Dorothy's Zits

Since we got into this flick down below, there's this:

The new digital restoration of "Oz" is as close as one can get to the experience of seeing the classic in theaters 70 years ago ...

“In finding the 1939 nitrate Technicolor print, we got a different look for the film than we previously had,” says Ned Price, vice president of mastering at Warner Bros. Technicolor Operations.

“It had much more midrange colors,” says Price. “It was no so contrasty and you could see much more into the shadow detail. It was less primary color. It was more earth tones and the color didn’t pop as we had it made it previously. It was very colorful but not as colorful as the negative lead us to believe.”

... [F]or the first time, viewers can see more detail on Toto, the Wicked Witch’s hairy mole, the Tin Man’s rivet in the middle of his brow and Dorothy’s acne.

A looong time ago, I saw a nitrate print of Oz at the Nuart theater.

I had never seen it on a big, silver screen. And what hit me about the film when viewing it in a large format instead of on a 24 or 27 inch television?

"Hey. Those are painted flats back there! They shot this thing on a sound stage!"

The stage-bound reality of The Wizard of Oz comes through strongly when the image is a couple of stories high. Doesn't lessen the entertainment value of the film. You just become way more aware of how it was made, because it's all up there bigger than life.

So happy birthday, Dorothy. And your little pimples too.