The Wizard of Oz

Harper Design and authors Jay Scarfone and William Stillman present 'The Official 75th Anniversary Companion' to one of the world's most beloved films: The Wizard of Oz.

 

Most people don't know that The Wizard of Oz was released the same year as Gone With The Wind and that Shirley Temple was approached to play Dorothy.  Buddy Ebsen was the original Tin Man but had to back out because he was allergic to the metallic makeup and when the film was first released it was not a commercial success.

It wasn't until the 1960s that The Wizard of Oz became a mega hit, much-beloved classic.  The film was shown once a year on national TV during the holidays. 

It's no small coincidence that the Baby Boomer Generation became huge fans of the film.  After all what film best suited the counter-culture generation than a film about a young woman who traveled to a strange land and discovered what life was abut? 

The film was a perfect reflection of the 'Me Generation.'   I know, being a Baby boomer baby, I watched it on TV during those turbulent times.

Now, 75 years later the film is immortalized in a brand new deluxe hard cover book from Harper Design.

Inside readers take a visual tour of the classic film starting with a quick literary history lesson and then on to casting, costume design, set design, pre and post production, direction, filming, marketing, promotion (complete with photos of printed promotion pieces), out takes and film awards.

Take a trip down Memory Lane as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Wicked Witch and the entire cast and crew of the film join you on your journey complete with interesting insights, little known facts and fascinating text.

There may be no place like home but this new book comes pretty close.