Emerald City, Meet Yellow Brick Road
1939 was a good year for cinema. It saw the releases of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone with the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz, all of which have aged beautifully. But the most impressive of them is still The Wizard of Oz, which according to The Library of Congress, is the most watched film in history. Dorothy was only 12 years old when she took her trip over the rainbow. She handled herself well for a little girl. After all, that big green Wizard head was pretty freaky, and it still is. Imagine seeing it on the big screen in HD. Tonight that’s possible, as part of the 70th anniversary celebration and as an encore to showings nationwide earlier this year, select theaters are bringing the film to the silver screen. Pacific Place AMC is the only Seattle theater presenting, along with the Kent AMC, Century Theaters in Federal Way, and Olympia’s Capital Mall.
In addition to the remastered feature, the showing includes archival interviews, extra footage, and home movie outtakes, which will hopefully come after the feature. Also included is the story from Toto’s perspective: "It was stormy, then she fell asleep, then she woke up," and Glinda’s explanation of why she didn’t tell Dorothy in the first place that all she had to do to get home was click her heels together a few times. For those with their headphones on waiting to venture off to see the wizard themselves, remember, start the music on the third lion’s roar.
6:30 p.m. // Pacific Place, 600 Pine St. // $10
