36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Baum's Oz on Film, September 9, 2001
I found this...and bought it, and I didn't regret it! I loved it. I raised myself on Baum's Oz stories, and this is one that he made himself. This movie is an original story that Baum wrote using his Oz characters, and later, story plots from this movie were used in his book, "The Scarecrow of Oz" - most notably the story of Princess Gloria and Pon, the Gardener's son and King Krewl. Dorothy features prominently in the story, though we're not told how she gets to Oz. Mombie is the witch, instead of Blinkie in the book. Other Oz characters that appear are Button Bright, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard, the Sawhorse, a Winged Monkey, and (I think) Hank the Mule. The music is really "Ozzy," and I really enjoyed it. It's a silent film, but the narration cards are read by an actress who does a pretty good job. The special effects are pretty impressive for its time. The is a scene reminiscent of "The Wizard of Oz" book, where the Scarecrow, pushing a raft, gets stuck on the pole. He slides down underwater, and the underwater affects surprised me for such an old film. There are fish swimming around, and even a mermaid makes an appearance. I also liked they way they showed Princess Gloria getting her heart frozen by Mombie and her fellow witches that she summons. At one point, they even take off flying on their brooms, which looked really awesome!
The costumes and makeup are also exellent. Dorothy wears the same dress and bow style that she does in John R. Neill's illustrations. The Tin Woodman's costume is a little funky, but is ok. I was impressed with how well the Scarecrow's makeup and clothes hold up in water. Mombie looks like The Witch of the West and Neill's Blinkie in the book. Princess Gloria is beautiful and looks like a wistful Fairy princess. The animal costumes were very kewl. I especially like Hank the Mule's costume, and enjoyed seeing him fight off Mombie. There's also other really nice pices of detail, like the little "Oz" pieces on the Sawhorse's bridle, which he has in Neill's illustrations.
There were also some very funny parts, like the Scarecrow discovering water and playing in a stream, to the dismay of Dorothy and Button Bright. They even had the Wall of Water, which was interestingly done with camera angles.
There is also a Little Rascals short on the disk about Alfalfa fighting a masked wrestler that's funny as well. But if you're looking for Baum's Oz, then this is for you.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
L. Frank Baum directs as well as he writes, March 13, 2003
This is a fun 1914 version of an 'Oz' book, directed by L. Frank Baum himself. There are some great special FX, (the 'freezing heart' is fantastic!), and the acting is fairly good as well. The music and narration on this edition, as it is on the 1925 version of 'Wizard Of Oz', is redone and not very well. However, for the price, this film is worth having! Great fun for children but requires an attention span, because it's not as 'flash-bang-zippo!' as modern films, because of no sound effects.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but...., September 6, 2003
This is a good purchase for $4.99, especially if you like the more unusual films to come out of the silent era, or any of the Oz books. It's a fun romp through Oz, and has some decent special effects.
The film itself has deteriorated substantially, and it appears no effort was made to restore it. That's understandable, especially for such a cheap movie. The bad part of this disc is the audio. The music is a mix of ragtime and various other types. It has some relevance, as the mood does change with the film, but that's about all. The voice-over for the title cards, on the other hand, is just wrong.
My conclusion: Buy the movie, but turn the audio off.
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