Joined
·
791 Posts
While I was commenting on another post the other day, I mentioned I had ordered the $84 Blu-Ray
box set of "The Wizard of Oz" and just after I finished there was a knock on my door and there it
was via Amazon.com.
On Saturday, October 3, 2009, I projected the Blu-Ray in my screening room. The box set
contains so much material it will be some time before I have a chance to see it all. It has
the Program, cardboard images of the leads, more supplements on additional DVDs, the budget,
a watch and all kinds of goodies. So I'll just discuss the actual disc of the movie.
There was no menu on the Blu-Ray disc of the feature, it just started. Here's what Warner/MGM did...
They scanned the original three strip black and white nitrate Technicolor negatives at 8 K resolution,
added the appropriate color to each separation and then recombined them. Then they color corrected
them using an original 35mm Technicolor release print as a reference and downsized them to Blu-Ray
as well as outputting a new low fade color 35mm internegative for the future. Quite an expensive
and time consuming project but this is one of the most important movies ever made.
So how does it look? It looks as good as it's possible of looking based on the technology it was
photographed in.
The three strip Technicolor process went through many changes over the decades. This movie
was shot in the early day of the process. They needed a tremendous amount of light just to
get an image on the three separate negatives. I cover the details of this in my book, "Technicolor
Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing", but I'll just give a quick summary here...
The way color movies were photographed before the era of color negatives was quite complex.
Each photographed primary color (red/green/blue) was shot in an enormous camera that had a prism
that would split the image into it's separate components with filters onto a separate black
and white negative. In other words, all the shades of the color 'red' would be photographed on
a separate 35mm negative represented in black and white shades of gray. There would be two other
B&W negatives representing blue and green.
After editing, the final film would have three separate black and white cut negatives in ten minute
rolls. Each black and white negative would contain a separate color in shades of gray. From each
negative a 'matrix' would be printed from it. A matrix was special 35mm film that contained the
density of that one color in relief. It was like a rubber stamp impression of that color on film.
Then they would coat the complimentary dye to that matrix
and literally wipe it onto a piece of blank film, layer by layer similar to a lithograph they used for
newspaper color. I used this process for my own film, "Space Avenger" in 1989 but had to travel
to China which was the last laboratory that offered the system. Technicolor had shut down their
famous process after "The Godfather" print run in 1974. I hung out in the Beijing lab taking notes
on how the process worked and gathering technical documentation which I utilized in my book.
The advantage of the three strip process was that the cinematographer, producer and director had
complete quality control over the final color release print since you could watch the colors being
added as they were printed. Completely different than the photo-chemical 'Eastmancolor' process that
replaced it. You could really saturate the colors if you wanted by adding more dye to the matrix or de-saturate
it if you liked (i.e. "Death Wish"). And one of the great attributes of "Glorious Technicolor" was that
the dye transfer release prints (in 35mm or 16mm) never faded nor did the three strip negatives which
were in black and white. Eastmancolor negatives and prints faded before 1982. After 1983 they developed 'low
fade' negative and print stock which was certainly an improvement but not 'no fade' like the
three strip Technicolor system. Dye transfer prints were the best method of mass producing 'first generation'
release copies for theaters that were archival as well as being of superior quality to Eastmancolor prints
that replaced them in 1975.
Warner/MGM digitally scanned each 35mm nitrate black and white negative of "The Wizard of Oz" at 8 K
resolution then tinted each record, recombined them, then color corrected them for this new re-issue.
The film looks sharper, finer grain and more detailed than the original 35mm dye transfer Technicolor
prints.
Is this a good thing? In general yes but in some cases it caused problems. Nuances that were
obscured in the Technicolor prints are now more obvious than ever. You can see the freckles
underneath Judy Garland's heavy make-up. You'll also see the seams in the false rosy cheeks
in Frank Morgan's "Wizard" make-up. You can see the painted on rust of Jack
Haley's "Tin Man" outfit. Apparently the wires moving Burt Lahr's "Lion" tail became very obvious
at 8 K so they were digitally removed. When opticals were used you can see more grain and
there are a lot of superimpositions and dissolves in this film. There are even a couple of cases
when they had to flip the negative and print through the base so the characters were in the right
position. You can see this in the scene when Dorothy tells the Tin Man and the Scarecrow that
they're the best friends she ever had. In the wide shot the image is optically flipped which is why
the handle on the Tin Man's hat keeps changing sides. So that shot looks a bit soft. However, when
it's live action footage without any special effects (which was on duplicate negative stock rather than
camera negative stock) the image is incredibly sharp and the primary colors are vibrant and saturated as
they were meant to be. The prologue and epilogue in Kansas is tinted sepia as it was in the
1939 prints but not in any of the theatrical re-issues or television broadcasts.
So some of the 'fantasy' of the original Technicolor imagery is a bit undermined with the
added pixel count and fine grain sharpness. Matte lines, make up, costume seams and
special effects become more obviously fake.
I'm not really complaining. It's the best the film has every looked or will look. But it's artifice
is now more apparent. I'll just have to get used to the 'new look' of the movie with the added
details of things that weren't meant to be seen. But I'll never see the wires pulling the lion's tail again
or holding up the Scarecrow on the pole in the field.
Both mono sound original mix and re-mixed 5.1 is available on this disc. They had the original
elements to work with (separate dialogue, sound effects and music) so they spread them over
the mutliple channels effectively. But the changes are subtle. You can hear some cyclone
wind in the rear channels and there is a sub-woofer thump when the house lands on the ground.
Otherwise it's similar to the original mix.
I highly recommend this Blu-Ray disc providing you know the compromises and trade-offs mentioned
above.
Wal-mart is offering a streamlined version with just the feature for around $20 if you don't want
to spend the full $84.
Post Script: As "Wonderful" as "The Wizard of Oz" is, it's not without some flaws. Since they cut the "Jitterbug"
song number they should've removed or re-dubbed Margeret Hamilton's line about sending
an insect to take the fight out of them since it no longer makes any sense. Also, they should've
established in an earlier scene that water makes the Wicked Witch melt. It comes out of no where
here. It should've been the lion who throws the water on her to show a heroic act.
He doesn't do anything that isn't cowardly otherwise. And finally, as important as it is for parents
to create the 'no place like home' atmosphere for their children, ultimately the kids must leave the
nest to create their own life elsewhere. They should look for places beyond their own backyard
so it doesn't squash their ambition.
box set of "The Wizard of Oz" and just after I finished there was a knock on my door and there it
was via Amazon.com.
On Saturday, October 3, 2009, I projected the Blu-Ray in my screening room. The box set
contains so much material it will be some time before I have a chance to see it all. It has
the Program, cardboard images of the leads, more supplements on additional DVDs, the budget,
a watch and all kinds of goodies. So I'll just discuss the actual disc of the movie.
There was no menu on the Blu-Ray disc of the feature, it just started. Here's what Warner/MGM did...
They scanned the original three strip black and white nitrate Technicolor negatives at 8 K resolution,
added the appropriate color to each separation and then recombined them. Then they color corrected
them using an original 35mm Technicolor release print as a reference and downsized them to Blu-Ray
as well as outputting a new low fade color 35mm internegative for the future. Quite an expensive
and time consuming project but this is one of the most important movies ever made.
So how does it look? It looks as good as it's possible of looking based on the technology it was
photographed in.
The three strip Technicolor process went through many changes over the decades. This movie
was shot in the early day of the process. They needed a tremendous amount of light just to
get an image on the three separate negatives. I cover the details of this in my book, "Technicolor
Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing", but I'll just give a quick summary here...
The way color movies were photographed before the era of color negatives was quite complex.
Each photographed primary color (red/green/blue) was shot in an enormous camera that had a prism
that would split the image into it's separate components with filters onto a separate black
and white negative. In other words, all the shades of the color 'red' would be photographed on
a separate 35mm negative represented in black and white shades of gray. There would be two other
B&W negatives representing blue and green.
After editing, the final film would have three separate black and white cut negatives in ten minute
rolls. Each black and white negative would contain a separate color in shades of gray. From each
negative a 'matrix' would be printed from it. A matrix was special 35mm film that contained the
density of that one color in relief. It was like a rubber stamp impression of that color on film.
Then they would coat the complimentary dye to that matrix
and literally wipe it onto a piece of blank film, layer by layer similar to a lithograph they used for
newspaper color. I used this process for my own film, "Space Avenger" in 1989 but had to travel
to China which was the last laboratory that offered the system. Technicolor had shut down their
famous process after "The Godfather" print run in 1974. I hung out in the Beijing lab taking notes
on how the process worked and gathering technical documentation which I utilized in my book.
The advantage of the three strip process was that the cinematographer, producer and director had
complete quality control over the final color release print since you could watch the colors being
added as they were printed. Completely different than the photo-chemical 'Eastmancolor' process that
replaced it. You could really saturate the colors if you wanted by adding more dye to the matrix or de-saturate
it if you liked (i.e. "Death Wish"). And one of the great attributes of "Glorious Technicolor" was that
the dye transfer release prints (in 35mm or 16mm) never faded nor did the three strip negatives which
were in black and white. Eastmancolor negatives and prints faded before 1982. After 1983 they developed 'low
fade' negative and print stock which was certainly an improvement but not 'no fade' like the
three strip Technicolor system. Dye transfer prints were the best method of mass producing 'first generation'
release copies for theaters that were archival as well as being of superior quality to Eastmancolor prints
that replaced them in 1975.
Warner/MGM digitally scanned each 35mm nitrate black and white negative of "The Wizard of Oz" at 8 K
resolution then tinted each record, recombined them, then color corrected them for this new re-issue.
The film looks sharper, finer grain and more detailed than the original 35mm dye transfer Technicolor
prints.
Is this a good thing? In general yes but in some cases it caused problems. Nuances that were
obscured in the Technicolor prints are now more obvious than ever. You can see the freckles
underneath Judy Garland's heavy make-up. You'll also see the seams in the false rosy cheeks
in Frank Morgan's "Wizard" make-up. You can see the painted on rust of Jack
Haley's "Tin Man" outfit. Apparently the wires moving Burt Lahr's "Lion" tail became very obvious
at 8 K so they were digitally removed. When opticals were used you can see more grain and
there are a lot of superimpositions and dissolves in this film. There are even a couple of cases
when they had to flip the negative and print through the base so the characters were in the right
position. You can see this in the scene when Dorothy tells the Tin Man and the Scarecrow that
they're the best friends she ever had. In the wide shot the image is optically flipped which is why
the handle on the Tin Man's hat keeps changing sides. So that shot looks a bit soft. However, when
it's live action footage without any special effects (which was on duplicate negative stock rather than
camera negative stock) the image is incredibly sharp and the primary colors are vibrant and saturated as
they were meant to be. The prologue and epilogue in Kansas is tinted sepia as it was in the
1939 prints but not in any of the theatrical re-issues or television broadcasts.
So some of the 'fantasy' of the original Technicolor imagery is a bit undermined with the
added pixel count and fine grain sharpness. Matte lines, make up, costume seams and
special effects become more obviously fake.
I'm not really complaining. It's the best the film has every looked or will look. But it's artifice
is now more apparent. I'll just have to get used to the 'new look' of the movie with the added
details of things that weren't meant to be seen. But I'll never see the wires pulling the lion's tail again
or holding up the Scarecrow on the pole in the field.
Both mono sound original mix and re-mixed 5.1 is available on this disc. They had the original
elements to work with (separate dialogue, sound effects and music) so they spread them over
the mutliple channels effectively. But the changes are subtle. You can hear some cyclone
wind in the rear channels and there is a sub-woofer thump when the house lands on the ground.
Otherwise it's similar to the original mix.
I highly recommend this Blu-Ray disc providing you know the compromises and trade-offs mentioned
above.
Wal-mart is offering a streamlined version with just the feature for around $20 if you don't want
to spend the full $84.
Post Script: As "Wonderful" as "The Wizard of Oz" is, it's not without some flaws. Since they cut the "Jitterbug"
song number they should've removed or re-dubbed Margeret Hamilton's line about sending
an insect to take the fight out of them since it no longer makes any sense. Also, they should've
established in an earlier scene that water makes the Wicked Witch melt. It comes out of no where
here. It should've been the lion who throws the water on her to show a heroic act.
He doesn't do anything that isn't cowardly otherwise. And finally, as important as it is for parents
to create the 'no place like home' atmosphere for their children, ultimately the kids must leave the
nest to create their own life elsewhere. They should look for places beyond their own backyard
so it doesn't squash their ambition.