As the song goes, “Oh a happy day. Oh, happy day!” One of my dream 4K UHD releases was announced today – The Wizard of Oz is getting a 4K UHD Release on Digital and 4K UHD Combo Pack on October 29th! There’s nothing about the BS 2 week window, so I’m hoping this truly will be both formats will release on the same day. I’m so tired of having to wait 2 weeks for the physical release.
Beyond the fact that The Wizard of OZ is probably in my top 4 favorite films of all time, it’s also very colorful and had frame by frame restoration done a few years ago and already looks fantastic on Blu-ray so it should look stunning in 4K HDR. Also of note, it will support Dolby Vision HDR. This time they are using an 8K, 16 bit scan. Wow. All of this goodness is going to come at an astounding $42 price tag. Really Warner Home Video? This better be a glorious full screen presentation.
In 1989 The Wizard of Oz was part of the inaugural group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.
Using state of the art technology, a new 8K 16bit scan of the original Technicolor camera negative became the basis for the 4K UHD scan. The process was overseen by MPI colorist Janet Wilson, who has overseen every remaster of The Wizard of Oz for the past 20 years.
Ultra HD** showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of The Wizard of Oz will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen — frame by frame.
The Wizard of Oz will be available on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack for $41.99 SRP and features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the feature film in 4K with HDR and a Blu-ray disc of The Wizard of Oz. Fans can also own The Wizard of Oz in 4K Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on October 29th.
Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Elements
The Wizard of Oz Ultra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
- Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren.
- 1990 CBS Special “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic.”
The Wizard of Oz Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
- Commentary- Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren
- The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook (narrated by Angela Lansbury)
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly…
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Frank Morgan”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Ray Bolger”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Bert Lahr”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Jack Haley”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Billie Burke”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Margaret Hamilton”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Charley Grapewin”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Clara Blandick”
- We Haven’t Really Met Properly: “Terry”
- Music & Effects Track
- Original Mono Track
- Sing Along Tracks
- Audio Jukebox
- Leo is on the Air Radio Promo
- Good News of 1939 Radio Show
- 12/25/1950 Lux Radio Broadcast
- Stills Galleries
- Oz on Broadway
- Pre-MGM
- Sketches and Storyboards
- Richard Thorpe’s Oz
- Buddy Ebsen
- Oz Comes to Life
- Behind the Scenes
- Portraits
- Special Effects
- Post Production
- Deleted Scenes
- Original Publicity
- 8/15/1939 Hollywood Premiere
- 8/17/1939 New York Premiere
- 2/29/1940 Academy Awards® Ceremony
- Oz Abroad
- Oz Revivals
- Trailers