Off to see the Wizard!

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. To explain what it means to me and how it has affected me would bore you and take up too much space for a blog entry. At one time my book cases had an entire shelf dedicated to books about the Wizard of Oz movie (I never actually read the original L. Frank Baum book). Those books are gone now - given away when I moved.

Not long ago, I received an email from a nearby museum that was running a series of events connected with Oz. This triggered me to investigate a couple of books and authors; I downloaded several radio interviews to listen to on my commute. Because of this publicity, I learned about the showing of the movie for one week only in September to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the film.  Not only was this an opportunity to see a great film on the big screen, the film had been transformed into 3D!  And on large IMAX screen.  Since the initial reviews I read were very positive, I made up my mind to go.

Going to a movie sounds easier than it actually was. I don't go to the movies much anymore nor could I find someone to accompany me (to share the experience). However, I decided not to let that stop me. So I stepped outside of my comfort zone and went alone, by myself.

Of course, I had to have some popcorn. The cost of a small popcorn and soda was almost as much as the movie. And it is butter flavor liquid (which you had to apply yourself) rather than real butter. The small soda was more than I needed and by the end of the movie half was still left.

And so, it was off to see The Wizard. It was fantastic! I am so glad that I decided to go. I was in a theater that had a seating capacity of over 500. About 100 people were there. You wore the special glasses to see the movie in 3D (I wonder how this works with the Blue-Ray/DVD). The 3D was not gimmicky or bizarre but added depth. It also made even the backdrops look real. It felt like you were more in the movie.

If you are interested in finding out more about the 3D conversion, here are the links to a couple of good articles:

http://www.studiodaily.com/2013/09/converting-the-wizard-of-oz-to-3d/

http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/the-wizard-of-oz-imax-3d-conversion-1200610859/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324549004579067471635963230.html

After the movie, I borrowed the "annotated Wizard of Oz" book from the library. While I have browsed through it, I have not really dedicated myself to read the actual story. What I have found fascinating is the story of the author, L. Frank Baum, especially his views on religion. He was a proponent of Theosophy. And his mother-in-law was a prominent leader in the early feminist movement along with Susan B. Anthony

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum
http://thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com/#/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy