When You Start Your Film Going Year At The Top, Where Else Is There To Go??????????????????????

                                Not only, as most know, is "The Wizard Of Oz" my all-time favorite movie, but it celebrates its 80th--can you believe it, darlings????????--Anniversary, this year.  Fathom Events scheduled some screenings, and David, our neighbor, Jennifer, and myself went to a screening, this past Sunday.

                                Did you know that, at the start of the New Millennium, the NEA (National Endowment For The Art) named "Over The Rainbow" the Best Song Of The 20th Century???????????  And, just this last November, in the open access journal, "Applied Network Science," it was named "The Most Influential Film Of All Time?????????????"

                                 The plaudits just keep coming in, and will.  The film is perfection.

                                  Oh, my God, I clutched my hankie, and when the lion roared and the title appeared, I trembled emotionally, and clapped my hands.  Of course, I cried during "Over The Rainbow."  You can hear a pin drop in the theater, when it comes on the screen, followed by a collective sigh, from the audience.

The first 40 minutes, taking the viewer from Kansas to Munchkinland, is my favorite part of the film.  The Mucnchkinland set is one of the all-time great examples of set design, in terms of color and composition.  When Dorothy steps out of the house, and the camera does that full, circular pan, of the set , you can see how brilliant it was.  It will never happen now, but, when young, my dream was to amass enough money to have a house that resembled Tara, and a landscaper to convert my huge back yard, into an exact replica of this set.  I would have been the Talk Of The Town, darlings!!!!!!!!!

Come to think of it, I still am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"The Wizard Of Oz" has been called one of the most perfectly cast films ever made, and it is, but Margaret Hamilton, as the Wicked Witch Of The West, deserves special mention.  Her presence hangs over the entire film, even though she is only on screen for twelve minutes.  And while, as Almira Gulch, she looks like standard Margaret Hamilton, the Witch costume and make-up, which was scary and wicked, nevertheless gave her a kind of glamour she never had, before or since.  No wonder she is so fascinating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the age of 64, I have lost count of how many times I have seen it.  And it never fails to move me.  The ending, the final line,  just bring tears to my eyes.  I daresay, I may be in the triple digits in terms of number of viewings, but I cannot be sure.  Suffice it to say I have seen "The Wizard Of Oz" more times than any other movie in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, "Gone With The Wind" also turns 80, this year.  But, the way things are now, we'd be lucky to get a screening of that, even though there is every reason we should!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But starting the movie year with a trip to Oz is perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Except, where does one go, from there??????????????