Wizard of Oz Gift Set (1939)

"Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first time.   Leonard Maltin
"The Wizard of Oz has a wonderful surface of comedy and music, special effects and excitement...  Roger Ebert

Editor's Note Young Dorothy is bored of her gray life on a Kansas farm. When her house is whisked away by a tornado, it lands somewhere over the rainbow in a Technicolor world, and Dorothy knows she's not in Kansas anymore. This beloved, incomparable classic based on L. Frank Baum's turn-of-the-century novel is a musical and visual candy store. Dorothy's journey to find a way back to Kansas has permeated American culture and film for decades and remains one of the best musicals and children's stories ever filmed.

	Bert Lahr
	Jack Haley
	Judy Garland
	Ray Bolger
	L. Frank Baum - Based on Novel By
	Adrian - Costume Designer
	Victor Fleming - Director
	Harold Rosson - Director of Photography
	Blanche Sewell - Editor
	Harold Arlen, et al. - Musical Score
	Mervyn LeRoy - Producer
	Noel Langley - Screenplay
	Edgar Allan Woolf - Screenplay
	Florence Ryerson - Screenplay

Judy Garland stars as Dorothy in a musical based on the classic children's book by L. Frank Baum. When Dorothy's neighbor, Miss Gulch, threatens to take away Dorothy's precious dog, Toto, Dorothy runs away from home. Attempting to return, she and her house are caught in a twister and blown to the garish, color-saturated Land of Oz. The house lands atop Oz's Wicked Witch of the East, killing her and making Dorothy an instant celebrity. The Wicked Witch of the West, the sister of the deceased witch, soon arrives and threatens revenge. Dorothy must escape from Oz by following the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where the great Wizard of Oz can help her return to Kansas. Along the way, Dorothy picks up some new friends--the heartless Tin Man, the brainless Scarecrow, and the courage-less Cowardly Lion, each of whom hopes that the Wizard can offer him what he lacks. The long journey to see the Wizard is filled with dangers and traps planted by the Wicked Witch of the West--as well as lots of phenomenal musical numbers. Filled with extravagant sets and costumes and 40 minutes of rambunctious song and dance routines, Dorothy's adventures in Oz are pure delight. The film deservedly holds a precious place in the hearts of millions.

"I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog too!"----The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton)

"The great and powerful Oz has spoken!"----The Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan)

"Ding--dong, the witch is dead."----Munchkin song

"There's no place like home."----Dorothy (Judy Garland)

Chicago Sun-Times
"...It somehow seems real and important in a way that most movies don't....The special effects are glorious in that old Hollywood way..." 12/22/1996 p.5

Entertainment Weekly
"We love it...because of the wonderful things it does! Those songs! Those effects! That cinematography!..." 01/11/2002 p.25-6

Premiere
"...THE WIZARD OF OZ's status as a cultural icon has only strengthened through the years..." 12/01/2003 p.5

Total Film
"[The film] remains as entrancing as ever....So vibrant it's like watching the world being painted for the first time." 02/01/2004 p.120

Entertainment Weekly
"[It] proves as precious as Dorothy's ruby slippers....It's a journey every film buff should make." -- Grade: A 10/28/2005 p.66

New York Times
"There may be no movie more deeply embedded in the subconscious of the baby boom generation than THE WIZARD OF OZ." 11/01/2005 p.E3

Entertainment Weekly
Ranked #1 in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten DVDs Of The Year -- "[T]he extras are filled with heart, brains, and, yes, even courage." 12/30/2005 p.124

Rolling Stone
Ranked #16 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "[A] dazzling digital reproduction of the original Technicolor." 12/01/2005 p.98

Chicago Sun-Times 0 of 10
The Wizard of Oz fills such a large space in our imagination. It somehow seems real and important in a way most movies don't. Is that because we see it first when we're young? Or simply because it is a wonderful movie? Or because it sounds some buried universal note, some archetype or deeply felt myth? I lean toward the third possibility, that the elements in The Wizard of Oz powerfully fill a void that exists inside many children. For kids of a certain age, home is everything, the center of the world. But over the rainbow, dimly guessed at, is the wide earth, fascinating and terrifying. There is a deep fundamental fear that events might conspire to transport the child from the safety of home and strand him far away in a strange land. And what would he hope to find there? Why, new friends, to advise and protect him. And Toto, of course, because children have such a strong symbiotic relationship with their pets that they assume they would get lost together... The Wizard of Ozhas a wonderful surface of comedy and music, special effects and excitement, but we still watch it six decades later because its underlying story penetrates straight to the deepest insecurities of childhood, stirs them and then reassures them. As adults, we love it because it reminds us of a journey we have taken. That is why any adult in control of a child is sooner or later going to suggest a viewing of The Wizard of Oz... The special effects are glorious in that old Hollywood way, in which you don't even have to look closely to see where the set ends and the backdrop begins. Modern special effects show exactly how imaginary scenes might look; effects then showed how we thought about them. A bigger Yellow Brick Road would not have been a better one. - Roger Ebert

Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 0 of 10
A genuine American classic, based on L. Frank Baum's story of a Kansas girl who goes "Over the Rainbow" to a land of colorful characters and spirited adventure. A perfect cast in the perfect fantasy, with Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's unforgettable score. Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first time. - Leonard Maltin