The Wizard of Oz, one of Hollywood’s most iconic films of all time, is returning to the big screen 75 years after its dazzling Technicolor debut. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr will pop off the screen in a restored digital 3D version of the film on over 400 IMAX screens across the country. The re-release of The Wizard of Oz is part of Warner Bros. promotion of the upcoming 75th anniversary edition blu-ray disc set, which will arrive October 1st.
This is the first time the film industry has converted such a high profile film from 2-D. Other films such as Titanic, Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark have been re-released in theaters in IMAX 3D, but none as popular as Oz.
The difference is Oz “is as iconic as they come,” says Greg Foster, chairman and president of Imax Entertainment. “It was one of the first movies that truly came out at you with an explosion of color.” The restored version will include both digitally enhanced sound and images.
While Oz is one of Hollywood’s most recognized films, very few have gotten the opportunity to see this classic on the big screen. Now moviegoers will be able to have the same experience audiences had in 1939 when The Wizard of Oz was the pinnacle of film making.
“That must have been an amazing experience to see it then, to be truly taken away to another world,” Foster says. “That’s what we’d like to do.”
The Wizard of Oz opens in IMAX theaters exclusively on September 20th.
