Melki’s review of The Wizard of Oz > Likes and Comments
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Melki, my big family of cousins did the same thing. The once a year showing on TV was a big deal, and nothing stopped us from enjoying the event. It got so we would quote the lines right along with the actors. And, same as you, when I read this aloud to my daughter when she was young, it lost some of the magic.
Diane wrote: "Melki, my big family of cousins did the same thing. The once a year showing on TV was a big deal, and nothing stopped us from enjoying the event. It got so we would quote the lines right along with..."
I suppose it's one of those cases where you should read the book first, but I don't know of anyone who hasn't seen the movie.
I had the same problem as you, finding the book not nearly up to the caliber of the film. I think you were generous with three stars.
The book has one great passage -- but that's it.
Ivonne wrote: "If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all."
What a great line! I sure hope Thomas Frank used it in his book - What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.
Carmen wrote: "Great review!"
Thanks, Carmen.
Melki, thanks for your review and for sharing your family memory. I agree that the book did not quite live up to the magic of the movie. It's such a classic. This movie may be one of the rare examples of a movie being better than the book.
Karen wrote: " I agree that the book did not quite live up to the magic of the movie. It's such a classic. This movie may be one of the rare examples of a movie being better than the book. "
It is rare, indeed, though I have a shelf of these rarities: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Sometimes the screenwriter and/or the director do the job a good book editor should have done, and cut out unnecessary scenes, subplots, and characters.
That's an interesting list. Funny - I have seen most of the movies on your list, but have only read two of the books.
Karen wrote: "That's an interesting list. Funny - I have seen most of the movies on your list, but have only read two of the books."
As it should be . . . at least in my opinion.
Ha. I got to see it when I was about 4 years old in the movie theater. No, it wasn't 1939. It was in the early 1950s at a re-release of the film in the little movie theater across the street from our house. I remember being scarred to death by the scene with the apple throwing trees. I read somewhere that Margaret Hamilton's scariest memory of the movie was when they set fire to her. You don't remember that. It actually happened. Remember the scene where the Wicked Witch appears in the Munchkin village in a puff of fire and smoke. It wasn't a special effect. She actually got rather badly burned filming that scene, and the wicked producer of the west wouldn't give her any time off.
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Diane
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Jul 19, 2016 09:51AM
Melki, my big family of cousins did the same thing. The once a year showing on TV was a big deal, and nothing stopped us from enjoying the event. It got so we would quote the lines right along with the actors. And, same as you, when I read this aloud to my daughter when she was young, it lost some of the magic.
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Diane wrote: "Melki, my big family of cousins did the same thing. The once a year showing on TV was a big deal, and nothing stopped us from enjoying the event. It got so we would quote the lines right along with..."I suppose it's one of those cases where you should read the book first, but I don't know of anyone who hasn't seen the movie.
I had the same problem as you, finding the book not nearly up to the caliber of the film. I think you were generous with three stars.The book has one great passage -- but that's it.
“I cannot understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas."
"That is because you have no brains," answered the girl. "No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home."
The Scarecrow sighed.
"Of course I cannot understand it," he said. "If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all. It is fortunate for Kansas that you have brains.”
Ivonne wrote: "If your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all."What a great line! I sure hope Thomas Frank used it in his book - What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America.
Carmen wrote: "Great review!"Thanks, Carmen.
Melki, thanks for your review and for sharing your family memory. I agree that the book did not quite live up to the magic of the movie. It's such a classic. This movie may be one of the rare examples of a movie being better than the book.
Karen wrote: " I agree that the book did not quite live up to the magic of the movie. It's such a classic. This movie may be one of the rare examples of a movie being better than the book. "It is rare, indeed, though I have a shelf of these rarities: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Sometimes the screenwriter and/or the director do the job a good book editor should have done, and cut out unnecessary scenes, subplots, and characters.
That's an interesting list. Funny - I have seen most of the movies on your list, but have only read two of the books.
Karen wrote: "That's an interesting list. Funny - I have seen most of the movies on your list, but have only read two of the books."As it should be . . . at least in my opinion.
Ha. I got to see it when I was about 4 years old in the movie theater. No, it wasn't 1939. It was in the early 1950s at a re-release of the film in the little movie theater across the street from our house. I remember being scarred to death by the scene with the apple throwing trees. I read somewhere that Margaret Hamilton's scariest memory of the movie was when they set fire to her. You don't remember that. It actually happened. Remember the scene where the Wicked Witch appears in the Munchkin village in a puff of fire and smoke. It wasn't a special effect. She actually got rather badly burned filming that scene, and the wicked producer of the west wouldn't give her any time off.
