Ozzy Menu
HOME MEDIA – Videos Etc
The Wizard of Oz has been released and rereleased (and rereleased and rereleased…) on home media since the beginning of the home media “revolution” in the late 1970s. It’s no wonder. The film is a staple of childhood movie watching and a must-have for any film collector or movie fan. With every new development in home media technology (video, DVD, high def) the film is one of the first to appear. It’s been remastered and restored several times, to the point that it’s almost a joke that every five years it’s re-released in a new format with new packaging.
Note that The Judy Room’s Media Pages feature extensive details and images pertaining to the various releases that are highlighted here. Links to those pages are provided with the highlighted info below.
VHS & Laserdiscs
The Wizard of Oz first appeared in the new home media market in 1981 on both video and video disc (“Capacitance Electronic Disc System”) which was a precursor to laser discs. This was before any restorations had been done on the film, so the image and sound were the same as what viewers had been seeing on their TVs since the 1950s.
1983 First Time On Laserdisc
1986 “Viddy Oh! For Kids” version and 1988 VHS reissue. Featured below: A promotional poster for the 1988 reissue.
The 50th Anniversary
1989 was the 50th anniversary of films released in 1939, a year still considered to be “Hollywood’s Greatest Year” due to the high quality of so many releases. This was also the first major anniversary year since the home video market had become a lucrative business, and the various studios and video labels took full advantage of it. The Wizard of Oz was one of the most popular and most heavily promoted films of the year, and it paid off. The anniversary VHS was a best seller.
The new home media release of the film was the centerpiece of the anniversary celebration. However, there were many events related to the anniversary including festivals and reunions, much more than for any of the other films from 1939. There were also a lot of various ephemera. Dolls, magazines, books, figurines, coloring books, playing cards, and so much more. Collectors had a field day, and many of the items are still very collectible today, getting some high prices in the auction market. Some of those items appear on other pages in this Judy Room Wizard of Oz Section.
Below are the 50th anniversary home media releases plus some articles and ads that reflect some of the various Oz-related items and events in 1989.
The folks at Criterion got a head start on the film’s 50th anniversary (1989) with this 1988 laserdisc edition. This release was only available in the laserdisc format and was the first time the film was released with extensive bonus extras. It was also the first time a remastered print of the film was made available (transferred from MGM’s 35-mm archival negative) with audio that was “digitally mastered from 35-mm positive optical soundtracks” and with the Kansas scenes in sepia tone.
Extras (text taken from the back of the gatefold packaging):
An audio commentary by noted film historian Ronald Haver in which he presents important insights into the making of The Wizard of Oz and discusses the film’s relation to the L. Frank Baum Book.
Composer Harold Arlen’s Home Movies, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the deleted “Jitterbug” sequence, costume and make-up tests and scenes of the film in production.
“If I Only Had A Brain” dance sequence, performed by Ray Bolger, as it appeared before being cut from the film.
An M-G-M Promotional Short, featuring Buddy Ebsen as the tin Man.
Jerry Maren of The Lollipop Guild talks about his involvement as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz and his career in the motion picture industry.
Also including excerpts from the 1925 silent version of Oz, production and publicity materials from director Victor Fleming’s Scrapbook and the 1956 re-issue trailer.
The 1950 Oz radio adaptation and details about the 1903 stage production were also part of the extras.
In August 1989, MGM/UA released a new special edition of the film on VHS and laserdisc. It featured a print of the film “painstakingly reconstructed from a brilliant Technicolor print, and featuring the Kansas scenes in warm sepia tone” which was the premiere VHS release of a remastered version of the film. The 1988 Criterion laserdisc (noted above) was actually the premiere home media release of a remastered version of the film, however, that release was only in the laserdisc format which at the time was a niche market.
Although the Criterion version was released in partnership with MGM/UA, this 1989 anniversary release was the company’s official 50th-anniversary version. It was heavily promoted with product tie-ins, elaborate video store displays, and TV ads. This was the first time a video company released a collector’s edition on VHS such as this to the mass market.
This release included a program of extras and a detailed booklet. The booklet was 32 pages with information and photos, plus promotional tie-ins and an ad for the Official 50th Anniversary Companion Book. Inserted into the VHS was a “Certificate of Authenticity” and a $5.00 mail-in rebate sponsored by Downy fabric softener (shown below).
The laserdisc edition featured the same content as the VHS, but with the added bonus of a secondary audio channel that isolated the music and effects track “thereby providing the viewer the opportunity to isolate the very special musical score of this classic film.”
The extras:
- Trailer for the 1955 re-release.
- 1940 Cavalcade of the Academy Awards short film showing Judy Garland receiving her special Oscar.
- 1938 “Texas Promotional Trailer” showing a brief behind-the-scenes look at Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Buddy Ebsen during a rehearsal break.
- “If I Only Had A Heart” – Buddy Ebsen’s pre-recording with rare stills.
- “The Jitterbug” – Harold Arlen’s home movie footage with the pre-recording added.
- “If I Only Had A Brain” – Ray Bolger’s outtake dance routine.
1991 Reissue (on both VHS and laserdisc)
This VHS and laserdisc were reissues of what was released for the 50th anniversary, although the VHS doesn’t note any extras. The laserdisc has the exact same listing as the 50th-anniversary laserdisc including the extras. It notes:
This laserdisc has been digitally mastered from an original 35m I.B. (3-strip) Technicolor show print, with its black and white sequences from MGM’s 35mm fine=grain print preservation element tinted to the original sepia.
The inside of the gatefold is almost identical to the inside of the gatefold of the 50th Anniversary laser disc. The only difference is a change to an all white background and the inclusion of the text quoted above. The disc label is identical.
The Ultimate Oz
This fantastic boxed set truly was the ultimate and definitive collector’s edition of The Wizard of Oz when it was released by MGM/UA Home Video and Turner Entertainment on November 17, 1993. The film was presented in the most high-tech high-quality version currently possible with a newly restored print presented in the digital CAV format. At the time that was the best format for watching any film on home media.
The set featured dozens of extras, some rarely seen or never-before-seen. The really big bonus was the inclusion of the surviving pre-recording sessions on the alternate audio tracks.
ALL of the information about this fantastic release, and many more images, are on The Judy Room’s “Ultimate Oz” Media Page.
1996 Edition
In 1996, MGM/UA released another VHS and laserdisc version of the film, allegedly for “the last time this century.” The most recent release had been the Ultimate Oz boxed set. This release was aimed at the mass market, without all the trappings of the boxed set but still featuring the latest restorations of the film, this time with THX audio (on the laser disc).
The label on the laser disc was done in the style of the MGM Records label color, logo, and font (below).
DVDs, Blu-rays, Ultra HD
1997 First Time on DVD
Although MGM/UA had already advertised the film in 1996 as being the last one available “this century,” just a year later in 1997 they released this basic single-disc DVD edition. The DVD format was new at the time and this release was in keeping with the history of the film being released in every new format.
1999 Video Disc
Video CDs were precursors to DVDs, although the image quality wasn’t as good and the films were spread over multiple discs much like laser discs. This particular video disc was released after the first DVD release of the film (see above). Video CDs first hit the market in 1993 but were more popular in the Middle East and Asia than in western countries where laser discs were the preferred optical format. Both formats were eventually replaced by the DVD market, which provided superior image quality and could fit entire films on single discs.
1999 First Releases By Warner Home Video
After the 1997 release above, Warner Bros. took ownership of the Turner film library, with Turner retaining the broadcast rights (on its Turner Classic Movies channel). They promptly re-released the film on DVD and VHS under their Warner Home Video label. The DVD format was so new, the label included instructions on how to navigate the extras via the disc’s menu (see below).
The “deluxe edition” shown here was a large box with the single-disc DVD edition, a copy of the continuity script, and some 8×10 photos.
For more details about this release, which included (in the DVD edition) most of the extras copied over from the 1993 “Ultimate Oz” laserdisc set, go to The Judy Room’s ” Media Page about this release (or click on the images).
2005 Special & Collector’s Editions
On October 25, 2005, Warner Home Video released their own “Ultimate Oz” type of release in a 3-disc deluxe collector’s edition and a 2-disc special edition. The film had recently been restored and remastered in the label’s new “Ultra Resolution” process. Included were newly printed facsimiles of fun things like the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre opening night program and photos.
The digital extras were again copied over from the 1993 “Ultimate Oz” laserdisc set. The problem is that as each new technology allowed for higher definition, those 1993 extras in the analog format were beginning to look like old fuzzy videotapes from the early 1980s.
Many more details and images from these set are on The Judy Room’s Home Media Page devoted to this release. There are a lot of fun goodies!
70th Anniversary Releases
September 29, 2009: Warner Home Video went all out celebrating the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.
The deluxe boxed sets (in two separate Standard DVD and Blu-ray versions) were just two of many different versions of the set. The newly restored film was also released in various single-disc, two-disc, standard DVD, and Blu-ray editions in the subsequent months and into the next few years. Stores like Target and Walmart had their own editions and there was also a myriad of international versions in various languages.
The film was one of the first to be scanned in 8K resolution “for the future” as Warner Home Video’s George Feltenstein explained at the time, “We want to be ready for the next expansion or upgrade in high-def viewing, so we won’t have to go back and re-scan them again” ” as reported by Jeffrey Wells on his blog. This was smart, as 4K UHD was just around the corner.
There was a bit of controversy with fans over the digital removal of the wires that hold up Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow on his post in the cornfield, holding up the flying monkeys, and manipulating the tail of the cowardly lion (Bert Lahr). As reported by Jeffrey Wells at the time, the head of the restoration project, Robert Harris, noted that in 1939 audiences didn’t see the wires due to the projection technology at the time and the fact that three-strip Technicolor didn’t align as precisely as today. Per Harris, “if 1939 audiences didn’t see the wires when they saw the film in theatres, then present-day audiences shouldn’t see them on the Blu-ray.”
There were also other events that Warner Bros. sponsored including a large balloon that traveled the country, a theatrical re-release, a Ruby Slippers fashion event with the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), and an update to the official website.
The collector’s boxed sets were by far the best released to date. However, as with the 2005 sets (and all of the releases that feature extras), the digital extras were copied over from the analog extras as presented in the 1993 set. They look bad and need to be updated.
75th Anniversary Releases
October 1, 2013: It was a short four years after the super-duper 70th-anniversary boxed sets and other incarnations when Warner Home Video released yet another boxed set for the film’s 75th anniversary (which was still a full year away). Apparently, the design of the first boxed set was successful enough for the label to copy it for this new release. Fans balked. It was too soon, prompting jokes about “are we gonna get new boxes every five years or what?”
As with the 2009 sets, the film was re-released in non-boxed set versions with new artwork. The main hook this time was the film’s premiere in the 3D format, both on disc and in theaters. 3D TVs and 3D disc players had become moderately popular, a reflection of the recent popularity of theatrical films in 3D. Warner Bros. spent a lot of time and money having the film reformatted into 3D and the results were quite successful. On the big screen, the 3D effect was not gimmicky but actually enhanced the experience. They got it right!
Highlights of the 75th-anniversary collectible market, and perfect companions to the new discs, were the release of the fantastic companion book written by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman, and brilliantly designed by Raphael Geroni, and the soundtrack’s return to vinyl (see below).
Once again, the digital extras were copied over from the analog extras as presented in the 1993 set. At this point, they are looking really dated and tacky. Warner Home Video needs to revisit the digital extras that keep getting copied over. The disc extras and the film itself deserve to be the best in the business, as they once were.
2019 4K Release
Considering that Warner Home Video marked the 70th and 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz with deluxe boxed sets, fans assumed that the same would happen for the 80th anniversary. Instead, on October 29, 2019, the label released a modest set that featured the premiere of the film in the new 4K Ultra HD format. After all of those previous HD versions, it was assumed that the 4K format wouldn’t make much of a difference but – it does! Watching the film in 4K on a 4K TV is like going from VHS to Blu-ray. It’s dazzling.
There was also a steel case version released in the US (shown here). The only boxed set of the 80th-anniversary release was in the UK on November 11, 2019 (shown here). It included a copy of the soundtrack CD and some nice photos housed in a fun drawer pop-up design.
The extras are the same (minus the 3D version) as the 75th Anniversary edition. And yet again, they are in desperate need of upgrading. Most of the digital extras are copied over, without any upgrades, from the 1993 set, and they look it – especially on 4K UHD TVs. They really do look like old VHS tapes from the 1980s. Maybe the 85th anniversary will be different.
The film was re-released in theaters on January 27, 29, & 30, 2019, via Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies. The showings were so popular that an encore event was scheduled for February 3 & 5, 2019.
Released on November 5, 2024, this version harkens back to the 2005 DVD boxed set. Inside the sturdy clip cover is the equally sturdy steel case that holds the 4K and Blu-ray discs and a thick envelope with reproductions of some of the same reproductions in the 2005 set:
- The Wizard of Oz Comes to Life – Eight-page Grauman’s Chinese Theatre Souvenir Premiere Program from August 15, 1939.
- Studio’s Invitation to The Grauman’s Premiere and a copy of the 2005 newly designed commemorative ticket.
Plus:
5″ x 6.5″ reproductions of the original lobby cards, and 6.5″ height copies of two posters and two poster inserts.
Ozzy Menu
