By DANI MARTINEZ
Contributing Writer
Once again movie studios prove to be lacking in originality by taking digitally remastered classic movies and destroying what was considered a huge box office success of its time. Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz was a great 1939 classic movie and made Judy Garland’s song “Somewhere over the Rainbow” quite famous.
It was re-released on September 20, 2013, in 318 different theaters across the country and ranked number nine for its opening weekend sales at the box office. As of September 26, 2013, this classic movie grossed a total of $4,523,816.
However, this year’s IMAX 3D version added no significant value to the viewing pleasure of this classic movie. It remained the same as the original version, but viewers had to wear glasses to enhance the picture and only two scenes popped out at the audience in this digitally remastered 3D film.
The producers could have enhanced the movie by making more scenes pop out in 3D.
For example, when Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man traveled to the land of Oz, they should have made the dancing scenes pop out to make the audience feel like they were actually there dancing with the main characters of this movie.
Another example could have been when Dorothy and her friends traveled to Emerald City and encountered the attack of the flying monkeys popping out everywhere to give a more dramatic effect.
The good things about showing this classic film are that the younger viewers got a chance to see this film that maybe have enjoyed by their parents and grandparents years ago.
By releasing it in an IMAX theatre all viewers were able to see a large version of Dorothy and the other characters up close. This added effect was nice during certain scenes because viewers were able to get a close shot of the yellow brick and Dorothy’s red shoes.
In addition, the transformation from a black and white film to a color film created scenes that were vibrant, especially Emerald City that was light up and sparkled and the famous scene where the horse changed different colors. The surround sound and visual effects makes one feel like they are in the Land of Oz.
As a result of the lack of 3D scenes, producers had the audience sitting on edge in the theater waiting for something spectacular to happen and nothing really did. In the end, I think it left viewers feeling like they wasted their time and money as well.
Instead of re-releasing this movie in IMAX 3D, the movie studios could have put it out on DVD in stores at a cheaper price to draw more attention to the 75th anniversary of the original version.
It was just another way for the movie studios to make money off of an old classic movie. Regardless if the Wizard of Oz is in 3D after seven decades, this movie still proves to be a timeless in the hearts of many and for generations to come.
