Wizard of Oz 3D IMAX- Page 3

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 3:22pm

I went back to see it a second time on Tuesday before it leaves the theatres.

Such a special experience, worth repeating, for me. I still marvel at how they were able to do it and how well they were able to do it.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 3:26pm

I'm glad I saw this. While the movie looked fantastic, the IMAX screen made the editing mistakes stand out, and there are quite a few.

The scene where the ruby slippers disappear from the WW of the East's feet, and then the weird over the shoulder angle on West really stood out. Then the scene where the Tin Man breaks the pot, puts it over the Lion's left ear. The next shot, it's a different broken pot and its over his right ear. Nitpicking, for sure, but I only noticed it when it was on the big screen. Also, all of the Munchkins looked really odd. Their horrible acting doesn't look so bad on the small screen.

Some details I noticed for the first time that haven't been brought up: In Dorothy's bedroom, TOTO is written on some sort of dog bed. The Witch has the Golden Cap when she calls on the Monkeys to fly! Fly! FLY!

The term "Friends of Dorothy" means a whole lot more on the IMAX screen. The Tin Man and Cowardly Lion really are a bunch of fairies.

I saw it at 5:15 on Tuesday. Smallish theater. Not even half full. We were able to reserve seats, which was kinda cool. My first time doing that in a movie theater. The couple of girls behind me knew every line, which was kinda funny but had its annoying moments. The rest of the audience were gay men in their 40s.

Everyone chanted "Lions and tigers and bears oh my!".

It was $18 well spent.

[blueroses]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 3:31pm

I had no idea Dorothy had freckles until last night. :)

The witch's red cloud of smoke and the horse of many colors were especially gorgeous.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 3:50pm

"The Witch has the Golden Cap when she calls on the Monkeys to fly! Fly! FLY! "

I was wondering what that was in her hand. Never saw it before. At first I wondered if it was the same turban Prof. Marvel used at the beginning of the film

Updated On: 9/26/13 at 03:50 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 4:01pm

I like the statue thing on the window ledge behind her crystal ball. Did the witch win an Emmy for something?

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 4:56pm

I saw it last night and it was wonderful. The 3d was especially good in giving the flat backgrounds more depth. I've never seen the movie on a movie screen before and I loved every second.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 6:32pm

Reg, I love that.

I think this proves that Cedric Gibbons not only designed the Oscar, but the Emmy!



So many details to love in every scene, every shot. I agree the 3D painted backgrounds were terrific. I felt like I was walking around inside an illustration. Just beautiful.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 7:09pm

If I remember correctly, whomever has the Golden Cap controls the flying monkeys. Wishes may be granted as well, but I think its only the monkeys. I haven't read the original novel in such a long time.

Besty may be able to shed more light.

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 9/26/13 at 11:22pm

I saw this merely because of the raves on here, so a big thank you to everyone! $19 here outside of DC for a 2pm showing on a Thursday. It felt a bit extreme at the time, but 100% worth it. There were possibly 10 people in the audience and the people in front of me clearly knew it, but it felt like a different experience. What a special film to experience in such a remarkable way.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 12:39am

So glad people are enjoying it as much as I did.

re: the Golden Cap

The flying monkeys are under a spell that makes them slaves to the golden cap. Its owner is allowed three wishes, and the monkeys have to obey them. After the third wish, the cap becomes useless until it is passed on to the next owner.

In the book, the Wicked Witch of the West calls the monkeys three times, the third time is when she sends them to get Dorothy and her friends and bring them back to the castle.

After the witch is melted, Dorothy takes possession of the cap. At first, she asks the flying monkeys if they can take her home to Kansas, but they tell her they can't change worlds on their own. So she asks them to take her and her friends back to the Emerald City instead.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 12:49am

And she uses it the third time to cross the hill of the Hammerheads and get to Glinda's palace (her attempt to have the monkeys fly her to Kansas still counted as a use, even though they couldn't help her). She then gave the cap to Glinda, who said she would use it to get the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion back to where they would like to go once Dorothy was sent home. Glinda also said after doing so she would give the cap to the leader of the Winged Monkeys and thus end their cycle of servitude.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 9:49am

I'm back from Oz too. Really enjoyed it. So many of the things mentioned here I noticed as well: Dorothy's freckles, the Lion's flower pot crown prop switcheroo, the gold turban...

To start - during the previews a 6 or 7 year old girl entered with her parents. She then proceeded to stand in the aisle and SCREAM that she did NOT want to see the movie, she wanted to go... Of course her parents were trying without success to sit her down. I got up to get security because I wasn't going to tolerate this gigantic disturbance. When I got back the previews were just ending and that is when the audience turned on them. Half a dozen stood up and started to yell at the parents to remove the child immediately. The father picked the kid up and left never to be seen (or heard) for the rest of the movie. The mother and aunt/grandmother stayed.

So...back to the movie. Sat there in awe at how 75 years ago this was a major theatrical production to create without computers, electronic worlds, etc. WOW this was all done on a sound stage with artists, props, scenery. I was mesmerized at seeing the attention to detail on the costumes, the choices of fabric on Professor Marvel as he searched the crystal ball to convince Dorothy to go home and not run away. Times are changed too because when he went to take her into his trailer my mind thought "omg don't go into that trailer with him!"

The 3-d effects did not take away and actually enhanced it a lot for me. Loved the depth and dimension it added to many scenes. A few that stood out were: the hays Dorothy was leaning against while singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", the Yellow Brick Road scene specifically when the trip were approaching the Lion.

The giant screen made Munchkinland a big WOW because it allowed me to see just how vast a soundstage they were filming on. I wanted to wander and walk among all of those buildings!

If you have the chance - yes it is worth the time and expense to go see this. Thanks everyone for your posts which of course influenced me to make the time to go.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 10:20am

I wondered if any other theater showed previews because mine did not. The black and white MGM logo with the lion started promptly at 5:15.

Or are you talking about the stupid behind the scenes preshow crap? I hate that stuff.

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 10:32am

We had previews before the movie. I know they say that for every preview, but I couldn't help but laugh that the card says that the preview was chosen to accompany this film. I know when I think Wizard of Oz I immediately think Anchorman 2 and The Wolf of Wall Street.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 10:52am

I remember only 1 preview - whatever else they tried to get me to pay attention to was overshadowed by my growing anger towards the parents of the screaming child.

That preview was for the new Hobbit movie which I thought was a must see in 3-D IMAX.

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 7:38pm

You know, I forgot about that, but Brian, I thought the same thing re: Dorothy going into the caravan with Prof. Marvel! They could never get away with that today without people worrying about his intentions.

A week later, the image that really sticks with me more than anything else from the movie was the foursome walking down that LOOOOOOONG hall to the Wizard. That one shot made the whole thing worth doing.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 9/28/13 at 7:51am

That sequence made me say "woah". He really is terrifying as the great big head.

Also, it was very clear that Toto is tied to the curtain when he unmasks the Wizard.

I know this is again nitpicky, but if nobody has seen the Wizard, how is he able to set up that elaborate head thing? He just has it lying around, just in case someone barges in?

I would love to see what the team would've done if they stuck with the original novel. If I remember correctly, each character goes alone, and the Wizard is different to each one. One sees a little girl, another sees the head, one more sees a talking flame (probably the Scarecrow), and I can't remember the 4th thing.

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/28/13 at 1:01pm

I think it's a terrible beast.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/30/13 at 2:35pm

Looks like it made just over $5 million in the one-week release, playing in slightly over 300 theatres. Impressive numbers! Way beyond what most in the industry were predicting.

[morosco]

Posted: 9/30/13 at 3:17pm

My 3D Blu-ray order shipped today from amazon!

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/30/13 at 4:57pm

Alas, I still don't have 3D equipment. Another reason why I saw it twice in IMAX.

I have heard good buzz from people with advance copies of the 3D Blu-ray. They were just as impressed with the conversion on their HD screens.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 9:06am

Jungle...HA I noticed that Toto was tied to the curtain too! Never thought about it when I saw this a million times on TV at home but it was pretty clear on a giant screen.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 9:45am

I'll give you one more good one to look for, the next time you watch it ...

When the Scarecrow and Dorothy tease the apple trees to get them to throw apples, you can briefly see that Judy Garland has the wrong shoes on. They aren't the ruby slippers, but rather a pair of black rehearsal shoes (they look like the ones she wore in the Kansas scenes). It's a quick shot while the Scarecrow staggers back onto the Yellow Brick Road, but the black shoes on Garland are clearly visible.

[DAME]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 12:47pm

SoBesty... I don't have 3d equipment. Not planning on getting it for now either. Is there really that much of a difference between this and the last Blu ray?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/1/13 at 1:19pm

There's no difference in content, unless you want to be a total Oz nerd (guilty!) and point out that they fixed a couple of dropped frames in both video and audio.

In my opinion, the film was mastered better for both color and contrast, too, for the 3D release. I have always thought the current (first) Blu-ray release was too dark and muddy, a problem that runs rampant with Warner Bros. Blu-rays over the past 4-5 years or so. Most people don't have a problem with the darker image, but I do. If you're cool with how your current BD looks, then I wouldn't worry about a few dropped frames.

Oh! I should point out ONE BIG THING (yes, I'm using caps on this ... )

In the new release box set, the 3D version is the only one that gets the new mastering. The 2D Blu-ray is the exact same disc you already have. They didn't do a new 2D master!

Bastards.