A lovely Oz poster!

I don't normally post links to merchandise, but I got a link to this poster e-mailed to me today:

This poster was created for the Winkie Convention this year, used for the back cover of the convention book. (I remember looking at it and wondering where it came from.)

If you're interested, here is a link to where you can buy one directly from the artist, Jed Alexander. It's $14 USD, plus shipping. I'd buy one now if I wasn't moving.

Bits of Oz

Sorry for not blogging in awhile. Haven't had many Ozzy topics on my mind recently.

Something that may be of interest to some readers is that I'm moving in with Audrey and Shaun, my sister and her husband, so we can help each other out. It'll be beneficial to us all. It might even loosen up finances enough for me to finally make it to an Oz convention next year!

I read an Oz book I bought, The Ork in Oz. A pretty fun story, a few faults (including that the author overlooked the Ork's name in The Scarecrow of Oz and gave him a new name, though the name Baum gave the Ork is pretty easy to miss...), illustrations not exactly to my liking, but overall, a good book.

I've also been working on the next podcast and the Oz book I'm writing. I got the plot figured out, and written the first two chapters' first draft. Don't expect me to put the book here, though, as I think it might be a fun story to read in book form. (There will be a free PDF, though.)

I've also been messing about with OpenOffice, free software that includes a word processing program, and been using it to design books to give to my family at Christmas.

And I've taken a few shots at The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, the English translation of the DS game Riz-Zoawd. Nice music, nice graphics, but I've some problems. Coins are hard to find, and weapons and armor upgrades are kind of pricey. ("Money in Oz? What a strange idea! Do you think we are so vulgar as to use money here?") It's difficult to tell where you're going, where you've been, and although the trackball control is interesting, it gets a bit hard to handle.

My biggest problem are the battle scenes. I've played some turn-based battle games before, but this is the strangest I've seen it. You select which characters will fight, what they will do, and let your round of "turns" go from there. I've had times when a character will go in with a pretty high health bar and will "fall" in battle. The lack of being able to control exactly what you will do on each turn and it being unpredictable how many attacks the enemies will make during the round makes it pretty difficult. You can't make the characters defend themselves when they're being attacked, so the cost is heavy. (You can set a character to a defensive mode, but seeing as that would make them do nothing, you'll either have them attack or you'd use another character.)

Welcome to an Oz where money is there, but rare, and death is common.

Probably the most fun is you get to name your characters. My party consisted of Dorothy, Strashee, Lion, and Nick. (The Lion joins you after the Scarecrow here.)

All that Oz and nothing to say...

A little bonus

Here's a little behind-the-scenes clip from the first podcast. (I'm working on getting the next complete episode finished soon.) Visit the site here, or just use the player below, to hear a giggling American, a distracted Aussie, and a tired yet amused Scot:

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Heavy Oz Crossword #2

Sorry folks. I had to update this one. There was a blank square that was placed in a rather confusing location, and one word had one too many spaces, so I took it out. (It should not affect the rest of the crossword.) If you've already printed your crossword, just mark out those boxes by comparing your printed one with the one that's on here right now.

My take on MGM

With the 70th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz winding down, I managed to finally collect my thoughts about it.

MGM's The Wizard of Oz isn't one of my favorite movies, Oz or otherwise, but I do enjoy it. I've read a large percentage of L. Frank Baum's works that I guess my view of Oz is pretty tainted by it... (Which is an odd term, considering that they inspired the MGM movie.)

The MGM movie is a tribute to the themes of Baum's story as much as it is an adaptation. It also pays a large tribute to the popular stage production, in its songs, costumes, and set designs. And it was made suitable for people of the late 1930's, and somehow has managed to entertain and delight audiences to this day.

But it's not my Oz! But that doesn't mean I hate it.

Baum created an entire fantasy world in his works, not just limited to Oz. From bordering countries outside the Deadly Desert to islands to places in the sky to kingdoms under the sea and underground. This world was expansive and opened the doors for many stories, only a few of which I believe he actually got to tell.

Although he made Oz a place where anything could (and did) happen, Baum set rules for his stories that followed logic mixed with nonsense. Somehow, he found the right balance that enchanted readers for 20 years. This is an element I've found missing in many Oz stories after Baum's initial fourteen.

In the MGM film, Baum's amazing world is made into a dream, that, like I mentioned above, owes a lot to stage traditions of musicals and set and costume design. While I can understand the need of this for the film audience of the day, for a well-read Baum enthusiast like yours truly, it's kind of a put-off.

All the same, it is a tribute to Baum's world and how it could be adapted to film, with songs and vibrant color. That's why I don't despise it.

The Wizard of Oz - 70th Anniversary Edition DVD Review

All right, let's jump into this...

MGM's The Wizard of Oz has enjoyed a long life in movie theaters, on television, and, through the past 30 years, home video. From VHS to laserdisc to DVD, it's appeared on every home video format. Just last Tuesday, it made it's Blu-Ray debut, continuing its pattern of continuing on into the next home video format.

However, I did not buy the Blu-Ray, as I am not equipped with HD playback hardware. I did, however, get the DVD.

This is the first DVD release to have the film and special features encompass four discs. Most DVD releases use dual-layer (or DVD-9) discs, which can usually present four hours of high-quality video, but usually, most releases restrict it to about three.

Owners of the 2005 3-disc release will be struck with Deja Vu as they pop in the first disc. The menus are the same as that release, the only new special feature being a singalong feature.

The other difference from this and the 2005 disc is that the version of the movie used is different. This is taken from the new high-definition restoration, but as there is only so much DVD can show, the restoration is likely best appreciated on Blu-Ray. Here, the historic feel of the film is restored by retaining the film grain. However, there have been some touch-ups done. Some wires have been removed. (E.g. The wire animating the Cowardly Lion's tail, which I didn't notice until the 2005 release, was visible during "If I Were King Of The Forest" but has now been removed.) Overall, the way the film looks is excellent, but I'm not ready to pitch my copy of the 2005 release yet.

I found it odd that one special feature on Disc 1 was simply repeated: "Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration Of Oz" relates how the film was restored for the 2005 release. As this is a completely new restoration, the retaining of this feature feels odd.

Another odd thing is that while the supporting cast of The Wizard of Oz is profiled in a series of features called We Haven't Really Met Properly, no biographical information about the star, Judy Garland, is presented anywhere on the set. Also retained is an animated storybook adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, narrated by Angela Lansbury and using the original illustrations by W.W. Denslow, the audio commentary, as well as an isolated score and effects track, and the original mono audio track.

The singalong feature, for most viewers and movie collectors, is not of much interest. You can choose to watch the movie with subtitles that change color in time with the songs, or watch clips with the songs and the subtitles running.

Disc 2 is a complete copy of the second disc of the 2005 editions, down to the menus. All of the special features are the same. As this is also the second disc of the special 2-disc release, it offers an array of special features that would make a 2-disc set satisfying. Notable features are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, Memories of Oz, Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz, deleted scenes (though only one, an extended version of "If I Only Had A Brain," is a true deleted scene), test footage, trailers, and a variety of audio-only features.

Disc 3 offers new material for owners of the 2005 3-disc set. First off is a career profile of director Victor Fleming, the director who received the sole screen credit for The Wizard of Oz. Given that it encompasses his entire career, and not just Oz, I was expecting it to also appear on Gone With The Wind's upcoming release. I've since discovered that it is not listed among the features on that release.

Also new is a 10-minute segment covering the Munchkins receiving their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's a great tribute to what may sadly be one the diminutive actors' last big events.

Then, there's the movie The Dreamer of Oz from 1990. This has never been released to home video, but the copy Warner Brothers procured for the release was sadly not of the highest quality. There's a flickering scan line effect going on, and the picture almost looks double-exposed, with one exposure slightly off register, and a little faint. It is a watchable release, however.

The Dreamer of Oz follows L. Frank Baum from the time he met Maud Gage to the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is told by Maud Gage Baum at the premiere of the 1939 movie to a reporter who recognizes her. (The 1939 scenes are in black and white, while the scenes retelling Baum's life are in color.) However, the movie is a dramatization of someone's life, and as usual, many points are fictionalized. Perhaps I find these more irritating than most viewers would, as I've done a lot of research about Baum and his works, but I tend to take Dreamer only for entertainment value.

The disc is rounded out with three features from 2005's third disc: the 1910 Wonderful Wizard of Oz silent film, Ted Eshbaugh's 1933 Wizard of Oz cartoon, and a documentary about Baum's life that made its debut on the 2005 set.

Disc four is Warner Brother's version of a DVD set that has been released and re-released by many different companies: it presents the four silent features based on the Oz stories.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz was the first film produced by the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and here, you get a clean transfer. However, the feature has not been scored, and the elegant title screen, missing or marred in other releases, is shown darkly (although it is seen clearly in disc 3's Baum documentary).

The Magic Cloak of Oz is actually an adaptation of Baum's Queen Zixi of Ix, given a bit of an Oz connection in name only. (The book was part of Baum's extended Oz universe, so it's not too much of a stretch.) Warner's release here now offers the longer version that has been previously only been in private collections and screened at Oz conventions. It is longer with more shots, and some humorous scenes. Sadly, it shares Patchwork Girl's problem of no scoring, and the transfer is rather dark, and some intertitles are very hard to read.

The other two features, His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz from 1914, and the 1925 silent fiasco The Wizard of Oz from Larry Semon, are directly ported over from the 2005 sets, with scorings. An improvement over the last set is that chapter breaks are now present for all the silent features.

There is also a digital copy disc with a standard definition copy of the MGM movie. I have not evaluated this, as I do not have a portable video device and do not intend to keep the movie on my computer.

The four discs are housed in folding case, that lists the special features, is colored mainly in green and silver, and decorated with a photograph, artwork, and some quotes. Each of the discs shows Dorothy and one of her four friends as she met them.

When it comes to new material, some owners of the 2005 3-disc may feel disappointed, or put off of getting this set.

There were several printed materials included with the 2005 3-disc Collector's Edition, but none of these are reproduced here. Instead, we have a scaled-down reproduction of the original lavish campaign book for advertising aid to promote the film, the production budget is reproduced, and there is a 52-page full-color book by John Fricke about the production of the film, something, he even notes, has already been very well documented. My copy had some weird black streaks on some of the pages. There is also the watch in a tin. With a green strap, it has a beautiful faceplate. (My wrists are too large for it, though.)

This is all housed in a lavish box decorated with publicity photographs. The box set containing the DVDs can be lifted out and stored on a shelf (and the 2005 3-disc Collector's Edition can be put in its place).

Overall, a nice package!

The heaviest Oz DVD yet...

Okay, for anyone wondering, I have the 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition of The Wizard of Oz.

At 5 pounds (according to the shipping information), this is the heaviest DVD set I own. I'm probably not going to use the Digital Copy disc, and I know I'm not going to wear the watch, as, without removing it from its nice tin, I can see it'd be too small to fit my wrists.

I've only had it in my possession for a few hours, so I haven't had time to look at all the print materials and watch all the new special features. But it looks fantastic!

Despite what some reviews have said, the version of The Dreamer of Oz included is not unwatchable. I noticed some weird flickering effect on it, but it isn't too annoying.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz is finally given a proper DVD release with a clear transfer, as is the restored cut of The Magic Cloak of Oz, which I really want to see, and maybe do a podcast about.

I didn't find the 1932 "Land of Oz" by the Meglin Kiddies on the set, despite what John Fricke and the the DVD's official website announced. There's a possibility it's Blu-Ray only, and if that's true, I may be forced to buy my first Blu-Ray and a Blu-Ray ... drive! (As I don't own an HDTV, my computer would be the only way to see High-Definition. I know, these things don't cost thousands of dollars anymore, but my TV is still very serviceable!)
*EDIT: The official website has removed it from the lists, so it looks like it was a bit of an accident of it being listed there.*

I only took a few peeks at the MGM movie itself, and it looks sharp and clearer than ever. (Most likely, however, normal viewers won't notice the detail difference from this and the 2005 release.) Note: this was on the DVD. Despite the restoration work, DVD has a maximum resolution, and probably the restoration is best appreciated on Blu-Ray.

One change I noticed was that the longer silent films (all of which are on disc 4) now have chapter breaks, something I missed from the 2005 set. It's very appreciated.

The menus are updated versions of the menus on the 2005 sets, except that disc 2 is an exact duplicate of the same disc from those editions.

Right then... Now I'm off to do something else.

Magician of Oz...

I've already reviewed this on Amazon.com, but I have decided to do a longer review here. I want to note that this is not a reflection on the writer of the book, but of the writing. As tempting as it is to make personal remarks against someone who has labeled himself Ozma's Royal Liasion, I shall refrain.

Where to begin... Early on, the writer asked me to look at his blog and told me any assistance and advice would be appreciated. I declined on helping him out, as I was working with another writer on his Oz book and wanted to avoid unintentional copying of ideas.

However, for awhile, I did follow the RSS feed of his blog. His story sounded interesting, I must admit. The idea of the Wizard having a grandson who lives in the US is an interesting concept. Eventually, I decided to buy and read the book, review it here, and even told the writer I might consider an interview with him for a podcast.

Well, the book arrived, and I started reading.

I noticed that save a picture of tree branches twisting into the letters "O" and "Z," the book was not illustrated. (I initially thought the cover was also an original design, but have since discovered it is a Lulu.com template.) It is a grand tradition for an Oz book to have at least a few illustrations, though some good ones have gone without it. The fact that the writer had not sought out an illustrator was a bit of a disappointment.

So, we dive in and find the Diggs family eating potato soup and... ummm... They really like their soup, don't they? Then they go to the attic and find a trunk and find what seem to be instruments for magic tricks, and so they send the son, Jamie, to learn magic tricks.

It struck me as odd that Jamie knows that magicians are tricksters that are not to be trusted, but yet he wants to learn from them.

So, we spend about seven whole chapters where Jamie learns parlor tricks, the family moves, picks mushrooms, Jamie makes new friends, they eat more potato soup... It began to feel like I wasn't reading an Oz book at all. Then, bam! Jamie wakes up in Oz. Not a cyclone, not a storm at sea, not an earthquake, not a whirlpool.

(I remember reading a bit where a friend of Jamie's comments on his mother's potato soup and says the morel mushrooms were great. I thought, "No kid comments on mushrooms anymore... Unless they're a very different kind.")

So, he wanders around, runs into some characters, and ends up at Glinda's Palace. There he meets Glinda, Dorothy, and Ozma. And after these famous female heroines from Baum's books came in, my hope for a good Oz story really began to despair. All three were little playful giddy girls. (Yes, even Glinda.) If this is who's in charge of Oz, no wonder no one's conquered it: it would not be worth the trouble.

So, they head off to the Tin Woodman's Palace where Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are so Aunt Em can make them some... Yeah, you guessed it... Potato soup. Ugh...

Meanwhile, the Fighting Trees (who have become Tolkien-esque talking Huorns somehow?) plot revenge on the Tin Woodman... It made no sense why they'd wait so long for revenge, and it describes the Tin Woodman cutting down entire trees, when I only remember him chopping branches off.

I found the writing to be pretty poor. Apparently, the writer could not get a good editor in. It went more than a misspelled word here and there (I remember once reading about the "Noma King" in a copy of Ozma of Oz), sentences were structured incorrectly and improper verb tenses used.

I found a number of contradictions to Baum's Oz: Dorothy calling people "peasantry," when Oz, being free of money, has no rich and no poor. (The "peasants" are in fact farmers, and it seems Dorothy would not call them peasants, as she lived as a farm girl for her early years.) The Tin Woodman denies being royal, when Baum firmly establishes that he's a very vain fellow, and even calls himself "Emperor of the Winkies," when the Winkie Country is a kingdom at best.

And it seems Ozma wanted to bring Jamie to Oz so Dorothy would have a play mate. What happened to Trot, Betsy Bobbin, Button-Bright, Ojo, Scraps, the Scarecrow, the Woozy, or Toto and Eureka? And it even says some citizens of Oz are tired of Dorothy trying to befriend them, when Baum clearly stated that everyone loves Dorothy.

Based on some reviews posted on Amazon.com, it seems that children love this, but adults, especially those well-versed in Baum and Oz, don't. If the writer has failed to appeal to audiences of all ages, he is definitely not a successor to Baum, Thompson, and even more contemporary authors like Eric Shanower and Edward Einhorn.

I find us wanting kids to just read rather than caring that they are reading quality works. When I was growing up, aside from Baum, I loved the works of Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, L.M. Montgomery, J.M. Barrie, Lewis Carroll, Beverly Cleary, Lynne Reid Banks, and I loved books like "The Yearling" and "Treasure Island." Every book that proved a challenge to read was an adventurous delight. Nowadays... (Did I just say that?) Nowadays, kids read what's popular and their parents don't care because their kids are reading. While I find it commendable that we are not quite so in danger of having a generation of illiterates on our hands, I wish we'd worry more about the quality of the books we give our children. To treat "Magician of Oz" as a masterpiece of literature when it clearly is not just because it brings a smile to child's face is a shame. (Aside from the classics I read, I did read some rather forgettable books that I did enjoy.)

After posting some of my initial reactions to the book online, some countering opinions were expressed. Apparently, a silent revision was done after I had bought my copy. The writer said he would send me a new copy, but never contacted me for my mailing address. But you know what? Forget it. I don't want to read this book ever again, and don't want to give it away so someone else would read it. There's only so much potato soup I can stand.

I want to apologize if my harsh expressing of my opinions have offended anyone. I find it irritating that this book has been getting some positive press when I found it to not be a good book.

The EnormOZ DVD Collection

So, in about a week, I'll have my copy of The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition. (What are they going to do for the next DVD's title?) This will mark the first time that the MGM movie has been released to Blu-Ray as well.

Despite the amazing restoration job they released back in 2005, they've assured us it will look even better this time around.

Some film fans wonder how an old movie can be restored for high-definition when it wasn't filmed that way. While you can't truly make a movie high-definition without filming with that technology, the advantage of a larger image size allows for a clearer picture, allowing you to see details that you couldn't see before. Film cameras were actually very good at picking up these details. (Maybe this will finally help show that it's a bird in the background!)

All of the special features from the 2005 editions have been carried over, so if you're needing to replace that edition, this is an upgrade because some new material has been added.

Probably what a lot of fans are looking forward to is the long-awaited home video release of The Dreamer of Oz, the biopic of L. Frank Baum starring John Ritter and Annette O'Toole. While it's not a completely accurate biography, it does manage to entertain. (My hope for the disc has been answered with the previous edition's documentary of Baum appearing on the same disc.)

Two new documentaries related to the MGM movie have been cooked up for this edition, one covering the Munchkin actors receiving their star on the walk of fame, and another about director Victor Fleming, the director whose name appears in the movie.

What's getting me to get this especially is the inclusion of "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" silent film on the fourth disc. There's only been a few cheap releases of this one made, some dropping the title screen, others marring it with watermarks and changing the title screen to include new credits. Given the high transfer quality of the silent films on the 2005 set, I'm looking forward to this one!

Also, there's the restored version of "The Magic Cloak of Oz." This is also new, as this version has only been in private collections before. Now with it on home video, normal Oz fans can see it in their own home.

Just about the only silent film that they could add is Baum's "The Last Egyptian," but it is not on this, likely as it's not a family film, does not have "Oz" in the title, and it's also the one film from the Oz Manufacturing Company that exists in some form that is in the absolute worst shape.

Although it's not been in the press releases, John Fricke, who has been heavily involved with creating the set, has mentioned that the 1932 "Land of Oz" film from the Meglin Kiddies will also be included. As this will likely be the film in the worst shape on the set (the second half of the soundtrack is missing), that may be why it hasn't been announced.

*EDIT: The DVD's official website has listed this feature!*

For Blu-Ray customers, you also get the six-hour documentary "MGM: When The Lion Roars," likely taking on it's own disc. And there is also a DVD-ROM with a digital copy of the movie to transfer to your computer or an authorized mobile device.

Following the style of the 2005 set, some non-DVD memorabilia is included. None of the material from the 2005 set is carried over here, so people who have those folders of printed matter still have something collectible. Instead, we have a reproduction of the film's advertising campaign book, the film's budget, and a miniature coffee table book by John Fricke. Also included is a watch that is sure to be a collector's item.

So what are you waiting for? It's a limited edition! Go order your copy now!

(Blog #365) Oz movies

Yep, if you just read one of my blogs here a day, you'd take a whole year to catch up!

I was talking to an Oz fan today, and brought up an interesting tidbit:

There has yet to be a theatrically released Oz movie that was a financial success on its initial release.

First off is Baum's Fairylogue and Radio-Plays. While not exactly a theatrically released film, it was not able to cover its costs.

It is not known how well-received the 1910 silent Oz movies were. The fact that only one of them survived might be a clue that there were not many copies made. However, this cannot be counted as concrete evidence to a commercial failure, as many early films no longer exist. (The very first existing motion picture is only a couple of seconds long. I slowed it down and showed it in its entirety in Wonders 5.)

The Oz Film Manufacturing Company is infamous for its short life due to being unable to sell their films.

The 1925 silent Wizard of Oz led to Chadwick Pictures actually closing, giving you an idea of how well that went.

The 1932 Land of Oz Meglin Kiddies film, I am also unsure of how it did. (It doesn't seem to have been a memorable success.)

I won't count the 1933 Wizard of Oz cartoon as it didn't even get released.

This brings us to the movie everyone knows: the 1939 Wizard of Oz from MGM starring Judy Garland. While it did not recoup its budget on its first release, it did on a re-release. The thing is, it was a prestige picture: money was no object, so recouping the budget was not a concern.

Next up is the kiddie flick The Wonderful Land of Oz. However, these were not known for being money-makers.

Then, Journey Back to Oz in 1974. Its weak release and distribution eventually led people to think it was a TV movie.

I am not sure how Oz (or 20th Century Oz or Oz - A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie did, but as it didn't have a big release, I'm guessing it wasn't good.

Which brings us to the fiasco of the 1978 movie version of The Wiz. It went very overbudget, and despite some very loyal fans, could not recoup its budget.

Then came the 1985 flop of Return to Oz by Disney. (It deserved to do better.)

And now, 2010 looks to bring two new Oz movies: The Wizard of Oz, a CG feature directed by John Boorman, and Dorothy of Oz, a CG film based on Roger S. Baum's book. Will these films end the trend of Oz flops? We'll see!