Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (1 Viewer)

It looks like the Target version has some of the paper extras from the 2005 release.

 

[compson]

Originally Posted by Ken_McAlinden



I am actually planning on catching it in old school HD (35mm) at Detroit's Redford Theater this November.

http://redfordtheatre.com/movie/

I hope it looks better than the print I saw at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor a few years ago. I literally gasped when Judy Garland first appeared in color. The skin color of her face looked like it belonged to a dead person.

 

[MatthewA]

Originally Posted by Tim Haxton

It's nice to see WB taking such care of North By Northwest, Oz and Gone With The Wind.
They should look into buying the James Bond films with MGM on the verge of bankruptcy!

I've been saying Time Warner should have bought MGM for years now. Perhaps they've been waiting until it was devalued enough to make it practically a steal? The entire library should be reunited.

I'm equally excited for the other two forthcoming restorations in November.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Originally Posted by Edwin-S

A very good review, but I wish reviewers would ensure that at least the MSRP is included in the data box. What is the MSRP on this set? I cannot honestly say that I'm a big fan of WWoOz, but this set set does look and sound impressive, especially in relation to all of the film and video extras that are included....

Look at the product listing link under "Related HT Gear & Movies" on the right side of the screen. If you follow that link, scroll down to the "Description" area and select the "Specs" tab, you will get all kinds of useful information including the MSRP (US$84.99 in this case). This works for any properly tagged HTF review thread. Remember, under the new site set-up, the "official" review is on the product page. Reviewers copy the contents over to the appropriate forum to facilitate discussion.

Thanks!

 

Another potential mistake.....I noticed this at the HD screening and then again tonight on TBSHD. When Glinda's bubble is leaving Munchkinland and some of the munchkins are seeing her off, the film skips over some frames. There is a noticeable jump that was not there before. Oh, man.

 

[Mark_TB]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

The one scene most people love is the moment Dorothy
opens the door and steps out from her sepia-toned home
into the Technicolor world of Oz. During those first few
moments as the camera pans across Munchkinland, I
thought to myself, "Gee, all of this looks like a small
soundstage with phony plants and man-made river."

Ronald, I had the chance to see a projected 35mm print in the theater a couple of months ago, and I had the same surprising reaction; it was the first time it really felt like a stage-bound "set" to me. After I recovered from my initial shock, though, I found myself admiring the craftmanship that went into the building of it. So I still appreciated it, just on a different level.

- Mark

 

[Paul Penna]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

The one scene most people love is the moment Dorothy
opens the door and steps out from her sepia-toned home
into the Technicolor world of Oz. During those first few
moments as the camera pans across Munchkinland, I
thought to myself, "Gee, all of this looks like a small
soundstage with phony plants and man-made river."

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this comes across to my eyes, but to be perfectly frank, Munchkinland - and Oz as a whole - always had that look to me, and that was the charm of it all - well, not so much seeing it as a movie set, but as a fabulously elaborate toyland come to life as opposed to anything I was supposed to think was real.

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein


The one scene most people love is the moment Dorothy
opens the door and steps out from her sepia-toned home
into the Technicolor world of Oz. During those first few
moments as the camera pans across Munchkinland, I
thought to myself, "Gee, all of this looks like a small
soundstage with phony plants and man-made river."

That's been apparent to me for years. It probably has to do with the fact that I've had a large front screen projection system for over 10 years, and also saw the theatrical film rerelease several years ago (fortunately, not the apparent travesty in theaters last week). None of that takes away from the magic of the film for me. This is a product of the Hollywood Dream Factory at its zenith.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

How disappointing that only the first disc is HD, though. I guess they're saving that for the 75th Anniversary Super-Duper Ultimate Collection. I think I'll wait for that one.

 

[RobertR]

I can't imagine denying myself this movie in HD for who knows how many years, simply because some of the extras aren't also in HD.

 

[Ensign Eddie]

Originally Posted by Ken_McAlinden


Note: Early press materials for this box set showed images with four color mini-posters of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, but they were not in my review set and have been airbrushed out of more recent promotional images.

Are these the same mini-posters that Amazon has listed as an exclusive?

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Originally Posted by RobertR ">[/url]

I can't imagine denying myself this movie in HD for who knows how many years, simply because some of the [i]extras [/i]aren't also in HD.

 

[Arnie G]

Originally Posted by Southpaw /forum/thread/293351/htf-blu-ray-re...ary-ultimate-collector-s-edition#post_3610532

 

[Michael Rogers]

This thread helped me solve an extremely stupid mistake I made. I ordered what I thought was the blu-ray set from Amazon last week. I did it quickly and did not pay as much attention as I should.

When it arrived today, I found that I had ordered the DVD version of the set. I found that out once the set was opened, rendering it not returnable unless it was defective in some fashion.

Visions of having to rebuy this expensive set (and maybe sell or give away the DVD set) to get the blu ray flashed through my mind. Then I remember reading about the non box set editions at Target and Wal-Mart (wal-mart especially for $19.99).

Also realizing the rest of the extras were standard def and I already have When The Lion Roars recorded from TCM or I can netlfix it I would be able to fix my mistake with $20.

So I got the Wal-mart release(last copy on the shelf). Horray for Wal-Mart (ducking!)

If I had known about the availability of the Target and Wal-Mart scaled down releases before I ordered, I might've just went for them without the set but I happen to like the book and campagn book repro and if I was a little more observant I could've gotten what I wanted for 51.00, instead of the $65.00 it turned out to be ($45 for the DVD set and $20 for the single blu-ray).

 

[Neal K]

Quoting from the review: The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) - is another vintage silent "Oz" feature, previously thought to be lost.

Many of us "found" it nearly a decade ago, in 2001, as it is part of the Image Entertainment's (now OOP) 3 dvd set entitled "Origins of Film". That print has far less detail and tonal range, but does not suffer from the scratchiness of the new transfer. There's a substantial difference in the running time, but it's probably due to a faster projection speed (in the WB). Unfortunately, there is no musical accompaniment at all for WB's version....Image's set has a wonderful piano score by Philip Carli.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

My understanding was that previous releases were incomplete, and that this was the first release of an editorially intact version on video.

Originally Posted by Neal K

Quoting from the review: The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) - is another vintage silent "Oz" feature, previously thought to be lost.

Many of us "found" it nearly a decade ago, in 2001, as it is part of the Image Entertainment's (now OOP) 3 dvd set entitled "Origins of Film". That print has far less detail and tonal range, but does not suffer from the scratchiness of the new transfer. There's a substantial difference in the running time, but it's probably due to a faster projection speed (in the WB). Unfortunately, there is no musical accompaniment at all for WB's version....Image's set has a wonderful piano score by Philip Carli.

 

I believe that is for His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz.

 

[Nelson Au]

Great review and a really great set!

I'm torn too about this set or the 3 disc set from Target. I am interested in the MGM documentary, When the Lion Roared that's included in the big set and I understand it was once sold as a release onto itself. So for the $35 price of the Target set and the $20 or so price of the MGM doc, you get the price of this set! Plus the sundries all in one package.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The MGM:When the Lion Roars documentary is the third disc in the Target set.

Originally Posted by Nelson Au

Great review and a really great set!

I'm torn too about this set or the 3 disc set from Target. I am interested in the MGM documentary, When the Lion Roared that's included in the big set and I understand it was once sold as a release onto itself. So for the $35 price of the Target set and the $20 or so price of the MGM doc, you get the price of this set! Plus the sundries all in one package.

 

[Robert Harris]

Lion Roars will also be an extra on the GWTW BD set in November.