Well, this is a welcome surprise. I mean I was aware that work was being done on a Wizard of Oz Blu-ray release. I just didn’t expect to see it so soon and presented in such grandeur. It appears that Warner has broken the bank on Oz once again, going back to the film’s negatives for an all-new, high definition master. From their press release:
-
“In order to bring all the visual splendor of The Wizard of Oz to the Hi-Def world of Blu-ray Disc, the film has been entirely remastered, with each of the original Technicolor camera negatives scanned using 8K resolution. From this scan, a final ‘capture’ master was created in 4K, yielding twice the resolution seen in the master utilized for the film’s previous DVD release.
Working in ‘full film Resolution’, extreme care was taken to ensure that all of the image fidelity contained in the original negatives was properly captured for this new presentation. The sounds of Oz will come alive on Blu-ray disc utilizing the full audio spectrum capabilities available through Dolby TrueHD audio. The net result is one of unprecedented quality that is sure to make The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Edition a benchmark in the history of the Blu-ray format.”
Damn! Just when you think Baraka will remain the only Blu-ray disc on the shelf with an 8K scan…
This is going to be incredible. Warner is going to knock it out of the park with this disc release. Not only is The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Edition going to sport one of the finest transfers in home video, but it also looks to offer a truly impressive package of bonus features. The studio has ported over most of the old DVD extras and added more than 4 hours worth of new material. Details below:
THE WIZARD OF OZ: 70th ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION
(September 29, 2009 – MSRP $84.99)
Collectible and numbered 70th Anniversary Wizard of Oz watch with genuine crystals (A collectible and numbered 70th Anniversary watch, incorporating art from the film and enhanced with genuine crystals. Available nowhere else, this beautiful timepiece was created specially for this DVD edition.)
Replica of the original film budget
Behind the Curtain, A 52-page, coffee-table book (A 52-page miniature coffee-table book, assembled by pre-eminent Oz historian John Fricke. Encompassing much previously unpublished material, the deluxe volume includes behind-the-scenes Oz photographs, studio memos, and script pages for abandoned scenes and musical numbers.)
Reproduction of the original 1939 campaign book (Extraordinary renderings of the original 1939 Oz campaign, exploitation, and press books. These materials constitute a Hollywood “holy grail” for Oz, Garland, and motion picture fans alike and, for decades, have been among the most sought-after and impossible-to-find collectibles.)
Video: 1080p VC-1
Audio: 5.1 and Mono Dolby TrueHD
Special Features:
DISC 1
• Sing-along Track (NEW)
• Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman (daughter of Arthur Freed), Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr (son of Bert Lahr), Jane Lahr (daughter of Bert Lahr), Hamilton Meserve (son of Margaret Hamilton), Dona Massin (MGM choreographer), William Tuttle (make-up artist), Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy, and Jerry Maren
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
• Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
• We Haven’t Really Met Properly
• Music and Effects Track
• Original Mono Track
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
• Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
• The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
• Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
• Harold Arlen’s Home Movies
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
• It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! The Tornado Tests
• Off to See the Wizard
• 3 Vault Shorts
• Audio Jukebox Selection
-
◦ Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo
◦ Good News of 1939 Radio Show
◦ 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
• Still Galleries
• Six Theatrical Trailers
DISC 2
• Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman (NEW – a new feature-length documentary produced specifically for this release about the Hollywood director who, in the same year, miraculously brought both Oz and Gone With the Wind to the screen.)
• L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
• Celebrating Hollywood’s Biggest Little Stars (NEW – a new featurette stars seven of the original “Munchkins of Oz” and tells the saga of the long journey, culminating in them receiving their own 2007 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.)
• The Dreamer of Oz [1990 TV special] (NEW – which makes its long-awaited home video debut. Also remastered for the occasion, this full-length motion picture was an NBC-TV special event in 1990 and thrilled critics and audiences as it told the back story of author L. Frank Baum, “the Royal Historian of Oz.” John Ritter shines in the title role — the man who defied all odds to create the famous characters and stories. Annette O’Toole beautifully co-stars as his supportive wife, with Rue McClanahan as his challenging witch of a mother-in-law.)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)
• The Wizard of Oz [1933]
• His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz
• The Magic Cloak of Oz [1914] (NEW – the first release of the complete 1914 silent film, including lost footage never before included in a home video presentation of this feature, produced by Baum himself.)
• The Patchwork Girl of Oz [1914] (NEW – another 1914 Baum-produced, feature-length silent film, new to Warner Home Video.)
• The Wizard of Oz [1925 feature]
• MGM: When The Lion Roars Documentary (BD Exclusive)
• Remastered original, extended version of “If I Only Had a Brain” performed by Ray Bolger (HD-BD Exclusive)
Also available on DVD in a 4 Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition.
[...] boxed set is packed full of goodies and discs of bonus features. (Read a full run down of The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ra…) But never mind all that. What matters here is the transfer. And Warner has gone back and scanned [...]
[...] to look like a lab. We drank Blu-juice from test tubes and marveled at an SD/HD comparison of the Wizard of Oz (It looks amazing! Took my breath away. Definitely a contender for Blu-ray disc of the year!) There [...]