WASHINGTON – Anyone who has ever seen “The Wizard of Oz” has likely imagined what it might be like to travel with Dorothy on her journey from Kansas to Oz and back.
The remastering of the 75-year-old Judy Garland film into 3D gives moviegoers the chance to experience the classic more vividly than ever before.
But like Dorothy’s time in Oz, the opportunity doesn’t last long.
Friday – today – is the final day the Warner Bros. classic will be shown on local IMAX 3D theaters . The 3D version of the film began its run on the big screen a week ago.
The original film was ahead of its time, incorporating sepia images from Dorothy’s life in Kansas with vivid Technicolor during her travels to Emerald City and beyond.
The conversion from 2D to 3D was labor-intensive and painstaking, requiring the creation of a depth-map of each frame to determine distances from the viewer’s vantage point, according to the filmmakers.
“People have asked for years about The Wizard of Oz 3D conversion. My answer was always, ‘We’re not doing it until it’s perfect.’ And now it is,” said Ned Price, Warner technical operations’ vice president of mastering.
Here is a list of local theaters showing the 3D version.
On Oct. 1, “The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” will debut as a five-disc set that will include Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet versions of the film, a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, bonus features and premium collectibles, at a cost of $105.
Here’s how the 3D version was accomplished:
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