The Wizard of Oz: The Official 75th Anniversary Companion – An Interactive Film History with Behind-the-Scenes Treasures for Collectors

And the celebration of the 75th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz has brought another book from Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. And covering the production of the movie in The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History and the production design in The Wizardry of Oz, what's left to cover? Surprisingly, The Official 75th Anniversary Companion still manages to bring new material to readers. The three books form a rather comprehensive trilogy about the making of the film, and there are still other aspects that Stillman and Scarfone haven't touched on. (Aljean Harmetz's The Making of the Wizard of Oz—yet to be covered on the blog—covered a lot of the studio head's work, and John Fricke's book for the Rhino soundtrack album covered the music. Both of these aspects are not highly covered in the Scarfone/Stillman books.) The book endeavors to bring a number of previously unseen or rarely seen images from the production of the film. There are several that I haven't seen before, while there are still some pictures that will be familiar to those who have read up on the film. The book is broken into several segments. First and foremost is Baum, then Samuel Goldwyn's attempts to bring Oz to screen before he sold the property to MGM. Stillman and Scarfone tell of a rarely known friendship between Walt Disney and Mervyn LeRoy. (Including that during the many rewrites of the script, Disney loaned MGM a print of Snow White for them to get a better idea of what kind of a story they were going for.) Sections cover each of the main cast, then the peculiar peoples of Oz, using rarely seen photos to show some of the development of the character's look. Then a summary of the production of the film, how Thorpe began (including the only color photo of Judy Garland in her blonde "Lolita Gale" wig) and Fleming took over after Cukor did some revisions. What exactly the cast did in between shots is also covered, turning up new material. Then special effects and the design of the film are covered, including some revisions to what we'd thought we'd known about how they created the cyclone and the Horse of A Different Color. Then, the release of the film and its re-releases, and debut on television and legacy. On each topic, the authors dig up some new information. In the back of the book, there's a silver-colored envelope containing a number of paper memorabilia, some newly designed, some recreated from 1939 items. There's a bookmark, a lobby card, two posters, a booklet of reduced size lobby cards, the death certificate of the Wicked Witch of the East, certificates from the Wizard for Dorothy's friends, a cardboard frame that shows your choice of several paper photos of the Oz characters, and a large mock newspaper clipping from the fictional Oz Herald. It almost feels like the recent Collector's Box set of the film intentionally left any 1939 replicas out just for this book. (Which, remember, it does have two advertisements for.) Overall, though, the book doesn't really need the bonus memorabilia. The rare photos and new information in the book are worth the price of the book alone. Well done to Stillman and Scarfone!

What a beautiful book! These two authors have done it again beginning with their Official 50th Anniversary edition of The Wizard of Oz (1989) followed in succeeding years by The Wizard of Oz Collector's Treasury (a comprehensive collection of memorabilia from the early 1900s to 1992); an elaborate Wizard of Oz pop-up, which even included a CD (2000); and The Wizardry of Oz also on the MGM film (1999) with a revised and expanded edition a few years later. With all of this, who better to produce this present opus, The Wizard of Oz, The Official 75th Anniversary Companion (2013). It is chock-a-block full of photos (many never before seen) in both color and b&w and chapters which cover the entire cast, including Toto and the Winged Monkeys! There are also chapters on post-production, publicity and reviews. some of the merchandise produced as tie-ins with the movie, the various re-releases, the first TV airing and much, much more. A very big plus is a removable envelope at the back of the book containing some wonderful "goodies," including a copy of the Wicked Witch of the East's Death Certificate, color copies of lobby cards, individual cast photos and again, much, much more. The authors have spent much of their lives on Oz research and are constantly in demand for magazine articles, appraisals of rare Oz merchandise and guest lecturers at Oz events. One can only wonder what book the reviewers with their negative comments (far outweighed by all the laudable reviews) were looking at? This massive book by creditable authors is the ideal 75th Anniversary Companion for the film and well worth your investment. David Moyer

Great companion piece to the 75th Anniversary Special 2 DVD Set ! The book is filled with many rare photos & images, and it follows the "OZ" History in chronological order. PLUS, each of the Main Characters has a chapter of their own with full info. (Interestingly, I didn't know that sexy Gayle Sondergaard was originally slated to be the "Wicked Witch"...but I learned that and lots more in this great book.) The authors know their subject well, and their love for "The Land Of Oz" shows on every page of this beautiful volume. AND, the Special Collectible Pouch full of rare memorabilia that's included, alone, is worth the price of admission: an Oz bookmark, minature copies of the lobby cards, cast photos & a frame to put them in, a full-colour poster, and, much more are included...even a "Death Certificate" for the Wicked Witch" ! All-in-all, if you love the movie, then you need, and will love, this book !!

Purchased as a gift, satisfied

I really enjoyed reading this book on the making of The Wizard of Oz. I just finished reading a biography of Judy Garland, which both had moments of joy and also moments of sadness. It is true that both the book and the movie are timeless because I have both read the book and watched the movie more times than I can count! Thank You for writing this history of both.

I got this for my wife who’s a huge fan of the movie and she loved this book. It’s filled with tons of interesting facts and info. Lots of cool pictures too. Only negative is the jacket came with a scratch right on the front picture. Since we didn’t see it until she opened the gift on Christmas (more than 30 days later) they won’t replace it.

Fantastic, high quality book!

Purchased used- like new. Came with a lot of little extras in the book, like pictures and “memorabilia” and a poster. It’s a beautiful and informative book.

Livro super interessante pra quem gosta de cinema também, há uma passagem sobre o Oscar. Gostei muito!

Ouvrage magnifique qui vous emporte sur le chemin de briques jaunes et qui nous invite à la rencontre des personnages tout en offrant des photos et des facs simulés dont un certificat de décès de la méchante sorcière de l'ouest... Un ouvrage destiné à être offert et j'en ai recommandé un second pour moi. Un vrai bijou !

Ha sido un acierto para un regalo de cumpleaños. ESTÁ GENIAL. No dudéis en comprarlo porque la persona que sea muy Fan del Mago de Oz o de Judy Garland quedará ensmlrada con esta edición.

Quel plaisir d'avoir ce livre en main ! Il date de 2013 et célèbre les 75 ans du chef d'oeuvre de Victor Fleming, Le Magicien d'Oz. Cette comédie musicale de 1939 est déjà la deuxième adaptation cinématographique du livre du même nom de L.F. Baum en 1900. Elle a été nommée pour 6 Oscars et lauréate de 2. Un film culte pour beaucoup de monde, j'ai moi-même été introduit à l'histoire dans les années 80/90 avec une très bonne adaptation en série animée. Après avoir vu une dizaine d'adaptations (films, séries TV, animés), celle de Fleming reste la plus magique et grâce à ce livre, c'est un réel plaisir de découvrir l'histoire des acteurs, les évolutions du film, les moyens techniques mis en oeuvre à l'époque, etc. En plus d'être incroyablement détaillé, le livre est accompagné d'une enveloppe remplie de goodies (objets collector) en tout genre : cartes, marque-pages, posters, certificat de décès de la Méchante Sorcière, gazette annonçant la nouvelle, etc. Pour finir, n'hésitez pas, ce magnifique livre ravira tous les fans !

My daughter got this for Christmas and it is delightful. Lots of great pictures, and narrative, brilliant for all WoO enthusiasts. The posters and interesting items contained in the envelope are brilliant, particularly the Wicked Witch of the Easts Death Certificate!! 11/10