The Wizard of Oz, the great Technicolor triumph of 1939 that has turned generations of children into followers (as well as many a studio executive mighty rich on behalf of the original source having entered the public domain), will return to cinemas for a one-week IMAX engagement in 3-D this September. It's all a part of that will be another epic year in the land of Oz, and next year the beloved film will be celebrating it's 75th Anniversary...come to think of it, it's also the landmark anniversary of Gone With the Wind, Gunga Din, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Babes in Arms, The Women, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Ninotchka, Stagecoach and Wuthering Heights. Whoa, holy cinema brain freeze...anyway...off topic, The Wizard of Oz and the majesty of the Emerald City will be converted to the third dimension to kick off the celebration. Of which brings about a sort of mixed blessing. Surely, this pandering of the 3-D surcharges and (potential) debasing of classic films goes against the idea of a sacred film history, one in which classics are restored but presented to fit their original glory. Doing this service to films like Titanic and the Star Wars prequels and The Lion King is one thing-- for instance, the proprietors behind these properties are well known whores. Then again, if this silly gimmick can bring back some more classic films to play in actual movie stadiums, perhaps that's just the most wonderful packaging for something that reads as pure greediness and grubbiness.
The Wizard of Oz, at least in theory, with it's colors and bedazzlement may indeed be perfectly complimentary as filtered through those silly (and, ahem, expensive) glasses. A sequence as magnificently calibrated as Dorothy opening that to a whirlwind of color is perhaps one of the few truly indelible images in American cinema that continues to amaze, allure and charm any audience that happens to watch it...be it for the first, or the several hundredth time. In the very least, it might just be the thing to wash away the undisguised manufactured shilling that was Oz: The Great & Powerful. What classic movies do you think are worthy of the 3-D treatment?
Quite simply one of the most irritating movie trailers I've seen in some time. I'm never entirely hopeful of films like this, but when director Michel Gondry (a conjureror of the amazing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the interesting The Science of Sleep) signed up, I felt a certain interest build. The problem here is that none the abundant personality of Mr. Gondry seems to be evident in The Green Hornet, instead we are treated to tease of Seth Rogan's customary shtick and unassuming action sequence glimpses, plus a two-second appearance of Cameron Diaz.
The laughable part is at the very end, "In 3-D" pronouncement. When I saw the joyous Toy Story 3 a couple of days ago I felt burdened by trailer after trailer with the similar phrase attached at the end. It almost felt like an announcement, "Yep, come see this flick, and pay an extra $3 to $5 dollars a ticket while you're at it, gotcha." My point is, nothing at least in early incarnation seems to be gained by putting The Green Hornet in 3-D, so why bother. It's a problem I have with a lot of recent films last minute being retrofitted in to 3-D. It feels more and more like a pathetic and desperate move on the part of the studios to try and make as much dough as possible on opening weekend, before assuming moviegoers realize we have a stinker.
Not to bark up on 3-D-- in the past year, films as lovely and varied as Coraline and Avatar proved that there's certainly an artistic state in the medium, but it should surely be perserved for the bonafide pieces of entertainment that promise to use it for good and not evil. Personally, I think Michel Gondry seems an ideal filmmaker to toy with 3-D, unfortunately, I don't think The Green Hornet is an ideal vehicle. Am I crazy, or fussy?
