Wizard of Oz

Ever hear that rumor that if you start Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album at the MGM lion's third roar as the movie is beginning, the album seems to fit almost perfectly to the movie? Strangely enough, it does!

Recently, the Turner Classic Movies channel ran "The Wizard of Oz" without commercials. They showed it once in the evening, then a documentary about the movie, and then an encore presentation with a special listening feature: If your TV or VCR had an alternative audio feature, you could listen to the Pink Floyd album instead of the regular score and dialogue. I must admit, it was really something else.

Everyone knows the basic plot of The Wizard of Oz, and if they don't, they must have been living in a hole in the ground for the past 60-some years. Because her aunt and uncle turn her dog over to their evil neighbor to be locked up, young Dorothy runs away from home, gets caught in a tornado, and ends up in a magical land somewhere over the rainbow. However, she happened to land on the wicked witch of the East, and her witchy sister is none too pleased. On top of that, Dorothy has the dead witch's ruby slippers, and the wicked witch of the West will stop at nothing to get them. Dorothy's only hope of getting back to her home in Kansas lies with meeting the famed Wizard of Oz. On the way, she encounters three strange fellows who accompany her on her quest with missions of their own: The scarecrow wants some brains, the tin man wants a heart, and the cowardly lion wants some courage so he can be the true King of the Jungle.

Now, of course, the witch of the West isn't about to let them through so easily. She does everything from setting them on fire, sending flying blue monkeys after them, and even sending them tripping out on opium to keep them from achieving their goals. Yes, I said tripping out on opium. Of course, back when this movie was made, opium was a common ingredient in baby food, guaranteed to "Keep your child quiet". So, at the time, the famous "poppies" scene was totally acceptable. Of course, nowadays, no one really notices the drug-related reference, or otherwise just ignores it. But, there is no doubt that the movie is indeed making references to opium.

Now, back in it's day, this was one big budget movie. Despite coming in second to "Gone With the Wind" when it first premiered in theaters, it stayed in the top ten for many weeks. It also was and remains to be the only movie with such a large number of "little people" actors.

Of course, everyone remembers at the end when the great Wizard of Oz turns out to be nothing more than a mere college professor from Kansas, and Dorothy's companions recieve what seems to me like cheap imitations of what they were expected to get. All the scarecrow gets is a diploma. Now, we all know in the real world that just putting a diploma in someone's hand without them ever having even gone to school will not automatically make that person a genius. But, then again, this is Oz we're talking about here. The tin man gets a heart made out of tin. Quite apt, but I'm afraid it doesn't necessarily solve the problem. Besides that, he had a heart all along! Was he not emotional and crying all the time, which caused his face to rust every other minute? He had his heart the whole time. The only thing the trip to see the wizard did was help him find it. But, I guess pulling the steel-wool over the tin man's eyes and making him believe that a painted piece of metal gives him his emotions is better than making him feel ripped off. The cowardly lion gets a medal that says "Courage". Again, if it makes him feel better, than instilling a false sense of security must be the only way.

Dorothy ends up left behind when her silly dog decides to jump out of the balloon after a cat, but apparently, she had the power to leave the entire time. I don't know about anyone else, but if I were Dorothy, I would have been severely p***ed that no one told me this sooner. Of course, that is certainly NOT the way that children's movies go. Then again, this movie thrives on implausibility. But, suspension of disbelief and an escape from reality is really sort of the reason there are movies in the first place, isn't it?

Everyone remembers the Academy award winning songs, and the sometimes-silly dialogue, but don't they sometimes get a little old after years of annual showings? Why not try something a little different?

Now, for those who have, for whatever reason, never seen The Wizard of Oz at all, I recommend sticking with the original soundtrack and dialogue. But, for those who would like to view the movie a little differently, all you need is Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album, and a cd player with a "repeat" function. The album must be started on the MGM lion's third roar, right at the beginning. You must also set the player to repeat the album, because the movie is much longer than one playing of the album, and often times, songs fit parts of the movie better the second time they are played.

Back when the album was first recorded, there was no such thing as home video. With this in mind, it makes the fact that the music fits so well to the movie that much more uncanny. Mind you, not everything fits perfectly, but most of it does. This is one movie experience that is not to be missed. Many will laugh at how well the music fits in places. When the scarecrow is dancing around in the corn field, the lyrics go, "The lunatic is in the grass". But, the best part is when Dorothy wakes up back at home in Kansas, and the lyrics say, "Home...home again..." Otherwise, it seems as though the instrumentals were written specifically for the movie, especially upon the arrival of Dorothy's wicked witch of a neighbor, and when Dorothy first arrives in Oz.

Overall, this is a fun and unique movie experience that I recommend sharing with friends. While the movie by itself will always be a beloved classic, everyone should see this movie with the musical accompaniment of Pink Floyd. I guarantee you will get quite a kick out of it.

I give the original Wizard of Oz five enthusiastic stars of it's own, but I also give five stars for the Pink Floyd/Wizard of Oz experience. Both "versions" are fully suitable for all children. The album has no swearing that I can recall.

Just a little different take on the movie from a cynic's point of view, as well as a fun suggestion for parties.

Either way, just have fun! ^_^