The theme of the film - "Never look for anything if you can't find it in your own backyard" is a motto for the isolationist years between the wars that would be left behind in only a couple of years when it became apparent that the U.S. I remember seeing her on a daytime commercial in the 1960's as a child and thinking "Isn't she dead yet?" There is maybe one aspect of this film that is uniquely pre-WWII. You'd never believe that Margaret Hamilton as The Bad Witch is only 37. You'd never believe Billie Burke as the good witch Glenda is 55 years old. She was never more lovely than she is right here. Then there is beautiful Judy Garland when her exterior still matched her voice, before the studio system chewed her up and literally spit her out. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" is practically a slogan of American politics as I am writing this in the year 2013. Wizard of Oz has the universal themes of the value of friendship and family, of how many of us have strengths and virtues inside of us we'll never believe we have until tested, and how many powerful people are literally all hot air. Even "Star Wars" has lost a step or two in the 36 years since its release. I think in all of filmdom only Walt Disney in Walt's time with his animated features and Pixar in modern times have been able to strike that balance. Having the advantage of having seen it at all ages I can truly say that it has enough fantasy and whimsy and spectacle to keep the interest of children without being inane so that adults cannot appreciate it too. Today at age 55, when it shows up on Turner Classic Movies, even though I have in my possession the deluxe "Wizard of Oz DVD Set and Museum in a Box", I'll still stop and watch it from whatever point I catch it to the end. This film predates my birth by 19 years, so I've seen it as a child when it was an annual event on network TV, stretched out to hours in length, believably due to commercials and maybe not so believably today due to the network hosting and talking about the film a little during breaks. Reviewed by AlsExGal 10 / 10 Perhaps the most well known and watched film in history?
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