What can you say about The Wizard of Oz that has not already been said somewhere and at some time? It was Judy Garland's breakout role, the one that secured her place in movie history and would make her a legend. You can think about The Wizard of Oz in two contexts, and they are the context of its time, and its life and legacy generations later.
I will pick up the former first. The Wizard of Oz stands out as a fabulous musical film for 1939. At that time, musicals were common and the most popular genre in Hollywood, but they were usually low budget and almost always in black-and-white. And that is just a start. The songs of these musical films, starring most notably Astaire and Rogers, or those directed by Busby Berkeley, almost always took place on stage. The songs and dances were not integrated into the body of the story; they did not take place in the characters' everyday lives. We are used to the integrated musical today - look at Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, almost any well known example of the genre. But back in 1939 it was original for a film musical to stage its numbers within the context of the story. What could be more integrated than to have the characters singing as they walk down the yellow brick road, or Dorothy singing about a land beyond the rainbow on the farm? It is astounding how modern the film appears today. If you are in any doubt about this, watch any other musical from the 30s and I can guarantee you will know what I mean.
Not only is the approach modern, but the whole film seems to look like it was made long after 1939. It has that timelessness to it which brings me to the next point - how The Wizard of Oz has managed to hold up for so long without appearing dated, how it has appealed to generations of children and adults alike, and how it looks like it is going nowhere anytime soon. Yes, you can comment on how the lion's costume looks like something you find in any second hand costume shop, or how you can tell the way most of the special effects were achieved. But the film still shines and seems as fresh as the day it was made. It also has themes that are universal and ever-appealing. "There's no place like home" may have rung true for those on the bring of war in 1939, but it still has a meaning for us all today. And we can all relate to the relentlessness of a vivid dream such as that experienced by Dorothy after her bump on the head, and the relief at having woken up and "escaped" from it all at last.
My favorite message from The Wizard of Oz is still the one that tells us we have all the virtues we desire already within us. We do not need to seek them elsewhere, although we must often travel a long road and face obstacles to find them. The Tin Man did not need to ask for a heart, he found it within himself. The Lion had to face danger in order to find his own courage. The Scarecrow did not know what brains he had always had.
The number of well known quotes that originate from this film are tribute to its deserving place in the Top 10. May it continue to delight generations!
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