One thing is sure, it was not the wizard of oz or gone with the wind. My brother and sister and i went across the street to the home of the. Contrary to a common misconception, oz was not the first film made in color, but it was one of the first to prove that color could add fantasy and. So to sum this up, the wizard of oz was purposly filmed that way, and was never changed. When the wizard of oz was first released in theaters in 1939, was oz in color or is that only for the televised version. Readers send us their ozsome memories the kansas city.
Plus, without the wizard of oz, we wouldnt have the fantastic soundtrack from wicked. The projected color movie was distorted around the edges on the screen and wasnt a satisfactory endeavor many people got headaches watching such films as the wizard of oz. Buddy ebsen aka jed clampett on the beverly hillbillies was the first choice for the tin man, but the actor. Directed primarily by victor fleming who left the production to take over the troubled gone with the wind, the film. Dorothy gale is swept away from a farm in kansas to a magical land of oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the wizard who can help her return home to kansas and help her friends as well. With judy garland, frank morgan, ray bolger, bert lahr. In the late 1930s, the height of the hollywood studio system, mgm had a reputation for quality movie musicals, and the films producers decided to.
Frank baums 1900 book the wonderful wizard of oz was so popular that it spawned thirteen sequels, several stage versions, and five films before mgm made the familiar the wizard of oz in 1939. The ingenious way the 1939 classic transitioned into the land of oz. In baums the wonderful wizard of oz, dorothys magical shoes were silver. The film that helped influenced the making of the wizard of oz was walt disneys. It predates the mgm movie, but notice that kansas is in black and white, while oz is in color. This week the wizard of oz returns to theaters in a 3d imax presentation. The slippers were changed from silver to ruby red because they had color. The wizard of oz is a 1939 american musical fantasy film produced by metro goldwynmayer. With dorothy dwan, charles murray, oliver hardy, mary carr. The movie wizard of oz was the most remarkable production in 1939. Frank baums 1900 novel, the wonderful wizard of oz.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, it is the most commercially successful adaptation of l. Yes, the wizard of oz came out in 1939 and was the first movie in technicolor. Ask anything you want to know, or answer other people. This is the famous scene in which dorothy walks out her front door into oz and for the first time sees the world in technicolor. Invented in 1932, the technicolor camera recorded on three separate negativesred, blue, and greenwhich were then combined to develop a fullcolor positive print. Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades it was the second major color process, after britains kinemacolor, used between 19081914 and the most widely used color process in hollywood from 1922 to 1952.
On the positive side, the 1939 mgm film the wizard of oz was triumphantly realized in technicolor, in the companys new 3strip color process. The wizard of oz spawned two sequels, journey back to oz 1974, an animated film featuring the voice of judy garlands daughter, liza minnelli, and. The film that helped influenced the making of the wizard of oz was walt disneys snow white and the seven dwarfs 1937, that came out in technicolor. The switch from black and white to color would have had a special resonance in 1939, when the movie was made. As a story, kane is little more than a museum piece.
The nation was color blind the movie famously changes to. In honor of the films 80th anniversary this year, weve found some. Mgms 1939 classic the wizard of oz, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, returned to movie theatres across the u. The earliest film to ever have color was georges melies trip to the moon, and that was when they had to hand paint every frame. Also, its directors victor fleming and george cukor and cinematographer harold rosson demonstrated extraordinary creativity richard, 2014. Film director joel coen one half of the famed coen brothers once quipped that every movie ever made is an attempt to remake the wizard of oz and while, strictly speaking, there. We all know that the cbs broadcast of the wizard of oz has been an annual tradition since the 1950s, but that cbs had very few colorcasts after its color system was rejected by the fcc in the early 1950s. Where the black and white turns to color those few frames on the film were. There is a blurred answer because there were early attempts with dyes and hand painted individual frames but the generally accepted answer to the first film shot in color was cupid angling made in 1918, the wizard or oz and gone with the wind we. Mayer wanted to create a movie that would beat the success of walt disneys snow white and. The special effects crew used flavored jell o powder to color the horses for the.
When i first saw the wizard of oz, it made a writer of me. Oz, the first wide release color motion picture, was more technologically innovative than kane, and, visually, its still a film without equal, even in todays cgisoaked theaters. It was first rereleased in 1949, and then in 1955, and then for many seasons, it was featured regularly on network tv as a prime time event its first two showings were on cbs television on november 3, 1956 and in december, 1959. Frank baums childrens book the wonderful wizard of oz, released in movie theaters in 1939 and nominated for an oscar award for best cinematography and color the internet movie database. Wizard of oz coloring pages it was more than 70 years ago when wizard of oz was released and the movie still has its place as one of the most influential american popular culture today. It depends on how you define your termsboth color and filmand even then we have no idea. The first time i saw the wizard of oz was when it was broadcast in color on tv in the late 1950s. The technicolor world of oz national museum of american history. To find out more about this effort to preserve our nations film heritage see the best classic movie links page. The first hollywood film using the 3color process was made in 1935. January 27 thanks to turner classic movies and fathom events.
On the positive side, the 1939 mgm film the wizard of oz was triumphantly realized. Much attention was given to the use of color in the production, with the mgm production crew favoring some hues over others. Dorothy, heir to the oz throne, must take it back from the wicked prime minister kruel with the. This camera was one of several used to film the oz scenes. The wizard of oz was not the first color movie, there were quite a few others before. The wizard of oz 1939 is not the first film made in color. Not released as a single feature, but as 32 individual shorts in three different groupings and shot at different times. Frank baums 1900 childrens fantasy novel the wonderful wizard of oz. Color films have been made by one technique or another since the 1890s. In 1989, the wizard of oz was one of the first movies ever named to the national film registry. Contrary to a common misconception, oz was not the first film made in color, but it was one of the first to prove that color could add fantasy and draw audiences to theaters, despite its release during the great depression. The technicolor world of oz national museum of american. In the wizard of oz, dorothys journey from kansas to oz is symbolized by a shift from black and white to technicolor.
Was the wizard of oz the first color movie answers. The technicolor corporation had been in the business of making color movies since 1917, but the high cost and complexity of the method as well as the poor state of the american economy, kept color movies from becoming the standard for decades. The famous musical tells a story of a young girl dorothy who gets lost in the land of oz and travels long and. Besides, the movie marked the first color movie to appear on the national tv. The wonderful wizard of oz is a traditional fairy tale to which baum added a peculiarly american twist. Tell us which song from the wizard of oz is your favorite. This is the first ever oz cartoon, animated by ted eshbaugh. Would you grant the title of first color movie to a product that made viewers ill. Remember that the same year twoz was released, the gloriously photographed gone with the wind was, too. Technicolor became known and celebrated for its highly saturated color, and was. We also know that cbs restarted regular color broadcasting in the 196566 season.
Kids at school still perform this these days in a theatrical drama for spacial occasions. So to sum this up, the wizard of oz was purposly filmed that way, and was never. The later scenes feature different actors and costumes from the earlier scenes. Gone with the wind, released december 1939, domestic box office.
The cinematic techniques of the movie wizard of oz. The story of kansas girl dorothy, whos whisked to the magical land of oz in a tornado. The film was originally shot in both sepiatoned which means brownishtinted blackandwhite. Where the black and white turns to color those few frames on the film were hand painted to give the transition a smooth effect where dorothy is looking out of the house door. Nobody really knows what the first color movie was i add this note to save time for the hundreds of people in search of the answer. The wizard of oz 1939 is everybodys cherished favorite, perennial fantasy film musical from mgm during its golden years. Ruby slippers looked almost orange on camera when they first made them. Directed by victor fleming, george cukor, mervyn leroy. Wizard of oz, released august 1939, domestic box office. Was the wizard of oz always broadcast on cbs in color.
A dozen screenwriters worked on the script, with the credit finally going to noel langley, florence ryerson and edgar allan woolf, all of whom had worked on earlier judy garland films but. In addition to the usual talking animals, evil witches, scary forest, and. However, when the movie first aired on television, color. While the dramatic transition from the sepiatoned kansas opening to the vividly colored land of oz amazed its original viewers, the wizard of oz wasnt even close to being the first color film. Hill company in chicago in 1900, and has since been reprinted countless times, sometimes under the name the wizard of oz. Well, the first color broadcasts began in 1951, and although not many people had color sets for up to decades after, the wizard of oz was first televised in 1956, in color well, the half that was. The wizard of oz is a 1939 american musical fantasy film produced by metrogoldwynmayer. Times first notice of judy garland, in 1936 today, the wizard of oz is a conundrum of a different color. The wizard of oz national museum of american history. The wonderful wizard of oz is a childrens novel written by l. I am uploading this because unfortunately the only other version of. So it was likely the first color movie a five year old saw. The initial idea wasnt actually that far off from how its done today.
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