though beautifully designed, is actually, a mixed blessing… Billie Burke is exactly right as the Good Witch of the North, and Margaret Hamilton is wonderfully shrill and repulsive as the Wicked Witch of the West… But the Munchkins themselves, midgets gathered from all over the world for the occasion, are all wonderful with their prematurely old faces and chipmunk voices…
Oz is strange, but it's meant to be strange; it never feels completely unrealistic though. I think this has something to do with the contrast provided by the Technicolor applied to the film when Dorothy is Oz and the sepia look when Dorothy is in Kansas. Oz is a different world, but not an entirely unreal world. Our dreams may be larger than life, but there is always something very real about them.
The Wizard of OZ is the epitome of knowing your craft and performing well.
