Hi everyone! I think I should provide a little more context for my conclusion, as there was a part of the video that I decided to cut but that would have given a musical justification for my final thoughts. Edens’ original Kansas song was inspired by Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne’s ‘Home! Sweet Home!’, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home!_Sweet_Home!) but this wasn’t the only influence this song had on the production. Herbert Stothart actually included the melody from the song throughout the orchestral score, and you can hear it most prominently at the end when Dorothy says ‘There’s no place like home…’ - at 1:03 in Delirious Escape / Delirious Escape Continued / End Title (czcams.com/video/4uVxx4cUwmU/video.html). But you can also hear it, played by a solo horn, at 2:35 in the same track underneath ‘Over the Rainbow’. So, for me, it feels like we have two conflicting messages - one melody, by Bishop, telling us there’s no place like home, that Kansas is where Dorothy belongs, and Arlen’s melody, whose only lyrics in the film have been about escape, telling us this is not her true home. So, my conclusion was that Over the Rainbow, that Harburg and Arlen were trying to tell us something important at the end. Anyway, this is just how I interpreted it and I just thought I would give a little more information. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for this comment, that's something that stood out for me. My thinking about this moment is definitely different. I see it as an attempt to synthesize and reconcile those two tensions that Dorothy feels; the desire to escape the ordinary dullness and trouble of life on the one hand, and the desire for the familiar and familial on the other. At the end of the film, we're meant to empathize with her escapism, but to recognize that she belongs where she is, and that having made this journey of escape, her gray world is made brighter by the memories. This is very much in keeping with the needs of the film industry at the time. They needed to sell something very fanciful to an audience that contained people who might have been more resistant to fantasy, the parents especially. So this narrative arc was a way to have one's cake and eat it too: a frank statement of dissatisfaction with reality, an escapist journey, culminating in a return to reality, enriched and satisfied by novelty, danger, and beauty.
We don't know the value of home and the family and everyday people we love. ...it took me awhile to figure out the other hidden yet obvious message in this film. Its when professor marvel says to the tinman.." A man is judged not by how much he loves ....but how much he/ is loved by others. " Dorothy found out from her near death experience that everyone on that farm loved her. As we all in the audience now and in the future fall in love with Dorothy and Judy Garland. That song took every important American values, set it up with gorgeousness, and lifys my sprit with its honest, most sincere performance of this gifted artist. Love the doc...was wondering who or what are tbe female chorus who sing " optumistic voices" voices. They can be heard all through tbe film and add that mystical magical fairy element in song..they are heard not seen
@@keithklassen5320 well there's also the fact that Dorothy is still a child, with some important years of growing up within the safe harbor of home ahead of her before she's ready to go off looking for that rainbow.
alternatively, over the rainbow is a song of longing, it's about the place she belongs. At the end, when she's back in Kansas, it plays again because now she knows Kansas is where she belongs, that the place she was looking for was there all along, so now Over the Rainbow is associated with Kansas rather than Oz because that's where her longing is
Those seeing the movie in its first run were people who were still going through the trials of The Great Depression. This song would hardly have been over their heads. It would have struck them directly in the heart.
The Great Depression was, I think letting up by 1939, though. It was still there, but nowhere near as bad as, say, in 1933, when it was supposedly at it's worse
@@chrismulwee4911 we'll be saying the same thing about Covid soon enough, give it six years, and this kind of hopefulness will be manipulating you in the popular media again. It's a small world after all.
@@smg4reblooperd182 I'd say give it six months, but given your response, I think you'll need 4 years on this trajectory before you see what's _really_ up with the coof. And we'll have it, oh, we'll have it... Tty then 😉👌
This story reminded me of how Disney almost cut “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. The lyricist Howard Ashman knew the importance of having an “I want” song to establish the story and fought to keep it in the film. I often hear Somewhere Over the Rainbow cited as an early example of the “I want” song, maybe not the first but one of the best. It’s crazy to think of the impact this song has not just on this film, but the entire musical theatre tradition.
Its exactly that. I refer it as the green grass concept. The desire to want or belong, only to find its not what you thought and you appreciate the beauty of what you already had; your life may be someone's "over the rainbow", just as much as another's may be yours
Hard to imagine anyone watching/hearing Judy Garland's performance of that song and thinking it should be cut for time. You'd have to have a heart of stone!
It's one of the few songs that are so associated with one person it should never be covered. Another that comes to mind is Streisands Don't Rain on my Parade.
It's amazing how far we've come and how we take seemingly simple things like color in our tv and movies for granted. People forget that there was a time when it was legitimately life-altering to see something like that. Thanks for sharing your mom's thoughts.
It's funny, I was a kid in the 60s and we didn't have a color TV then. So for several years I saw this film--every Thanksgiving weekend--in black and white! But Oz was still magical.. I just didn't get the part about the 'horse of a different color'. I still adore this film. (My dad did have the soundtrack album, which was printed in color.)
The thing that makes the Garland rendition of the song so impactful is that it came from her heart. Her mother was a nightmarish 'stage mom' by all accounts. According to Hollywood rumors she was left on the "director's couch" by here mother at age eleven for a "private" interview. Whether or not it is true, her life was not her own and she ended up looking for the other side of the rainbow in booze and drugs and never finding it.
Even at age 69, no song will bring me quicker to tears than "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I suppose it is the nostalgia and eagerly awaiting its showing every year as a little boy. I can cry now just thinking of it.
This is a marvelous film. I worked for a couple of years at a children's hospital that had in-house movies. The Wizard of Oz was great for kids facing a serious illness since one of its themes is facing your fears and inadequacies.
I think the reason the score brings back a reprised "Over the Rainbow" at the end is because the point of the movie's story is that there's a fantastical, amazing, beautiful world out there, just over the rainbow... But there's no place like home.
It can also be interpreted that a more quiet, sullen version of the song matches with Dorthy wanting to return back home. She went over the rainbow and saw it. And while she had fun at the start, she became frightened and wanted desperately to leave by the end. I mean, she spends the last third of her time in Oz crying and begging to leave. So I always interpreted it as your typical fairy tale/parable ending where the person realized they already had what they wanted before they left. Which is why they reused the song she sang literally before she left. There's some fancy Greek word for this but it escapes me at the moment.
@@maxis2k Agon; the hero's journey; taken by the tale's 'prot-agonist' [edit: opposed by the ant-agonist and, in Dorothy's case, assisted by an agony aunt].
After seeing so much beauty and excitement why would she ever want to return to a bleak B&W late depression of Kansas with WW2 just around the corner? Maybe the movie was just a con to keep Kansas populated...
@@huskerhank6231 I mean, she didn't know about WWII. No one did at the time, right? This was the same year the war started, so it's hardly a factor, and it never touched Kansas anyway. Although the book was written back before the 20th century entirely, so maybe WWII is still like 40-50 years off. In any case, I already answered your question of why would she want to go back, in my original comment. The world over the rainbow is beautiful and amazing, but... There's no place like home.
I also want to point out that this film was released over 80 years ago, people still watch it, love it, dream along with it, and we're still talking about it. This is no ordinary movie.
As an editor and storyteller myself, I can't imagine taking that piece out of the film. It really sets the stage for everything that occurs in the rest of the story, and quite literally sets-up the big "color reveal" when she goes to Oz. This is why a good producer knows when to get involved in the process, and when to stay out!
When you talk about the final orchestral version when Dorothy is back in Kansas, Kansas hasn't changed as you pointed out, but perhaps it is Dorothy who has changed and she now appreciates the things she took for granted...
I always wondered what the reaction of the audience was like when Dorothy opened the front door of her house and stepped out into a world of color. The beginning of the movie displayed in a sepia tone along with a two dimensional perspective was a set up for a door opening to three dimensional vibrant colors along with the star transitioning to a beautiful young girl stepping into a vastly enhanced awe inspiring new world. There must have been many gasps around the theater as the people felt they just underwent a fantastic change themselves.
I recently found your channel and watched your Harry Potter and Star Wars videos. I was absolutely blown away. You explain the topic you are explaining in a TON of detail. Your editing skills make even the most music theory clueless person able to understand it. Keep up the amazing work!
What an injustice to this film and the people who made it, and the people who watched it. I am disappointed and angry you cut Over the Rainbow out of the the movie!😡😡😡
I cannot think of a better song from the 20th century. It is PERFECT! The lyrics and melody personify the mood and perspective of Dorothy. Judy's vocal is so visceral.
I think you got the message of the film totally wrong,yes at the end Kansas is still the same but Dorothy isn't she has evolved and has accepted who she is and where she's from,she doesn't need the escapism in her life anymore,why would the last line of the film be..."there's no place like home!"if she still felt trapped.
@@wmoates6029 Well a home is not solely a location that is a simplistic definition,a home is inseparable from the people who you know who also live there,"home" in this context is the place and at the same time the people she knew.
I always saw it as hearing Somewhere Over the Rainbow wasn't at odds with what Dorothy was saying but reinforcing it. She was chasing the dream of someplace better but her place over the rainbow was right where she started. In a similar way to Sarah in Labyrinth finding a newfound appreciation for her home life after her adventures.
"Over The Rainbow" Somewhere over the rainbow way up high There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far Behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow Why then, oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly Beyond the rainbow Why, oh, why can't I?
To me the song sings about the "inability" to fly over the rainbow. We are all prisoners of that dark and bland place called Kansas, which is a metonymy for life, and that is why we go visit places like OZ, the Grand Canyon, The Vatican, Disneyland, etc.--"to fly over the rainbow.".
One more important point. This was written in 1938, and even then the portents of Hitler's Europe were unfolding, even if not to the horrendous atrocities that would soon enough unfold.
My Grandma told me about seeing Wizard Of Oz in the theater. She said she was blown away by the special effects when the house is inside the tornado and various actors fly past the window. She also said when she first saw the scene where they meet the wizard it scared the shit out of her.
12:50 - I interpreted this use of Over the Rainbow in the exact opposite way. She travelled over the rainbow, and the dreams she dared to dream came true - both the fantastical adventure she dreamed of. The trouble is that it didn’t fulfil her underlying goal of finding somewhere to belong - she was definitely not at home in Oz, as per Glinda’s incantation. (With a pet theory that the magic wouldn’t have worked at the start of the movie because she didn’t believe it yet) I took the second iteration of the song to represent her having found what she wanted when she first sang the songs but having grown up to want her family and home in Kansas after her want didn’t satisfy her underlying need. Otherwise she doesn’t grow as a character, and does precious little in the course of the story, which isn’t super-compelling. The other way is classic dramatic arc character development stuff, or at least that’s how I made sense of it.
"Why is the movie in black and white at the start?" "Have you ever been to Kansas?" Hey, it turns out there actually was a reason for that. Also, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers were Silver Slippers in the book, but red shows up better on the screen with the color film they had back then.
oh man - this comment depresses me. heaven forbid the fat consumers miss out on something. use that time to start producing what you think is missing ffs.
@@MrRazNZ I think the issue is with the word “consumer” as it inadequately describes the subject and carries grotesque context. Like “content” and “social media” it doesn’t work effectively to describe all the nuanced properties of art and audience and it frames them in their value to markets. How to describe the complex position of people who experience art, interacts with it, change it through interaction, and create new context for art is something we need to review.
@@MrRazNZ All he said was how sad it that a lot of people's hard work, really brilliant pieces of art and media, never see the light of day or never get noticed because of scenarios like what almost happened to 'Over the Rainbow'. Like what are you even trying to say with that comment? Most people are not composers, and nobody has the talents to make every piece of art they feel is missing. And what's with the random insults? If you create a piece of media, you're a creator. If you enjoy media not created by you, you're a consumer. I don't know a single person alive that isn't a consumer of something
@@MrRazNZ This is such a worthless reply. So much art goes to waste like this almost did, and you don’t think that’s even remotely sad? Even if you don’t, why do you care if other people do? Your favorite media could have just as easily not been made, and I doubt you have the specific abilities to make it yourself.
I’m pretty sure that the message of the movie is that while she wanted to escape Kansas because out there was where she’d find happiness, fact is, everything she really wanted and needed was right at home, in Kansas and she didn’t need to leave home to find it.
I think the whole point of the movie is that in the beginning, Dorothy wants to get away, but then she realizes that however dull and colourless Kansas is, it's where the people she loves are. When she first gets to OZ, she wants to go home because she's scared and this place isn't familiar. But through her adventures and the reflection of her friends and family back home within the lion, scarecrow and tin man, she learns not to take them for granted. She used to be upset with them for yelling at her and being so serious, but the lion scarecrow and tin man remind her of their good qualities and she misses them. I think this is why Glinda didn't tell her about the ruby slippers power to take her home from the beginning. Dorothy needed to learn not to take the people she loved for granted and really, truly miss them before she could go home.
@@lesleythompson6801 no. Someone asks (I think the scarecrow or the tin woodman) why couldn’t Glinda just tell Dorothy in the first place? And she just responds by saying “because it was something she had to discover for herself”. Which doesn’t even make sense because, excuse me Glinda! You just told her! She didn’t find it out for her self. So yeah, I think it can be explained, but it’s weird that Glinda never actually explains it in the movie.
It's particularly interesting to consider that in the original Oz series, Dorothy goes back and forth to Oz from Kansas a couple times before eventually moving to Oz permanently with her Aunt and Uncle, which Dorothy requests happen due to their losing the farm to debt. She even ends up being appointed an official Princess of Oz by Ozma. In many ways, the movie actually inverts the whole premise of the books, in which Oz is a real place that people can go and come from, and in that sense, they ALL end up living over the rainbow in the end.
Um, no. The point of the song is that it gives Dorthy something she otherwise would not have; character growth. Because at the end she realizes that what really matters are the people in your life that love you. She thought she wanted to escape, until she did. As the old saying goes you don't know what you got until it's gone.
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) has been a tradition of viewing for years by my family. My mom would read all 14 of L Frank Baum's Oz books to my siblings and I when we were all young children.
Your work is incredible! I wonder if you would do an essay on Ennio Morricone's main theme for The Mission? It's one of the most the transcendent pieces of music to come out of the 20th century - in my humble, layman, grasshopper opinion. Thanks for your work!
I got to see "The Wizard of Oz" on the big screen when the old movie theater in my town, built in the 30s and surely ran it first run showed it in the 1980s. What a treat that was to see it in the theater I went to all the time as a little boy.
Wow amazing video! Your editing just keeps on getting better with every video! I was thinking with the recent Spider-Man hype and nostalgia, now would be a good time to do a video on Danny Elfman's score for the original 2000s trilogy. He did such a great job of setting the tone for both Peter and Spider-Man, and I still consider it one of the best superhero film scores out there
I was pleasantly surprised with the content. Surmising the title was click-bait it is nice to find there was value and not sensationalism. Great documentational images with a calm, clear narration supported by relevant musical clips makes me hope to find more little 'nuggets' of information which add color to memories.
Just subbed to your channel and I love these kind of videos. The Wizard of Oz is one of the best movies ever made even if it had a rough production I still feel the magic is real. Over The Rainbow is one of the best songs of all time.
The song wasn't cut from the movie, she sang it on the wagon by the house. In fact her aunt was a bit mean to her in when they were getting ready for storm. I read the book myself. Actually it was a book about the little girl who was trying to back home after her house fell on the witch. Her sister wanted her shoes because of the magic that was in them. Dorothy put them because she didn't have any I think. She was supposed to have about 5 years old. She met up with scare crow, and lion , tin man , it was told how he became tin. She met up with fake magician , and he came there by an air balloon from a circus. The good witch glinda told her how to use the shoes. She went to wicked witch's castle and to destory her ,and to stop her from ruling muchin land and she tried to get Dorthy's shoes. That when she threw the water on the witch and the witch melted, because she been so evil her blood had dried up years ago. The old circus had left and when she clicked her heels together three times it brought back Kansas, and she ran to the farm house calling out Auntie Elm. She told her aunt she would never leave home again. That is my best rememberance of the story. 🤗
I've heard another story about the writing of the song, that the line "Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I?" was a suggestion from Ira Gershwin. Harburg, Arlen, and Gershwin were working together informally, as happened when they were on a tight deadline. Asked how he thought of it, Gershwin said "It was getting to be a long evening." ;-)
The orchestration is so different than modern orchestration. The bass clarinet and chimes in 'Rainbow' adds to its mystique. The soprano chorus in other songs is so entirely of the 30s. How about a deep dive into orchestration techniques of Hollywood movies of the 30s? Don't forget that violin gliss that was so common and of that era!
Interesting that this film should be so rigorously held to 1h30min, when the "other" film we remember from the same year - the one that swept all the oscars (except for this song) clocks in at 3h58min. Gone with the Wind also had five directors and swept an astonishing TEN oscars, including "Color Cinematagrophy"; a new category, as the color technology was brand new at the time. The Wizard, which we remember today as a pioneering adventure in the use of color cinematography, was not even nominated for this award...
i have no idea how you manage to make all of your videos fantastic, but you have done it ONCE AGAIN. i have yet to come across another channel’s musical analysis that even contends with the ones you have made. incredible job. keep doing what you’re doing dude.
"My dear sweet Dorothy, as you looked about the grey wash of Kansas, looking for the all the colors of the rainbow, you never thought to see that you are their rainbow. Even in the bleakest of situations we are the light that can shines for others." - The Wizard Idgarad of the land of 10,000 Lakes. ;)
Loved this! It's such a special song and we're so fortunate that Arlen and Harburg fought to keep it in the film. I didn't realize that so much was cut from the film, but I found a Deluxe Edition soundtrack that seems to include all the music outtakes.
Damn it Man! You editing skills are AMAZING on this video! Seems like each time you make a video it’s just getting better and better. For someone reason that last part made me get tears in my eyes lol. I can’t wait to see what you talk about next!
Its the grass is greener on the other side concept. She starts by pouring her heart out and speaking about a better place, then she experiences such place but wants to go home; then arrives home and we hear her express herself in conversation with her family while the instrumentals take a back seat to remind us that "over the rainbow" is a two way street. Her life was also an over the rainbow once she saw the otherside. It was a beautiful rewind, a mirroring of what truly is beautiful, the sepia filled Kansas shines in the instrumentals of "over the rainbow" as much as it expressed the desperate need to escape at the beginning, all circling back to show; theres no place, like Home.
Wizard of Oz without ‘Over the rainbow’ is like America without Abraham Lincoln. Take them away, and they (America and Wizard of Oz) are just not finished.
My mother was 10 in 1939. She always talked about going with her mother and her aunt to see “Gone With The Wind” in the movie theater. She never said anything ever about seeing “The Wizard Of Oz” in the theater. But, it was a annual event for our family of 5(Mom, Dad, me and my 2 siblings) to see TWOO when it came on TV in the 1960’s/1970’s.
This documentary had the polish and professionalism of other documentary's like the ones you see in National Geographic. This was very enjoyable to watch, and the story was wonderful. Thank you for making something worth the time ,and something worth sharing. Cheers!
I was just scrolling through random videos on the CZcams homepage and came across this one. Very well done and you have earned yourself a new subscriber!
I absolutely love this. And thank you for educating on a otherwise unknown topic about the making of the movie - something that we didn’t already know!
This is a great and amazing video. Thank you so much. When I watch "The Wizard of Oz", I see "Over the Rainbow" as a beautiful song. And not much more. However; when I hear it isolated and cut from the film, it grabs the emotional attention of people who are not happy where they are, or who they are... and so wish to go "over the rainbow" to that place which will make them content, happy and at peace with themselves and their surroundings. And, in my opinion, THAT is what gives "Over the Rainbow" its iconic status and universal appeal.
Comedian Ron Shock did a show in my hometown in the 90s, and had this take on Kansas: "Man, I'm glad to be here in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately I had to drive across Kansas to get here. At night. This is the scenic way to cross Kansas, recommended by the AAA. You do not want to drive across Kansas in the daytime, it will Suck. The Soul. Right out of you." The CSprings audience howled with knowing laughter. We'd all been there.
When you hear Mandy Patinkin sing this with the introduction, you realize it is a song of the times. It is a song about escape (from the depression, dustbowl, monotony,...). It's a song that helped heal generations from their trials.
Hi everyone! I think I should provide a little more context for my conclusion, as there was a part of the video that I decided to cut but that would have given a musical justification for my final thoughts. Edens’ original Kansas song was inspired by Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne’s ‘Home! Sweet Home!’, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home!_Sweet_Home!) but this wasn’t the only influence this song had on the production. Herbert Stothart actually included the melody from the song throughout the orchestral score, and you can hear it most prominently at the end when Dorothy says ‘There’s no place like home…’ - at 1:03 in Delirious Escape / Delirious Escape Continued / End Title (czcams.com/video/4uVxx4cUwmU/video.html). But you can also hear it, played by a solo horn, at 2:35 in the same track underneath ‘Over the Rainbow’. So, for me, it feels like we have two conflicting messages - one melody, by Bishop, telling us there’s no place like home, that Kansas is where Dorothy belongs, and Arlen’s melody, whose only lyrics in the film have been about escape, telling us this is not her true home. So, my conclusion was that Over the Rainbow, that Harburg and Arlen were trying to tell us something important at the end. Anyway, this is just how I interpreted it and I just thought I would give a little more information. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for this comment, that's something that stood out for me.
My thinking about this moment is definitely different. I see it as an attempt to synthesize and reconcile those two tensions that Dorothy feels; the desire to escape the ordinary dullness and trouble of life on the one hand, and the desire for the familiar and familial on the other. At the end of the film, we're meant to empathize with her escapism, but to recognize that she belongs where she is, and that having made this journey of escape, her gray world is made brighter by the memories.
This is very much in keeping with the needs of the film industry at the time. They needed to sell something very fanciful to an audience that contained people who might have been more resistant to fantasy, the parents especially. So this narrative arc was a way to have one's cake and eat it too: a frank statement of dissatisfaction with reality, an escapist journey, culminating in a return to reality, enriched and satisfied by novelty, danger, and beauty.
We don't know the value of home and the family and everyday people we love. ...it took me awhile to figure out the other hidden yet obvious message in this film. Its when professor marvel says to the tinman.." A man is judged not by how much he loves ....but how much he/ is loved by others. " Dorothy found out from her near death experience that everyone on that farm loved her. As we all in the audience now and in the future fall in love with Dorothy and Judy Garland. That song took every important American values, set it up with gorgeousness, and lifys my sprit with its honest, most sincere performance of this gifted artist. Love the doc...was wondering who or what are tbe female chorus who sing " optumistic voices" voices. They can be heard all through tbe film and add that mystical magical fairy element in song..they are heard not seen
I don't know, maybe you're overthinking it. A perfectionist curse.
@@keithklassen5320 well there's also the fact that Dorothy is still a child, with some important years of growing up within the safe harbor of home ahead of her before she's ready to go off looking for that rainbow.
alternatively, over the rainbow is a song of longing, it's about the place she belongs. At the end, when she's back in Kansas, it plays again because now she knows Kansas is where she belongs, that the place she was looking for was there all along, so now Over the Rainbow is associated with Kansas rather than Oz because that's where her longing is
Those seeing the movie in its first run were people who were still going through the trials of The Great Depression. This song would hardly have been over their heads. It would have struck them directly in the heart.
The Great Depression was, I think letting up by 1939, though. It was still there, but nowhere near as bad as, say, in 1933, when it was supposedly at it's worse
@@chrismulwee4911 we'll be saying the same thing about Covid soon enough, give it six years, and this kind of hopefulness will be manipulating you in the popular media again. It's a small world after all.
@@Varunic219 ya but even covid at it's worse wasn't that bad, at least in the US, just kinda boring and how to swicth to online work
@@smg4reblooperd182 I'd say give it six months, but given your response, I think you'll need 4 years on this trajectory before you see what's _really_ up with the coof. And we'll have it, oh, we'll have it... Tty then 😉👌
@@Varunic219 oh I know the after math will linger I just mean just mean the main situation
This story reminded me of how Disney almost cut “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. The lyricist Howard Ashman knew the importance of having an “I want” song to establish the story and fought to keep it in the film. I often hear Somewhere Over the Rainbow cited as an early example of the “I want” song, maybe not the first but one of the best. It’s crazy to think of the impact this song has not just on this film, but the entire musical theatre tradition.
I, too, watch Sideways.
@@A.F.Whitepigeon I was like “wait who?” then realized I’m subscribed to their channel😅 but nah I just watched a Howard Ashman documentary
I was thinking the same! Ashman & Menken wrote some of the greatest "I want" songs and clearly knew their importance.
Its exactly that. I refer it as the green grass concept. The desire to want or belong, only to find its not what you thought and you appreciate the beauty of what you already had; your life may be someone's "over the rainbow", just as much as another's may be yours
@@edwardbrock3807 beautifully said 😌
Hard to imagine anyone watching/hearing Judy Garland's performance of that song and thinking it should be cut for time. You'd have to have a heart of stone!
It's one of the few songs that are so associated with one person it should never be covered. Another that comes to mind is Streisands Don't Rain on my Parade.
Mom said everyone in the theater gasped when the door opened to munchkin land. She said it was the most magical thing any of them had ever seen.
That is so lovely!
My mom said the same thing.
It's amazing how far we've come and how we take seemingly simple things like color in our tv and movies for granted. People forget that there was a time when it was legitimately life-altering to see something like that. Thanks for sharing your mom's thoughts.
It's funny, I was a kid in the 60s and we didn't have a color TV then. So for several years I saw this film--every Thanksgiving weekend--in black and white! But Oz was still magical.. I just didn't get the part about the 'horse of a different color'. I still adore this film.
(My dad did have the soundtrack album, which was printed in color.)
Wow!!
Bloody hell you're good at making these videos!
Thank you so much David!
True, he is.
This is, indeed, really well made TV.
Fuck off checkmark
You are BOTH really good at making videos, thank you!
The thing that makes the Garland rendition of the song so impactful is that it came from her heart. Her mother was a nightmarish 'stage mom' by all accounts. According to Hollywood rumors she was left on the "director's couch" by here mother at age eleven for a "private" interview. Whether or not it is true, her life was not her own and she ended up looking for the other side of the rainbow in booze and drugs and never finding it.
THE ASPECT RATIO. BRILLIANT CHOICE
good point!
Even at age 69, no song will bring me quicker to tears than "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I suppose it is the nostalgia and eagerly awaiting its showing every year as a little boy. I can cry now just thinking of it.
Yes, I cried hearing it during this video. And Judy had the perfect voice for it.
This is a marvelous film. I worked for a couple of years at a children's hospital that had in-house movies. The Wizard of Oz was great for kids facing a serious illness since one of its themes is facing your fears and inadequacies.
Courage!
I think the reason the score brings back a reprised "Over the Rainbow" at the end is because the point of the movie's story is that there's a fantastical, amazing, beautiful world out there, just over the rainbow... But there's no place like home.
It can also be interpreted that a more quiet, sullen version of the song matches with Dorthy wanting to return back home. She went over the rainbow and saw it. And while she had fun at the start, she became frightened and wanted desperately to leave by the end. I mean, she spends the last third of her time in Oz crying and begging to leave. So I always interpreted it as your typical fairy tale/parable ending where the person realized they already had what they wanted before they left. Which is why they reused the song she sang literally before she left. There's some fancy Greek word for this but it escapes me at the moment.
@@maxis2k Agon; the hero's journey; taken by the tale's 'prot-agonist'
[edit: opposed by the ant-agonist and,
in Dorothy's case, assisted by an agony aunt].
After seeing so much beauty and excitement why would she ever want to return to a bleak B&W late depression of Kansas with WW2 just around the corner? Maybe the movie was just a con to keep Kansas populated...
@@huskerhank6231 I mean, she didn't know about WWII. No one did at the time, right? This was the same year the war started, so it's hardly a factor, and it never touched Kansas anyway. Although the book was written back before the 20th century entirely, so maybe WWII is still like 40-50 years off.
In any case, I already answered your question of why would she want to go back, in my original comment. The world over the rainbow is beautiful and amazing, but... There's no place like home.
Also worth mentioning that to get back to Kansas, she has to travel over the rainbow once more.
I also want to point out that this film was released over 80 years ago, people still watch it, love it, dream along with it, and we're still talking about it.
This is no ordinary movie.
As an editor and storyteller myself, I can't imagine taking that piece out of the film. It really sets the stage for everything that occurs in the rest of the story, and quite literally sets-up the big "color reveal" when she goes to Oz. This is why a good producer knows when to get involved in the process, and when to stay out!
When you talk about the final orchestral version when Dorothy is back in Kansas, Kansas hasn't changed as you pointed out, but perhaps it is Dorothy who has changed and she now appreciates the things she took for granted...
Agreed. :)
You even made the aspect ratio 4:3, this is great
finally a video i can watch on my ipad! hahaha jokes aside, this aspect ratio feels nostalgic
Editing of this channel is next level
I love it when I find out one of my favorite CZcamsrs watches another one of my favorite CZcamsrs.
Thank you Ben!
This video deserves at least a million views. Extremely well done, mate.
Thank you so much Henry!
That's a lot coming from you man. I love your stuff
I always wondered what the reaction of the audience was like when Dorothy opened the front door of her house and stepped out into a world of color. The beginning of the movie displayed in a sepia tone along with a two dimensional perspective was a set up for a door opening to three dimensional vibrant colors along with the star transitioning to a beautiful young girl stepping into a vastly enhanced awe inspiring new world. There must have been many gasps around the theater as the people felt they just underwent a fantastic change themselves.
I recently found your channel and watched your Harry Potter and Star Wars videos. I was absolutely blown away. You explain the topic you are explaining in a TON of detail. Your editing skills make even the most music theory clueless person able to understand it. Keep up the amazing work!
I recognized Austin’s voice as soon as I heard it.
Same lol
“Audiences can’t handle a 2 hour movie - cut everything that helps with continuity!”
Endgame- audiences wanted it longer
And then, in 1939 they released "Gone with the Wind" - 3 hours, 59 minutes.
@@jfan4reva True, but Wizard of Oz was seen as a children's film, while GWtW is most definitely not.
What an injustice to this film and the people who made it, and the people who watched it. I am disappointed and angry you cut Over the Rainbow out of the the movie!😡😡😡
I cannot think of a better song from the 20th century. It is PERFECT! The lyrics and melody personify the mood and perspective of Dorothy. Judy's vocal is so visceral.
You need to do an essay on early cartoon film score most Prevalently Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny.
Your videos are criminally under-viewed. They are some of the greatest gems on CZcams! Everything about them is well thought out and orchestrated.
I was not prepared to cry on a Wednesday afternoon 😭 your videos are so consistently beautiful and moving, nice work!
I think you got the message of the film totally wrong,yes at the end Kansas is still the same but Dorothy isn't she has evolved and has accepted who she is and where she's from,she doesn't need the escapism in her life anymore,why would the last line of the film be..."there's no place like home!"if she still felt trapped.
I think "home" was all about the people she knew and loved, not the place.
@@wmoates6029 Well a home is not solely a location that is a simplistic definition,a home is inseparable from the people who you know who also live there,"home" in this context is the place and at the same time the people she knew.
I always saw it as hearing Somewhere Over the Rainbow wasn't at odds with what Dorothy was saying but reinforcing it. She was chasing the dream of someplace better but her place over the rainbow was right where she started. In a similar way to Sarah in Labyrinth finding a newfound appreciation for her home life after her adventures.
Agreed. The nature of the place is still the same, but the subjective experience changed.
bro thats some bs I'd be trying to get back to OZ fuck kansas
"Over The Rainbow"
Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh, why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh, why can't I?
To me the song sings about the "inability" to fly over the rainbow. We are all prisoners of that dark and bland place called Kansas, which is a metonymy for life, and that is why we go visit places like OZ, the Grand Canyon, The Vatican, Disneyland, etc.--"to fly over the rainbow.".
One more important point. This was written in 1938, and even then the portents of Hitler's Europe were unfolding, even if not to the horrendous atrocities that would soon enough unfold.
My Grandma told me about seeing Wizard Of Oz in the theater. She said she was blown away by the special effects when the house is inside the tornado and various actors fly past the window. She also said when she first saw the scene where they meet the wizard it scared the shit out of her.
12:50 - I interpreted this use of Over the Rainbow in the exact opposite way.
She travelled over the rainbow, and the dreams she dared to dream came true - both the fantastical adventure she dreamed of. The trouble is that it didn’t fulfil her underlying goal of finding somewhere to belong - she was definitely not at home in Oz, as per Glinda’s incantation. (With a pet theory that the magic wouldn’t have worked at the start of the movie because she didn’t believe it yet)
I took the second iteration of the song to represent her having found what she wanted when she first sang the songs but having grown up to want her family and home in Kansas after her want didn’t satisfy her underlying need.
Otherwise she doesn’t grow as a character, and does precious little in the course of the story, which isn’t super-compelling.
The other way is classic dramatic arc character development stuff, or at least that’s how I made sense of it.
I agree wholeheartedly! The movie almost is pointless the other way.
"Why is the movie in black and white at the start?"
"Have you ever been to Kansas?"
Hey, it turns out there actually was a reason for that.
Also, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers were Silver Slippers in the book, but red shows up better on the screen with the color film they had back then.
You don’t film in Technicolor and costume in greyscale.
You narration style makes these videos great. You should consider reading audiobooks. I'd definitely love listening to you read a book.
Geez the quality of these videos every 👏🏻 single 👏🏻 time 👏🏻
Just makes you think of all the things that we as consumers miss out on because of limitations
oh man - this comment depresses me. heaven forbid the fat consumers miss out on something. use that time to start producing what you think is missing ffs.
@@MrRazNZ I think the issue is with the word “consumer” as it inadequately describes the subject and carries grotesque context. Like “content” and “social media” it doesn’t work effectively to describe all the nuanced properties of art and audience and it frames them in their value to markets. How to describe the complex position of people who experience art, interacts with it, change it through interaction, and create new context for art is something we need to review.
@@MrRazNZ All he said was how sad it that a lot of people's hard work, really brilliant pieces of art and media, never see the light of day or never get noticed because of scenarios like what almost happened to 'Over the Rainbow'.
Like what are you even trying to say with that comment? Most people are not composers, and nobody has the talents to make every piece of art they feel is missing. And what's with the random insults? If you create a piece of media, you're a creator. If you enjoy media not created by you, you're a consumer. I don't know a single person alive that isn't a consumer of something
A thought that haunts and saddens me
@@MrRazNZ This is such a worthless reply. So much art goes to waste like this almost did, and you don’t think that’s even remotely sad? Even if you don’t, why do you care if other people do? Your favorite media could have just as easily not been made, and I doubt you have the specific abilities to make it yourself.
I’m pretty sure that the message of the movie is that while she wanted to escape Kansas because out there was where she’d find happiness, fact is, everything she really wanted and needed was right at home, in Kansas and she didn’t need to leave home to find it.
Yes! I think THAT is the true point of the movie.
I love the Austin cameo so much, I am so ready for the alg to hit this video.
I think the whole point of the movie is that in the beginning, Dorothy wants to get away, but then she realizes that however dull and colourless Kansas is, it's where the people she loves are. When she first gets to OZ, she wants to go home because she's scared and this place isn't familiar. But through her adventures and the reflection of her friends and family back home within the lion, scarecrow and tin man, she learns not to take them for granted. She used to be upset with them for yelling at her and being so serious, but the lion scarecrow and tin man remind her of their good qualities and she misses them. I think this is why Glinda didn't tell her about the ruby slippers power to take her home from the beginning. Dorothy needed to learn not to take the people she loved for granted and really, truly miss them before she could go home.
Doesn't Glinda say something like that in the movie? Or that the shoes had no power without Dorothy's yearning for home?
@@lesleythompson6801 no. Someone asks (I think the scarecrow or the tin woodman) why couldn’t Glinda just tell Dorothy in the first place? And she just responds by saying “because it was something she had to discover for herself”. Which doesn’t even make sense because, excuse me Glinda! You just told her! She didn’t find it out for her self. So yeah, I think it can be explained, but it’s weird that Glinda never actually explains it in the movie.
@@MirandaMilner Thanks!
Love that you got Austin McConnell for that voiceover!
Great mini-documentary on this piece of The Wizard of Oz story! As always, I was transported to your canvas and enjoyed my stay!
It's particularly interesting to consider that in the original Oz series, Dorothy goes back and forth to Oz from Kansas a couple times before eventually moving to Oz permanently with her Aunt and Uncle, which Dorothy requests happen due to their losing the farm to debt. She even ends up being appointed an official Princess of Oz by Ozma. In many ways, the movie actually inverts the whole premise of the books, in which Oz is a real place that people can go and come from, and in that sense, they ALL end up living over the rainbow in the end.
I'm so happy I found this. So beautifully produced, narrated, and imagined. Thank you.
Um, no. The point of the song is that it gives Dorthy something she otherwise would not have; character growth. Because at the end she realizes that what really matters are the people in your life that love you. She thought she wanted to escape, until she did. As the old saying goes you don't know what you got until it's gone.
It's not an LGBTQ+ landmark for nothing. It's where the rainbow iconography originated.
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) has been a tradition of viewing for years by my family. My mom would read all 14 of L Frank Baum's Oz books to my siblings and I when we were all young children.
I want to see the version of the movie that was too long. I would happily spend 2, 3, or 4 hours immersed in The Wizard of Oz.
A thousand years from now, people will still sing this song.
I cannot imagine The Wizard of Oz without the song. It would be like a masterpiece painting, with a giant blemish running across it. Fantastic video!
Love the Austin McConnell cameo!
I think my late friend would be crying over this, that’s how good the documentary is.
Am I right in thinking it was the adult Judy that sang the last rendition of Over the Rainbow in this video? It was a nice touch to finish.
Your work is incredible! I wonder if you would do an essay on Ennio Morricone's main theme for The Mission? It's one of the most the transcendent pieces of music to come out of the 20th century - in my humble, layman, grasshopper opinion. Thanks for your work!
I support this
I don't like musicals but I've always loved this song. Glad to know its behind the scenes.
Your videos are really in a class by themselves, and your profound love of music always come through. Bravo!
I got to see "The Wizard of Oz" on the big screen when the old movie theater in my town, built in the 30s and surely ran it first run showed it in the 1980s. What a treat that was to see it in the theater I went to all the time as a little boy.
Wow amazing video! Your editing just keeps on getting better with every video! I was thinking with the recent Spider-Man hype and nostalgia, now would be a good time to do a video on Danny Elfman's score for the original 2000s trilogy. He did such a great job of setting the tone for both Peter and Spider-Man, and I still consider it one of the best superhero film scores out there
"Over the Rainbow" has a special meaning for me, a girl from Kansas. It reminds me of home, *my* home. There's no place like home.
I was pleasantly surprised with the content. Surmising the title was click-bait it is nice to find there was value and not sensationalism. Great documentational images with a calm, clear narration supported by relevant musical clips makes me hope to find more little 'nuggets' of information which add color to memories.
This was astounding. Beautifully done.
Thank you so much Aimee!
Sometimes, the simplest thing to say is... thank you for telling this story.
Just subbed to your channel and I love these kind of videos. The Wizard of Oz is one of the best movies ever made even if it had a rough production I still feel the magic is real. Over The Rainbow is one of the best songs of all time.
Amazing video, Barney! I love this topic and the editing is incredible. Well done and keep it up!
The song wasn't cut from the movie, she sang it on the wagon by the house. In fact her aunt was a bit mean to her in when they were getting ready for storm. I read the book myself.
Actually it was a book about the little girl who was trying to back home after her house fell on the witch. Her sister wanted her shoes because of the magic that was in them. Dorothy put them because she didn't have any I think. She was supposed to have about 5 years old. She met up with scare crow, and lion , tin man , it was told how he became tin.
She met up with fake magician , and he came there by an air balloon from a circus. The good witch glinda told her how to use the shoes. She went to wicked witch's castle and to destory her ,and to stop her from ruling muchin land and she tried to get Dorthy's shoes. That when she threw the water on the witch and the witch melted, because she been so evil her blood had dried up years ago.
The old circus had left and when she clicked her heels together three times it brought back Kansas, and she ran to the farm house calling out Auntie Elm. She told her aunt she would never leave home again.
That is my best rememberance of the story. 🤗
I've heard another story about the writing of the song, that the line "Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't I?" was a suggestion from Ira Gershwin. Harburg, Arlen, and Gershwin were working together informally, as happened when they were on a tight deadline. Asked how he thought of it, Gershwin said "It was getting to be a long evening." ;-)
Beautifully and thoughtfully put together. Thank you.
Such a beautiful story of a very very beautiful song.
Amazing really ... Your channel is totally one of my all times favorite on YT
The orchestration is so different than modern orchestration. The bass clarinet and chimes in 'Rainbow' adds to its mystique. The soprano chorus in other songs is so entirely of the 30s. How about a deep dive into orchestration techniques of Hollywood movies of the 30s? Don't forget that violin gliss that was so common and of that era!
I just found your channel tonight and I'm so glad I did! Thank you for sharing what I believe, is your gift!
Interesting that this film should be so rigorously held to 1h30min, when the "other" film we remember from the same year - the one that swept all the oscars (except for this song) clocks in at 3h58min. Gone with the Wind also had five directors and swept an astonishing TEN oscars, including "Color Cinematagrophy"; a new category, as the color technology was brand new at the time. The Wizard, which we remember today as a pioneering adventure in the use of color cinematography, was not even nominated for this award...
i have no idea how you manage to make all of your videos fantastic, but you have done it ONCE AGAIN. i have yet to come across another channel’s musical analysis that even contends with the ones you have made. incredible job. keep doing what you’re doing dude.
The special effects on this video are AMAZING especially Glinda’s bubble! I don’t know what you use for editing, but it’s amazing!
"My dear sweet Dorothy, as you looked about the grey wash of Kansas, looking for the all the colors of the rainbow, you never thought to see that you are their rainbow. Even in the bleakest of situations we are the light that can shines for others." - The Wizard Idgarad of the land of 10,000 Lakes. ;)
Loved this! It's such a special song and we're so fortunate that Arlen and Harburg fought to keep it in the film. I didn't realize that so much was cut from the film, but I found a Deluxe Edition soundtrack that seems to include all the music outtakes.
Damn it Man! You editing skills are AMAZING on this video! Seems like each time you make a video it’s just getting better and better. For someone reason that last part made me get tears in my eyes lol. I can’t wait to see what you talk about next!
Can you do James Horner? Legends of the fall, Deep impact, Avatar, Titanic….
I know absolutely nothing about music but I find your videos utterly fascinating. Keep them coming!
Its the grass is greener on the other side concept. She starts by pouring her heart out and speaking about a better place, then she experiences such place but wants to go home; then arrives home and we hear her express herself in conversation with her family while the instrumentals take a back seat to remind us that "over the rainbow" is a two way street. Her life was also an over the rainbow once she saw the otherside. It was a beautiful rewind, a mirroring of what truly is beautiful, the sepia filled Kansas shines in the instrumentals of "over the rainbow" as much as it expressed the desperate need to escape at the beginning, all circling back to show; theres no place, like Home.
Amazing content as always! Over the Rainbow is one of my favorite songs, thanks so much for this again!
The production value of this video is "over the rainbow". Well done, sir.
Brilliant. You are a master of video creation. Looking forward to you blowing up!
Once again, you left me speechless with this video!
Thank you so much for making videos about music. Your stories about these songs follow along their musical impact. They're wonderful.
You are exceptionally excellent at creating videos. Keep up the amazing work! Love your content!
Wizard of Oz without ‘Over the rainbow’ is like America without Abraham Lincoln.
Take them away, and they (America and Wizard of Oz) are just not finished.
As a fan of classic cinema, I appreciate this video.
My mother was 10 in 1939. She always talked about going with her mother and her aunt to see “Gone With The Wind” in the movie theater. She never said anything ever about seeing “The Wizard Of Oz” in the theater. But, it was a annual event for our family of 5(Mom, Dad, me and my 2 siblings) to see TWOO when it came on TV in the 1960’s/1970’s.
I am constantly shocked by the gigantic genius imbued in your videos, the quality almost seems too good for CZcams!
The visuals in this were stunning. Excellent art direction.
This is spectacular quality, and something I am sure I will come back to multiple times, well done!
I just found your channel from the jurassic park music. And I love this channel.
This is a masterfully made video. Please keep up this approach to making content
This documentary had the polish and professionalism of other documentary's like the ones you see in National Geographic. This was very enjoyable to watch, and the story was wonderful. Thank you for making something worth the time ,and something worth sharing. Cheers!
I was just scrolling through random videos on the CZcams homepage and came across this one. Very well done and you have earned yourself a new subscriber!
Okay so, where has this channel been? Its so amazing! Keep up the good work
I absolutely love this. And thank you for educating on a otherwise unknown topic about the making of the movie - something that we didn’t already know!
This is a great and amazing video. Thank you so much.
When I watch "The Wizard of Oz", I see "Over the Rainbow" as a beautiful song. And not much more.
However; when I hear it isolated and cut from the film, it grabs the emotional attention of people who are not
happy where they are, or who they are... and so wish to go "over the rainbow" to that place which will make them
content, happy and at peace with themselves and their surroundings.
And, in my opinion, THAT is what gives "Over the Rainbow" its iconic status and universal appeal.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a symbolic narrative of the Great Depression.
Amazing!
Thanks so much for your marvelous video!
Comedian Ron Shock did a show in my hometown in the 90s, and had this take on Kansas:
"Man, I'm glad to be here in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately I had to drive across Kansas to get here. At night. This is the scenic way to cross Kansas, recommended by the AAA.
You do not want to drive across Kansas in the daytime, it will Suck. The Soul. Right out of you."
The CSprings audience howled with knowing laughter. We'd all been there.
The imagery and music selections in this video are great! Thanks for discussing this! I had no idea! Take care! 🙂
"...and Toto following behind singing the Kansas song". Now that would be something!
When you hear Mandy Patinkin sing this with the introduction, you realize it is a song of the times. It is a song about escape (from the depression, dustbowl, monotony,...). It's a song that helped heal generations from their trials.