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Year after year, they delivered the goods, and with wide-eyed wonder I gratefully accepted the many gifts this special motion picture showered upon me.įour years ago, Warner Home Video gave me – and the millions who share my enthusiasm for this timeless classic – the gift of 'The Wizard of Oz' in high definition, and back then, it seemed like the ultimate presentation.

No doubt about it, 'The Wizard of Oz' was a bona fide event, and while I couldn't always count on Santa Claus to leave what I wanted under the Christmas tree, I knew Dorothy and her trio of devoted pals would never let me down. Though I don't recall much about watching 'Oz' (except sitting agape in front of the television and ducking out during the cyclone sequence – witches didn't scare me, but tornados sure did!), I do vividly remember the breathless anticipation that preceded each annual broadcast, and how it quickened my pulse and heightened the aura of this iconic adaptation of L. With no DVRs or VCRs to capture Dorothy's magical journey down the Yellow Brick Road, there was no other choice but to view the film in real time.or else wait an interminable 365 days until NBC or CBS showed it again.
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When I was a kid back in the late '60s and early '70s, I looked forward to four banner days every year: Christmas, my birthday, the first day of summer vacation, and the annual network airing of 'The Wizard of Oz.' The latter was appointment TV before there ever was such a term. Ever since, The Wizard of Oz has been shown virtually annually on network (and then cable) television its magical story and heartfelt performances have enabled it to grow from a perennial classic to its current status as a treasured icon of popular culture. Nearly 45 million people tuned in for this initial telecast, marking the beginning of an annual tradition. The film made a new kind of history with its network television premiere in 1956 on CBS. The film was an overwhelmingly popular and critical success upon its initial release and repeated its ability to captivate audiences when M-G-M reissued the film in 19.
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The Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture (Outstanding Production), and captured two Oscars®-Best Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score - plus a special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Judy Garland. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, and Frank Morgan in six different roles, chief among them the Wizard himself.

Dorothy was portrayed by a 4'11" sixteen-year-old girl who quickly earned her reputation as the world's greatest entertainer: the incomparable Judy Garland. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Frank Baum's timeless children's tale about a Kansas girl's journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz opened at Grauman's Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939.
