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| CANADA'S SOURCE FOR HUMOUR, PARODY, AND SATIRE
ON THE SILVER SCREEN--The next time you're off to see the wizard, you might consider renting the original black & white version, instead of Ted Turner's colorized rendering. While the hued and tinted adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz adds a richness that can only be imagined in the monochrome version of L. Frank Baum's classic film, all of the nostalgic connotations have been removed like the straw stuffing from the scarecrow's chest cavity.
Why do we need to colorize our favorite movies from days gone by? Color film wasn't invented until 1943, when World War II news reels first began to appear in color. The color didn't make the war any more interesting, and in fact, the scarlet-colored blood just made more people queasy. The French didn't need to add color to DaVinci's Mona Lisa. The Italians didn't have to mess with the rich gray hues of the Sistine Chapel. So why did Turner Broadcasting need to f*ck with the classics movies of the early 20th Century when they were perfectly fine in their old black and white selves? "I grew up watching The Wizard Of Oz in its original black & white," said Phil M. Buff. "At first I was opposed to Ted [Turner] adding color to the children's classic. But when you can see that Dorothy's ruby-red slippers are actually ruby-red, you just forget about the despoliation of the original film." Film purists are upset that anyone would tamper with these old movies. "I think they've destroyed a classic," said Roger Thumzupp, film critic. "The original black and white version was perfect. You didn't need color to imagine the bright golden glow of the yellow brick road, or be dazzled by the sparkling Emerald City. The story was strong enough to engage the viewer and have the color come alive through storytelling and imagination. Turner ruined that magic by adding the baby blues to Dorothy's dress, the soft pinks to the poppy fields, and the queasy greens to the Wicked Witch of the West's gruesome skin." In 1982, President Reagan signed a law to protect classic films after Gone With The Wind was colorized, but it was too late for the colorized version of The Wizard Of Oz, which had already gone into distribution as a new "color" motion picture. Many directors were outraged when colorized films were released. "It's a reel crime," said Woody Allen, who never wanted to have his movie Sleeper colorized. "Why couldn't they just leave it alone? Good grief! I mean this is almost as horrible as the colorized versions of Young Frankenstein, Raging Bull, and Pleasantville." Ted Turner's
vision was to bring forth the richness of classic movies with color. But
what Ted didn't realize, is that the magic of these old movies lives in
the stories, and not in the saturated hues. Fortunately, some classics,
like the 1945 film Schindler's List, will be protected, and remain
in black & white format--just like they were intended.
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| This fictional story about coloring The Wizard Of Oz is intended for adults. | The World Leader in Canadian humour, humor, parody, and satire. | |
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