Saying something new about a classic like Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz is almost impossible. Judy Garland. Over the Rainbow. 'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more'. The Wicked Witches of the West and of the East. The Scarecrow. The magic of L. Frank Baum's books. And the Technicolor!
But it's not always necessary to say something new.
Google celebrates the 71st anniversary of the premiere of the film in the USA - with the exception of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, the movie it has been released in Europe after WWII and in 1951 in West Germany! - with a yellow brick road that leads us through a fairy and amazing land.
[Google Doodle for August 12th, 2010The Wizard of Oz's 71st anniversary]
As Salman Rushdie has already pointed out in his famous essay 'The Wizard of Oz', it is really difficult to understand why Dorothy cares so much about going home, since she's spending her time with new friends in an absolutely wonderful place. And with a pair of red and glossy shoes!
[Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz
The ultimate pair of shoes for every true fashionista at heart]
Those shoes are one of the most quoted and copied in cinema history. Just think of David Lynch's Wild at Heart.
Why Dorothy wants so badly to come back? And just don't tell me it's because 'There's no place like home'!
Tags: The Wizard of Oz, Cinema, Salman Rushdie, Google Doodle, Anniversary
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