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Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Oh, good. I've always thought that The Wizard of Oz would be a lot better if it were four hours long and had chase scenes with dinosaurs and giant bugs.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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There needs to be some sort of (/rumor) tag because I just about cried blood at that idea as outlined in the article. DON'T DO THAT TO ME LISA!
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: There needs to be some sort of (/rumor) tag because I just about cried blood at that idea as outlined in the article. DON'T DO THAT TO ME LISA!
Sorry, BlackBlade. I was disappointed, too.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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My own favored book would be The Emerald City of Oz...the one where Ozma invites Dorothy, Uncle Henry, and Aunt Em to Oz for good...unaware that the Nome King is gathering an army of Evil Spirits...a secret tunnel dug beneath the Deadly Desert all the way to the heart of the Emerald City itself...man, it'd make a GREAT film.
The grand tour of Oz alone would be a fantasy-lover's eye candy dream.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: My own favored book would be The Emerald City of Oz...the one where Ozma invites Dorothy, Uncle Henry, and Aunt Em to Oz for good...unaware that the Nome King is gathering an army of Evil Spirits...a secret tunnel dug beneath the Deadly Desert all the way to the heart of the Emerald City itself...man, it'd make a GREAT film.
The grand tour of Oz alone would be a fantasy-lover's eye candy dream.
Ozma of Oz was my favorite book, and though it was made into a movie more or less I really don't think the book translates well as a movie, there are better options in the series.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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'Return to Oz' is surprisingly disturbing, especially the mental institution part. And the bit where the cross dressing gnome king pulls up his dress to reveal that he's wearing the ruby slippers underneath is just priceless.
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: I didn't quite parse that. Do you mean Emerald City would be too difficult to adapt?
No I was saying "Ozma of Oz" was a good book in the series and though it was juxtaposed more or less into the movie, "Return to Oz" I don't think the book makes for a very good movie.
The Emerald City might do better. I was supporting your idea and simply noting that my own favorite book of the series does not make for a good movie.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Recent faithful adaptations/additions to the Baum Oz mythos:
Adventures in Oz by Eric Shanower...a gorgeous graphic novel that reprints Shanower's Oz comics from the 1980s-90s. New stories and characters, but true to Baum's vision and the original illustrations.
Oz the Manga by Antarctic Press. While the art is very modern and certain details are changed, this is extremly faithful to Baum's original story...including characters and adventures that were sadly deleted from the iconic MGM version. The Kalidahs, the Hammerheads, the China Country, the origin of the Flying Monkeys...good stuff.
The Emerald Wand of Oz by Sherwood Smith kicks off a series in which two very modern girls who just -may- have a blood connection to a famous Oz character find themselves in Baum's Oz. This series was commissioned by the Baum Family Trust, which hasn't had much to do since the book copyrights expired.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: Man, I wanna see the Lucas wizard of oz.
It was called Star Wars.
(What, you didn't realize the Emperor was the Wicked Witch of the West? And Chewie was very Cowardly Lion-esque during the Trash Compactor scene.)
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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So... Han was the Tin Man. And maybe Obi-Wan was Professor Marvel. But I don't see the rest. Leia as the Scarecrow?
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I meant more that Lucas heavily borrowed from "The Wizard of Oz" just like he did from many other sources for the Star Wars films. Not a straight "this character=that character" thing.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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I never made the connection that Star Wars borrowed anything from 'The Wizard of Oz' and I'm still having a hard time making it...
Unless you're kidding?
Just curious. There's a lot of King Arthur stuff in there and a lot of Dune stuff in there and a mix of a few other things -- E.E. Doc Smith, Kurosawa, etc. Things which are pretty obvious. (Though, the Kurosawa stuff was never actually clear to me either -- other than as a visual influence on the filmmaker, which Lucas acknowledges. But I never saw the strong connection to 'The Hidden Fortress' that others have said exists.)
I guess structurally it could be considered similar to the Wizard of Oz in the sense that it's about a character who is kind of inexperienced, almost an innocent, going out to see the world and he collects friends along the way who end up helping him on his journey?
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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You never saw the strong connection to the hidden fortress?
Watch the beginning, with the tall guy and the short guy wandering the desolate area, one being doom and gloom while the other is sort of quirky. Watch the fight to escape from the evil empire between the master and his former apprentice, who now is a high level leader in the evil empire. Et cetera, et cetera.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I've seen it, and I think Lucas borrows a lot from Kurosawa visually, always has -- but not so much story-wise. It has been several years, though. Maybe it's time for a Kurosawa marathon at the home of TL.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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Puppy, yes. Dag, they did in the Muppet Wizard of Oz. It was strangely closer to the book than the Judy Garland version.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by ReikoDemosthenes: I got an omnibus of the Oz books for Christmas
That said, my favourite book was definitely the second... I adored the Tip/Ozma story.
Me too. It's an interesting take on the "I'm really a princess, and some day I'll be restored" trope.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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