Ray Bolger & Judy Garland – If I Only Had a Brain
An evening pause: From the 1939 MGM classic, The Wizard of Oz, when Hollywood still made films in which the witches were the bad guys, not the heroes.
Hat tip Judd Clark.
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Some days i feel like that.
“… and i won’t try to manage things because i can’t think.”
If only there weren’t so many, who can’t think, trying to manage things.
The Wizard of Oz –
Dorothy meets the Scarecrow
synced w/ ‘Brain Damage’ and ‘Eclipse’
https://youtu.be/nYYMnfnN93Q
5:57
“witches were the bad guys, not the heroes.”
There was a good witch too – was the movie ahead of it’s time?!
For what it’s worth, I think you have a brane. :)
Mitch S. True, there was a good witch. I should have been clearer. At that time people actually understood the difference between good and evil.
I go back and forth on J.K. Rowling. I’ve never read any of her books and didn’t see any of the Harry Potter movies until the 4th or 5th one came out on DVD. I was impressed by that one and went back and watched them all. A brilliant story of good versus evil.
On the other hand there has been a big uptick in witchcraft and satanism in recent years and I wonder if she is responsible for some of that.
On the other hand I follow her on Twitter and she’s a brave defender of women against trannies and men in women’s sports.
I wonder if you’ve seen the extended version of that song, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcwnwXiW8t8). If used as the final take, it could have shifted the mood of the movie toward slapstick. Maybe it didn’t quite fit and was better omitted in favor of the final cut, but it’s delightful in its own right.
Local cinema has two days when they offer “blasts from the past” for just a couple of bucks.
Saw OZ last week, enjoyed it. During the credits they offered the first cut of the scarecrow with commentary.
I agree with Phil, that the first cut was a little off towards the slapstick, also it was longer than necessary.
Th final rendition is best.
Great to see the OZ on the big screen.
The witch of the north is the good one, as I remember, The witch of the east is the real trouble maker. Read into that what you may.
Never saw Wizard of Oz on the big screen, Alex. Back in the day it was a big deal when one of the networks played it once a year or so.
I was always fascinated by the tornado depiction – How realistic it is considering the level of special effect technology in 1939. I wonder if it was video of a real tornado super-imposed into the movie.
Analysis of this great classic is repeatable. Notice how it is the scare crow that comes up with the ideas, The cowardly lion is the bravest, and the tin man, without a heart, is the most empathetic…
From what I’ve read and heard over the years, the “twister” scene was simple in concept but difficult and expensive to execute. Arnold Gillespie, the movie’s chief of special effects, built a 35-foot-tall set and hung a cylindrical frame covered with black muslin fabric from a small gantry on top and connected to a second assembly at the bottom. By manipulating the top and bottom components, and by spinning the cylinder, he could simulate the movement and appearance of the tornado. Then, using compressed air from the top, the crew blew Fuller’s earth through the cylinder, which escaped and simulated dust and debris. Last, they over-cranked the camera to slow down the action and make the tornado appear more distant and much larger. I think most would agree the process created a superlative effect, and it remains so even after all these years. Here’s a brief video of the early test footage: https://www.google.com/search?q=Wizard+of+Oz+tornado+how+it+was+made&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8_sKAr6D_AhXoElkFHbXfBNQQ1QJ6BAg7EAE&biw=1366&bih=649&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:871ab9a5,vid:4_tS1pUIK3g
Thanks Phil. Interesting. Here is my UP arrow ^
Special Effects of The Wizard of Oz with Pioneer A. Arnold Gillespie
https://youtu.be/-JRhCs-F-9I
(2:18)