The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Topic Started: Oct 2 2009, 04:40 AM (308 Views)
shelbyvinje	Oct 7 2009, 02:43 PM Post #16
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 420 Group: Members Member #470 Joined: June 3, 2008	I don't mind them restoring any film --- repeatedly. But frankly, THE WIZARD OF OZ, as good as it is, shouldn't be receiving it's fourth restoration when films are still being ignored and rotting away without any form of restoration. Course, it all matters on whether the studio "thinks" a film has commercial value or not... As of a few years ago, they've been able to make an old movie look so new it's better looking now than it was seen originally in the theaters. But isn't there a point where they have to stop restoration? As for the extras, there's very little from what was included in the last set. And the MGM Lion Roars documentaries have been released on VHS, TCM, etc. and goes to show the studio probably can't add much more to the set the next time they consider a release. It's a great movie, don't get me wrong. But I am not forking over the extra bucks for what I already have and quite satisfied with the set I purchased previous.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 8 2009, 08:00 AM Post #17
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,356 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Couldn't agree more. It's the same old MGM problem, though. Lots of product that nobody wants, thanks to L.B. Mayer's Godawful taste. There are the Freed musicals, and...um...and I dunno.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


CliffClaven	Oct 8 2009, 12:57 PM Post #18
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 231 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	To be fair, MGM also churned out at least a couple of good Marx Brothers flicks, plus some Big Important Pictures that were actually good (David Copperfield, Tale of Two Cities, Random Harvest).



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 8 2009, 02:02 PM Post #19
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,356 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Oh sure, and I could add a dozen more, plus there are all the great B's that Dore Schary's administration produced, but you do get my point about Mayer's squareness, right?
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


shelbyvinje	Oct 9 2009, 06:19 PM Post #20
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 420 Group: Members Member #470 Joined: June 3, 2008	No. MGM, like all movie studios, turned out a lot of great product and a lot of bad product. I enjoy the Andy Hardy films. The Thin Man movies were great. The earliest Tarzan Weismullers are great. The Nick Carter movies are pleasant viewing. Also notable accomplishments the studio could hold its head up high... Ben Hur An American in Paris Singin' In the Rain The Canterville Ghost (1944) Meet Me In St. Louis North by Northwest many Red Skelton movies including the "The Fox" Whistling series Mrs. Miniver Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races (among other Marx Bros. films) Fingers at the Window Mr. and Mrs. North Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (love the Tracy version, anyone catch the blooper?) Billy the Kid with Robert Taylor (been trying to get a copy on DVD but keep missing it when it airs on TCM) Dulcy (1940) The Philadelphia Story The Maisie movies The Mask of Fu Manchu (with Boris Karloff, a great pre-code film) Strike Up The Band The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 version) Easter Parade Ivanhoe Boy's Town Adam's Rib Waterloo Bridge The Shop Around the Corner On Borrowed Time (which I recently watched and it was good) 1938 version of A Christmas Carol with Reginald Owen Marie Antoinette (1938) Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939) tho I believe they were responsible for distributing that one, not producing that one... and one of my ten favorite movies, Gaslight (1944 version with Ingrid Bergman) True, Thalberg was a boy genius. But I could keep going on with a list of great movies that came out of MGM all the way back to the silents. Lots of product nobody wants? I disagree. Edited by shelbyvinje, Oct 9 2009, 06:20 PM.



CliffClaven	Oct 10 2009, 12:13 AM Post #21
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 231 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	It's fun to remember when studios had personalities -- aka house styles. Even their cartoons mirrored the studio style: -- MGM toons always looked and sounded lush. Even Tom and Jerry had elegant musical scores (before Tex Avery and Hanna & Barbara, MGM toons tended to imitate Disney in all the wrong ways). -- Warner Brothers had the tough-talking Bugs Bunny and company to complement their tough-talking movies. -- Universal had Walter Lantz, who cranked them out on a lean budget just as Universal cranked them out in live action. And like Universal itself, Lantz had a better batting average than anyone had a right to expect. -- Columbia, the studio that bounced between Frank Capra epics and ultra-cheapies, bounced between Disney, also-rans like Scrappy and the non-Herriman Krazy Kat, and finally UPA's groundbreaking Mr. Magoo. -- Paramount, home of Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields and Bob Hope, had the brilliant Popeye and Betty Boop toons from the Fleischer Brothers. Then they booted Max and Dave and ended up with a walking-dead Popeye, Casper the Friendly Ghost and the really unpleasant Baby Huey. -- Disney, of course, started in cartoons and eventually went into live action -- using a lot of the animation staff, so the family resemblance was very clear.



Laughing Gravy	Oct 10 2009, 05:13 AM Post #22
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,073 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	I enjoy the MGM films for being so... MGMish. Something classy about them. And let us not forget that the studio also gave us some of Lon Chaney's best films, particularly The Unknown with Joan Crawford and HE Who Gets Slapped.


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