The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Widely considered to be one of the greatest films in cinema history, it is the best-known and most commercially successful adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, alongside Ray Bolger,Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton, with Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe and Clara Blandick, Terry (billed as Toto), and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.
The scene opens with a girl who has a panicked facial expression and the tone in her voice to match the panic; from this immediately the audience can see that there is a problem luring within the film that the audience are yet to be exposed to. The girl that we are introduced to is dressed in traditional gingham pinafore with plaits in her hair, which are held together by the same material at the ends, this shows the audience that the girl is from a traditional farming background. Although we meet the character on a wagon sitting with a man who is wearing a turban and suit, sitting on a small round table with a crystal ball in front of him and candles surrounding him.; which shows the audience that this man is a fortune teller which leads to the automatic assumption that there is an element of magic in this film that will be further explained or will gain a more dominant role throughout the film as it progresses. The camera starts at a medium long shot and then tilts which shows the rush that the girl is in to leave the wagon. The shot cuts to another medium long shot which is where the natural sound of the strong wind is really heard by the audience as the dialogue filters out, which makes the audience understand the rush the girl is in as we see her grab her things and run off. The camera then cuts to the fortune teller running after her and telling her that she needs to get undercover, which makes the audience question whether the girl will make it back safe, and now the audience are beginning to understand that there is a problem with the weather and it is now becoming dangerous. The shot then fades to an extreme long shot of a farm location with the strong wind sound being reinforced by the trees bending in the background, the audience can then see the twister moving closer in the background, which makes the audience aware of the danger and what the noise of the wind was really adding up to be. The shot cuts again to a group of men in the farmyard trying to calm the animals and make sure that they are safe, whilst the wind is still blowing in the background which makes the audience understand clearly that the twister in the background and the strong winds will all add up and play a significant element in the film.
The shot then cuts back to another extra long shot of the ranch where the twister can be seen in the background. A medium shot of a woman calling for ‘Dorothy’ but this is drowned out through the wind, this is significant because it shows the power of the twister and makes the audience aware that the twister is going to be a danger to Dorothy, which the audience learn is the girl previously seen. This is reinforced by the cut of the shot to the young girl running in front of the ranch, where she travels across the frame and then leans on the fence where it is broken, with trees also fallen down in the background, which makes the audience aware of how powerful the twister is. Another cut is seen to a shot in the farmyard where all the farm hands are letting the animals go, there is another cut to the girl picking up her dog, although both the characters want to protect the animals they are in different ways; but by the girl holding onto the dog it shows the audience that the dog is going to be with the girl throughout the film. Then there is three men trying to get the woman in the shelter while she is still calling out for ‘Dorothy’ which makes the audience aware that the girl is in danger and this woman is her guardian, the audience then also see the girl after the shot cuts to the girl with the dog trying to get into the garden of the house by kicking the gate trying the break it to get in, during this shot the twister is still in the background where the audience can see that there is still the danger from it. The camera then pans while following the girl as she is looking for somewhere safe to hide whilst the twister passes; the audience then see her trying to go into the house, where at this point she grabs the door and it falls off which foreshadows that something bad is going to happen if the girl decides to shelter in the house.
The shot then cuts to a man trying to shut the panel door of the shelter whilst he is presented as struggling showing the power that the wind has. Cut to the girl still looking in the house for the characters whilst calling ‘Auntie M’. This is frustrating of the audience because the girl has only momentarial missed the shutting of the shelter, although the audience also understand that the girl missing out on the shelter is significant to the development of the plot. As the girl is looking through the house the camera follows her, still allowing the harsh sound of the wind coming in showing the audience that the twister is still ever present. The camera than moves to a close up of the girls face as she realises where her auntie is. Cuts to her outside trying to open the shutter door but she can’t open it, she kicks the door and shouts which shows her desperation to be safe and protected, but when she can’t open it she runs back inside looking for safety. The girl is then seen to be looking out of the window, when the girl turns around the window falls out and hits her on the head, where she falls on the bed and remains still on the bed. A close up of her face is used while the camera moves up and down whilst at an angle, whilst the shot fades in and out showing distortion. The shot then fades into a long shot of the house flying in the twister, and then fades back into the girls face and then into the twister. The frame then zooms out and pans left showing the inside of the twister. A medium long shot then is used to show what the twister has picked up whilst the girl is in the bottom left corner of the frame. The diegetic sound of the turkeys and chickens is heard and shown on the screen when the birds are shown on the roof of a building in the twister, which at this point the girl wakes up. An over the shoulder shot is then used to show the girl looking out of the window. This cuts to a medium shot of the girls confused facial expression as she looks round like she is dreaming about what’s happening to her. Another over the shoulder shot is used to show a woman in a chair who is also in the twister waving to the girl in the house. A cow is then shown along with the diegetic sound of the cow; which is then followed by the close up of the dog whilst that is also barking.
An over the shoulder shot is again used to show the girl getting up to look out of the window; her body language shows that she is in disbelief. A medium shot is then used to show her confusion, as she looks out of the window and looks down where her face shows that she is shocked by what is happening. Cut then to the black inside of the twister, which makes the wind noise extremely loud and dominant, the black screen initially depicts a negative twisted image; although this is up for the audience to create their own opinion because the girl isn’t hurt and nothing bad has happened yet, the black could just foreshadow negativity. Another over the shoulder shot is shown along with the diegetic sound used as she calls for a lady on the bike who the audience are informed that the girl character knows. Although the woman on the bike fades into a silhouette of a witch on a broomstick, who diegetically makes the traditional witch cackle. The shot then cuts to a long shot of the house in the twister, which is followed by another jump cut to the inside of the house were the girl is on the bed screaming as she is spinning around. An extreme long shot is used to show the house falling through the twister, when the house falls out of the frame the next shot is a new frame where the house is at the top of the frame falling down. The house then falls down to the camera who is shooting from a low angle until the screen blacks out. The character in the house then jolts as the house has clearly hit the floor, the girl looks around in shock, then picks up the dog. At the point the house hits the floor all sound stops. A medium shot of the girl walking out of the door cautiously is shown. The camera pans with the girl as she walks through the house along with the lack of sound and music creates an ominous eerie tone that the audience aren’t aware as to what will happen next and there is no clues on screen either, the girl then walks out of the frame of the shot.
Georgia McCormick Advanced Media Portfolio 