Wizard Of Oz Film Analysis

The Wizard of Oz has revealed to be an exceptionally well thought out film when analysed. The film has made use of stylistic elements such as colour, light, sound and mise-en-scene which coincide with the various twists and turns of the plot as Dorothy moves from Kansas, to Oz, and back again. In The Wizard of Oz, the directors have employed the use of different unique editing techniques despite being an early film. It is obvious that the audience is able to notice the absence of colour in the beginning and ending of the film. The audience is able to identify the mood and overall feeling for Dorothy when she is in her family farm in Kansas. The lack of colour shows the audience how boring and normal her life is in Kansas where she wants to

On top of that, another unique type of transition is also used well to show events occurring at the same time but in two different locations. A good example of a scene is when Dorothy and her followers are at the poppy field. After the Cowardly Lion joins the group, the scene zooms out to the Wicked Witch’s crystal ball, and fades away. The Wicked Witch then looks at the poppy field, and the scene switches, zooming into the crystal and opening up to show the group travelling again. After Dorothy falls asleep in the field, an image of the Good Witch appears over the scene, as she casts her spell. After Dorothy wakes up, and as she is helping the Tin Man, the scene once again zooms back out to the Wicked Witch and her crystal, before dissolving back to the group once more as they continue on their

The outfits worn by the individual characters show their personalities and give the audience the assumption of the characters. For example, Dorothy’s costume shows youthful innocence in colour. Her hair is neatly braided with soft and pleasant make-up. She also wears a blue checked pinafore. She is portrayed as perfectly innocent and sweet. The fact that they made the ruby slippers heels, a more grown-up shoe, is also telling. They originally belonged, we assume, to a grown-up witch - but when Dorothy has her black utilitarian flats traded for the very sexy red heels - it makes her seem one step closer to adult-hood. Her hairstyle is also eventually made more grown-up; once she reaches Oz, her braids are traded in for a looser style. On the other hand, the Wicked Witch of the West has a green face which indicates to the audience that she is evil and unfriendly. She is also in all black with a cone-shaped head piece and broomstick to add on to the image of being evil. Her voluminous costume also makes the Wicked Witch seem larger and more frightening than she is. Seeing these two characters in two very different costumes before they even speak a word helps the viewers to already get a feel for who they are and what is maybe to