Okay in the last 20 years I can think of lots of 5 times I herd the adds for an all new restored version of "THE WIZARD OF OZ". In 1989 there was the restoration done for the 50th anniversary. In that version the opening black and white footage was replace with the original Sepia-tone that was first shown when the movie premiered in 1939.
In 1994 MGM Home Video released yet another restored version on LASERDISC. Now to me it wasn't a much improvement over the 1989 50th anniversary laserdisc however the box set was full of goodies that still rival the today's blu-ray release. (More on that later)
In 1998 in time for the 60th Anniversary the movie was restored an re-issued again this time for a theatrical release. It was amazing to see it on the big screen however the movie was maybe brighter but again not a big deal. The first DVD was released in 1999 and the picture and sound were great. They were better then 1994 Laserdisc set that I had but it lacked all the extras the laserdisc had. A year or 2 Later when the rights to the WIZARD OF OZ fell to Warner Brothers there first DVD set had lots of goodies but again not as much as my 1994 laserdisc box set.
Finally in 2005 Warner Brothers released an ultimate DVD set of this movie again RESTORED. This time there was a vast improvement on all previous vhs, laserdisc and dvd releases. They even had a great DVD set that rivaled the Laserdisc Set. Now its 2009 time for the 70th Anniversary restoration release.
Well this is a great movie and I thought that there is no way to make a blu-ray release look any better then the 2004 dvd release. Well I am wrong. The picture and sound are just mind blowing. Its hard to imagine that this movie is 70 years old.
Now the only thing I noticed that is different over the 2004 DVD release is that the devil is in the details. The background is sharp very sharp. This movie is a feast for the eyes. If you do not have a blu-ray player yet I advise you to get one. This blu-ray alone is worth buying the full blu-ray package.
Well worth the price!!!
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