To
mark the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of
Oz, Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX will be giving cinemagoers
across the UK the chance to experience the timeless classic in the
immersive IMAX® 3D format for the first time ever.
Lovingly revived and renewed frame by frame over 18 months, The
Wizard of Oz is coming back to the big screen
exclusively in IMAX® cinemas across the UK from 12
September, 2014.
The
Wizard of Oz: An IMAX 3D Experience has been digitally
re-mastered into the image and sound quality of An IMAX 3D
Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital
Re-mastering) technology allowing whole new audiences and generations
to discover some classic movie magic that is faithful to the original
vision whilst introducing it to a whole new audience.
The
crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX®‘s customized
theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique
environment that will allow audiences to feel as if they are in the
movie, entering the land of Oz like never before, a few steps behind
Dorothy and her red shoes, along with SCARECROW™; COWARDLY LION™,
and TIN MAN™, as they go off to see the Wizard.
“The
Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved films of all time and we are
thrilled that our longtime partners at Warner Bros. Pictures have
made IMAX a part of this exciting milestone event,” said Greg
Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX
Entertainment. “This film revolutionized the use of color and
special effects in cinema, and we’re excited to add another ‘first’
– bringing this timeless classic to moviegoers across the UK
through the power of IMAX 3D for the very first time.”
The 3D
conversion was a long and complex project which Warner Bros. Pictures
initiated with a very high resolution (8k) scanning of the original
Technicolor camera negative. The restored 2D image was then
transformed by creating a depth-map of each frame to construct 3D
imagery and determine distances from the viewer’s vantage point.
This was followed by the long process (with the use of a rotoscope)
to further refine viewer distances and fully layer shapes and
objects.
Adapted
from L. Frank Baum’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the
rainbow, The Wizard of Oz opened at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on
August 15, 1939. DOROTHY™ was portrayed by a 4'11"
sixteen-year-old girl who quickly earned her reputation as “the
world’s greatest entertainer”—the incomparable Judy Garland.
Ray Bolger appeared as the SCARECROW™; Bert Lahr as the COWARDLY
LION™, Jack Haley as the TIN MAN™. Frank Morgan was seen in six
different roles, including that of the wonderful “Wizard of Oz"
himself.
The
Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award® nominations , including
Best Picture (Outstanding Production), and captured two Oscars®—Best
Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score -- plus a
special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Judy Garland.
The film was an overwhelmingly popular and critical success upon its
initial release and its magical story and heartfelt performances have
enabled it to grow from a perennial classic to its current status as
a treasured icon of popular culture.
