It took more than thousand digital wizards laboring for more than a year to accomplish the critically-acclaimed 3-D conversion of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), says Ned Price, vice president of restoration of Warner Bros., who oversaw the delicate task of enhancing a beloved classic in a way that wouldn’t upset its millions of fans (at least, most of them).
I chatted briefly with Ned about the challenges of the conversion (derived from the superb 2009 digital restoration from an 8K negative scan), which will be available on Blu-ray Tuesday while continuing a highly-sucessful theatrical run in IMAX theaters (since Friday, it’s been showing at matinees in IMAX’s only classic-style Manhattan screen, the six-story one at the Lincoln Square).
As I’ve reported previously, Warner Bros. looked at conversion tests for years before deciding the technology had advance to the point where it could be trusted with one of Warners’ biggest cash cows — and the first classic-era film to undergo 3-D conversion. “It needed a lot more tools for the 3-D to be effective, as well as cost-effective,” he said. And while I guessed the studio-era style of film — with far fewer edits than a contemporary film the length of “Oz” — would make the conversion process earlier, Ned says that exactly the opposite is true.
“The most challenging thing was the slow camera pans, which are dense with details,” he says. “All of the objects and people have to be sculpted repeatedly during the same shot. But on the other hand [having fewer edits] gives the eye time to adjust and look around. It’s so much easier to watch.”
Another challenge for the artists rendering the 3-D was that the film’s special effects shots might be comprised of multiple elements (including painted background images) that were combined optically in those pre-CGI days. “The shot of the witch’s castle might be made up of five plates and when they walk up to the entrance of Oz, that’s at least four plates. If one of the plates is moving, that’s more obvious in the digital format.”
One advantage “Oz” had was that it was filmed in classic three-strip Technicolor using film that required “huge amounts of light. So even the dark scenes are much more effective for 3-D.”
The 3-D “Wizard of Oz” is available on Blu-ray in three different iterations, including a five-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition with all of the special features (but one) from the previous Blu-ray UCE, the 2-D version (the same one as 2009 with a new label) and some new swag, as well as a one-and-two disc editions for those with more limited space and pocketbooks.
All of them — as well as a new DVD edition without the 3-D version — include an excellent new making-of documentary (in HD, with English-language titles) by Gary Leva and narrated by Martin Sheen, that’s longer (69 minutes) and more sophisticated than the one it’s supplemented, a 1990 CBS special with Angela Lansbury that’s been featured on all of the previous digital releases.
My detailed review of the slightly different IMAX version — with a sound mix and visuals tweaked for theaters — can be found here.