The Wizard of Oz

Peter Bradshaw

Friday, 15 Dec 2006

(Cert U)

Don't miss this restored 1939 classic. There's nothing to beat the incredible sugar-rush of that shift from sepia-monochrome to full colour as Dorothy realises she's not in Kansas any more. It's a movie that speaks of Hollywood's unacknowledged fascination with the exotic, the mad, the unreal. Despite its earnest endorsement of the idea that there's no place like home ... well, frankly there are plenty of places like boring old home, but nothing's like Oz. It's a wonderful trip behind the lines of thinkability, and the talking apple trees that slap you when you try to pick their fruit are the equal of anything in Lewis Carroll. A solid-gold Christmas treat.

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Peter Bradshaw

Peter Bradshaw is the Guardian's film critic

Peter Bradshaw

Friday, 15 Dec 2006

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