IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND WHAT IS SET FORTH THEREIN

Sunday, September 22, 2013

THE WIZARD RETURNS TO THE CHINESE THEATER

 It was the picture that got big. 

The old Grauman's Chinese Theater has entered into a partnership with, as it turns out, a Chinese company, and has undergone some wonderful renovations. I was part of the crowds Friday for the grand reopening event. In 1939, The Wizard of Oz opened in this theater. In 2013, an Imax version in 3D was shown to celebrate the theater's renewed life.  If those flying monkeys inpressed you when you were a child, wait till you see them fly off the screen.  This remaster is an update of the original theatrical release, so you won't see that recovered footage that features the scarecrow bouncing off fence rails, but this was wonderful to see.  I got to view The Wizard on a big screen just once, at the old Circle Theater in Washington, D.C. -- That was impressive, but seeing this cleaned up print on an even bigger screen had my jaw dropping.  Even scenes that don't rely much on the 3D, like Judy singing "Over the Rainbow" early in the film,  look so good you'll feel like you're in the farm yard with her.

There's nothing like an old movie palace --