'Lovingly restored and entirely remastered, with six times higher resolution than standard DVD' The Wizard Of Oz will be closing out the 47th annual New York Film Festival in a special way this month. A festival which will include new stuff like Lars Von Trier's puzzling Antichrist, Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces & Festival Favourite Precious. Know what? Chances are none will be better than Victor Fleming's 1939 classic featuring a Dorothy trying to imagine there truly is 'no place like home'. Some complain the movie hasn't aged well -no kidding, its 70 years old- but it's still got a bigger heart than any other movie out there. Childhood memories flood my brain whenever I think of this cherished classic & its undeniable influence among young and old.
Stoners all around will also be pleased by its new crisp restoration and its -still- unexpected flow to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon. It's so deliriously joyful that I'd go as far as calling it a campy delight- meant as a compliment of course. The sheer fact that a movie this old is still getting fans of all generations and ages alike is remarkable- I cannot think of another movie that has had this much of a following over 7 decades ! Its imagination is one of a kind with its talking lions, singing munchkins, flying monkeys & green faced witch- stoners rejoice ! An Image that will always resonate with me is that of Dorothy saying farewell to her friends as she finally finds her way home & seeks a better life in Kansas. Tapping her shoes and repeating 'There's no place like home'. So good.
Noah Baumbach's “Jay Kelly” is joining the Criterion Collection on February 16, 2027. It's one of the headliners of the newly announced February slate, and it's coming out barely a year after Netflix released it.