Oz News!

Wizard of Oz: Two-Disc Special Edition
Family classic arrives on DVD in two elaborate editions.
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July 13, 2005 - On October 25, Warner Home Video will release The Wizard of Oz in an all-new two disc Special Edition DVD, featuring more than thirteen hours of special features. Additionally, Warner will offer a three disc Collector's Edition DVD, which will feature a new documentary about Oz author L. Frank Baum and a restored transfer of the 1925 silent feature The Wizard of Oz with a new score composed by Robert Israel. Bother versions will be available on Oct. 25; the two disc set will be offered for the retail price of $26.99, and the three disc version will retail for $39.92.

Included on the Two-Disc Special Edition are the following bonus materials:


Disc One:

-A new 2005 "Ultra Resolution" digital master from restored film elements
-Commentary track by film historian John Fricke with selected archival audio comments by Barbara Freed-Saltzman (daughter of composer Arthur Freed), Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch of the West) and her son Hamilton Meserve, Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow), Jack Haley (The Tin Man), Ken Darby (orchestral and vocal arranger), John and Jane Lahr (son and daughter of Bert Lahr, who played The Cowardly Lion), William Tuttle (make-up artist), Buddy Ebsen (singer on "We're Off to See the Wizard"), Mervyn LeRoy (producer), John Lee Mahin (writer) and Jerry Maren (a member of the illustrious Lollipop Guild)
-Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration of Oz
-We Haven't Really Met Properly- a supporting cast profile gallery narrated by Angela Lansbury
-The Wonderful Wizard of Oz storybook read by Lansbury
-Theatrical trailer gallery
-5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack
-Original mono and music-and-effects-only audio tracks
-Languages: English (Dolby 5.1 and mono) and French
-Subtitles: English, French and Spanish (feature film only)

Disc Two:

-Documentaries on the movie's creation and impact, including the original TV specials The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic hosted by Angela Lansbury and Memories of Oz
-The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
-Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
-Harold Arlen's on-set home videos
-Outtakes and deleted scenes
-It's a Twister! It's a Twister! (tornado special effects test)
-Vintage vault galleries
-Extensive stills gallery
-More than six hours of audio-only treasures, including an "Oz jukebox" of recording session materials, radio shows and promos
-Off to See the Wizard

Disc Three of the Collector's Edition also includes four extra hours of materials dedicated to Oz creator L. Frank Baum, including the new documentary L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain, as well as five pre-1939 versions of Oz on screen:

-The Wizard of Oz (1910)
-The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)
-His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
-The Wizard of Oz: 1925 silent film restored completely with a new orchestral score by Robert Israel
-The Wizard of Oz (1933 cartoon)

The Collector's Edition also includes print reproductions of The Wizard of Oz Comes to Life, an eight-page Grauman's Chinese Theatre Souvenir Premiere Program from August 15, 1939; Studio's Invitation to The Grauman's Premiere and the envelope that included tickets to the original Opening Night, with a newly designed commemorative ticket; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio News, a sixteen page edition of the studio's internal newspaper, celebrating the release of Wizard of Oz for the week of August 14, 1939; Photoplay Studies, a rare secondary-education study guide to the film- Volume V, Number 12 (circa August 1939)- completely devoted to The Wizard of Oz, with articles revealing insights from its producer, director, cameraman and scenarists; and Deluxe Collector's Portfolio, reproductions of original 1939 Kodachrome publicity stills, including nine portraits and on-set photographs.

Check out the box art for the Two-Disc Special Edition and the the Three-Disc Collector's Edition below: