The Wizard of Oz Blu-ray Release Date and Details Surface

June 10, 2009

The folks over at Home Media Retailing have published the first details and what appears to be the finalized release date for The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray Disc, the first of two lavish 70th Anniversary sets (the other being Gone With the Wind).

In our last Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray update, the expected release date was October 27. Per this new information, you'll be off to see the Wizard on September 29.

The transfer of Wizard of Oz to Blu-ray began by scanning each of the original Technicolor negatives using 8K resolution. From here, a "capture" master was created in 4K which will give the new Blu-ray 1080p transfer twice the resolution of the previous DVD release. In addition, audio will be offered in Dolby TrueHD.

New bonus features will clock in at over four hours and feature a pair of Blu-ray exclusives: "If I Only Had a Brain," performed by Ray Bolger and remastered in high-def, and the documentary MGM: When the Lion Roars.

The remaining bonus features as outlined by HMR are as follows:

• The Dreamer of Oz, a remastered, biographical 1990 TV movie about Oz author L. Frank Baum on disc for the first time, starring John Ritter, Annette O’Toole and Rue McClanahan
• Victor Fleming, Master Craftsman, a feature-length documentary produced specifically for this release about the Hollywood director who, in the same year, brought both Oz and Gone With the Wind to the screen
• Hollywood Celebrates Its Biggest Little Stars, a new featurette that stars seven of the original Munchkins and tells their story, culminating in them receiving their own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• The Magic Cloak of Oz, the first video release of the complete 1914 silent film (produced by Baum), including lost footage
• The Patchwork Girl of Oz, another 1914 Baum-produced, feature-length silent film
• Sing-along track
• Reproductions of archival material, including renderings of the 1939 campaign
• Behind the Curtain, a 52-page miniature coffee-table book, assembled by pre-eminent Oz historian John Fricke
• Exclusive, numbered Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary watch created specifically for the release

The Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray won't come cheap with an SRP set at $84.99 and Amazon.com pricing at $58.99.

Click here to pre-order The Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray at Amazon.

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