Warner Bros. Home Entertainment hosted a presentation on the studio lot Oct. 28 to talk about the restoration of The Wizard of Oz for the 4K UHD release. The studio went back to the three-strip Technicolor negative to restore the film in 8K, 16 bit resolution for the film’s 80th anniversary release. The classic debuts Oct. 29 on 4K UHD with HDR, including Dolby Vision, on Blu-ray Disc and digital.
Tag: Classic Movies
‘Wizard of Oz’ Off to 4K Oct. 29
The 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack and digital Oct. 29 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Directed by Victor Fleming (Gone With the Wind) and starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gayle, The Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and captured two Oscars, Best Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score, plus a special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Garland. Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz also stars Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion and Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman.
Subscribe HERE to the FREE Media Play News Daily Newsletter!
The film appears on multiple AFI lists, including: 100 Years… 100 Movies (No. 6); 100 Years… 100 Thrills (No. 43); 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains (No. 4); 100 Years… 100 Songs (No. 1); 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes (No. 4); and Greatest Movie Musicals (No. 3). In 1989 The Wizard of Oz was part of the inaugural group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.
A new 8K, 16 bit scan of the original Technicolor camera negative was the basis for the 4K UHD scan, according to the studio. The process was overseen by MPI colorist Janet Wilson, who has overseen every remaster of The Wizard of Oz for the past 20 years.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of The Wizard of Oz will feature Dolby Vision HDR.
UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray special features include commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren and the 1990 CBS Special “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic.”
Blu-ray special features include:
- “The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”;
- “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook” (narrated by Angela Lansbury);
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Frank Morgan”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Ray Bolger”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Bert Lahr”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Jack Haley”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Billie Burke”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Margaret Hamilton”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Charley Grapewin”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Clara Blandick”;
- “We Haven’t Really Met Properly: Terry”;
- a music and effects track;
- the original mono track;
- sing along tracks;
- an audio jukebox;
- the “Leo is on the Air” radio promo;
- the “Good News of 1939” radio show;
- the 12/25/1950 Lux radio broadcast;
- stills galleries; and
- trailers.
Classic Laurel and Hardy Collection Coming April 1 From Film Detective and Allied Vaughn
Laurel & Hardy: One Fine Collection — a DVD collector’s set featuring more than 10 hours on two discs from the iconic comedy duo — will be available April 1 from The Film Detective via manufacture-on-demand service Allied Vaughn.
The release comes on the heels of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s March 26 digital, Blu-ray and DVD bow of the feature biopic on the duo, Stan & Ollie, starring John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan.
The classic set includes 27 short films from the duo’s formative years (1921-1936) — including some silent films newly restored from the original elements — that capture the performances in which they honed the sight gags and slapstick that propelled them to worldwide fame. The set also includes three bonus shorts, two featuring Laurel & Hardy cameos and one from producer Hal Roach.
On disc one are The Lucky Dog (1921), 45 Minutes From Hollywood (1926), Duck Soup (1927), Duck Soup (1927/French-Dutch title cards), Battle of the Century (1927), Call of the Cuckoo (1927), Slipping Wives (1927), Do Detectives Think (1927), Their Purple Moment (1928), We Faw Down (1928), Habeas Corpus (1928), Flying Elephants (1928), You’re Darn Tootin’ (1928/Long), Stolen Jools (1931/Bonus) and Mixed Nuts (1934/Bonus).
On disc two are You’re Darn Tootin’ (1928/Short), The Finishing Touch (1928), Leave ’em Laughing (1928), That’s My Wife (1929), Liberty (1929), Double Whoopee (1929), Double Whoopee (1929/Talking Version), Angora Love (1929), Big Business (1929), Blotto (1930), Be Big! (1931), Twice Two (1933), The Live Ghost (1934), Tit for Tat (1935) and On the Wrong Trek (1936/Bonus).
The set comes from the archives of Scott Entertainment in conjunction with The Film Detective, from the original film elements courtesy of Richard Feiner & Associates.
MVD Bows Two New Labels
MVD Entertainment Group has created two new labels for collectors, the “MVD Marquee Collection” and “MVD Classics,” featuring low pricing.
Like the recently launched “MVD Rewind Collection,” which features titles from the “video store era” with bonus content and more, the two new brands each have a distinct focus.
The “MVD Marquee Collection” will feature a mixture of major and independent studio product for Blu-ray and DVD from more recent catalog. Some titles will be new to Blu-ray and some will be re-releases of titles that have gone out of print.
Titles in the “Marquee Collection,” at prices ranging from $24.95 to $39.95, include the Blu-ray releases Walking Tall (2004, starring Dwayne Johnson), Crazy Six, Blast, Autumn In New York, Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back In Business, Beauty Shop, Out Of Time, Art School Confidential, Windtalkers, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction and Memories of Me.
The “MVD Classics” label includes titles that are lesser known and will be released on DVD only for the most part. The supplier plans to include bonus material if it previously existed. Titles in that collection include the Blu-ray releases Diamonds Of Kilimanjaro and Golden Temple Amazons.