A few more on the Wizard:

• The songs! Didn't mention those at all. The lyrics are really clever, but I never understood a lot of them as a kid. I recommend watching this movie with captions turned on.
  
• I forgot all about the Lion's "If I Were King of the Forest" song.
  
• The Scarecrow really is the smartest character in the movie... notice he's the one who comes up with all of the plans. The Lion is total dead weight.
  
• The witch says she's going to send an "insect" after them, but nothing comes of it. This is a reference to the "Jitterbug" musical number, which got left on the cutting room floor. Hate when that happens. Movie editors, you need to watch for loose ends like this! The most obnoxious case of this that I can remember is the movie Magnolia but we'll discuss that one later.
  
• I think we always fast-forwarded the opening Kansas section of the movie, because that part was a lot less familiar to me.
  
• The DVD transfer of this looks amazing. Didn't try the Blu-Ray.
  

#9 The Wizard of Oz: Damn you WB Studio Store!

1939. dir. Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, Billie Burke, Frank Morgan.

Seen it before? Not in its entirety...EVER

I find it funny that I played the Wicked Witch of the West when I had never seen the entire movie. What do I mean? In eighth grade my friends decided we would go to the Halloween party we sponsored through the service club as Dorothy (Julie), the Scarecrow (Megan), Glinda (Amy), a flying monkey (George), and I was the WWW...shit I know we had a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion but I can't remember who played which character...sorry guys and gals...Tanya had to be in it I just know it...The point is we reenacted some scenes from the Wizard of Oz and I hadn't seen it wholly.

That being said, there's no way this movie can get remade and not completely suck. The charm, the actors, the munchkins, can't be duplicated no matter how many times a midget gets duplicated (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/). I can't even think of current actors who could pull off the Wizard, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

Daniel liked it too.

Parts I've seen multiple times:

1. The house flying in the tornado
2. Glinda the Good Witch appears
3. Follow the Yellow Brick Road
4. Meeting the Scarecrow
5. Meeting the Tin Man
6. Meeting the Cowardly Lion
7. Toto pulls the curtain back to reveal the Wizard
8. Dorothy taps her ruby slippers three times and wakes up

I know it seems like the whole movie but I really never saw the part when she runs to Auntie Em because the snooty lady tries to take her dog at the beginning of the film. I never saw the first time the witch was in her castle or that the wizard told the foursome to bring back the witch's broom.

Thanks to the WBSS I will forever have "People come and go so quickly" in my mind; also, the insane thousands of ruby slipper Radko ornaments; the crazy lithographs; the weird plates; gah, it's no wonder it took this 250 movies to finally get me to watch this movie entirely.

Would I see it again? Sure

Would I add it to my collection? Sam really likes it and I'm pretty sure Daniel wouldn't mind watching it again so yes.

#9 The Wizard of Oz: People come and go so quicky here!

1939. dir. Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, Billie Burke, Frank Morgan.

Seen it before? Many times when I was a kid, but not recently.

Let me say this right off the bat: Wicked didn't happen.

Yeah. I saw that show when it was in Chicago, and it gave all sorts of backstory about the land of Oz and the Witches. They explain the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, they explain why the Witch of the West has a green face. They explain everything, and that's why I hated it.

I LOVED this movie when I was a kid. It was one of the few movies we had on VHS and we watched the shit out of that tape. (I think we had taped it off of TV, commercials and all.) There were so many fantastic little unexplained details, and you would notice something new every time. There's a red brick road at the beginning, where does it go? What's with the weird red sand in the hourglass, and the red poison the Witch sprinkles on the poppies? What's so special about the ruby slippers? What was the Witch of the East like, and where's the witch of the South? Don't tell me! It sucks out all of the mystery and wonder.

Really, this movie is a masterpiece. The land of Oz has this wonderfully colorful look, like a picture book. It doesn't quite look realistic but that's the point. The performances are legendary; upon rewatching it, my favorites (besides Judy) are Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion and Margaret Hamilton as the Witch, and of course the Muchkins. You can tell that if they remade this movie they would totally ruin it with lots of CGI. No way they would hire a bunch of real midgets anymore... just create a bunch of digital copies of Verne Troyer or some bullshit like that. Somebody needs to lock up Tim Burton in his basement. I'm just saying.

My wife keeps telling me the story is some sort of complex allegory about the politics of 1890's. Some nonsense her college history prof told her about the Gold Standard or William Jennings Bryan or something. Bullshit I say, this movie is more universal than that. Watch the adults in this movie: some of them are loving and caring, but the Witch is cruel, the Wizard is useless, and Glinda... I think Glinda is the most important adult character in the movie. She could have helped Dorothy; could have just told her how to get back right away. But noooo, she had to teach her a lesson first. She's so aloof and flippant. That's such a key insight to the relationship between adults and children.

Shame that Wicked turned her into a giggling Valley Girl. Seriously, it didn't happen.

Position on the list: 119
Movies that are dubiously ranked higher: Sin City, Gran Torino, Batman Begins, Return of the Jedi(!?)