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Wizard of Oz Returns to UK Screens

The tale of Dorothy and her faithful dog Toto, who search for the mighty Wizard of Oz to help them reach their home, has become a great movie classic ever since it was made in 1939. The film stars the talented Judy Garland, who made the film when was only 16 years old, after she won the role over the less experienced child-star Shirley Temple. The movie has touched the hearts of millions of viewers through the decades. Even today, shows based on the movie, such as London?s West End, ?Wicked? are still hugely popular with the crowds.

Because of the lavish costumes and sets designed by the show, its budget came to over $2.7-million ? a staggering amount for those days. The film was also made using a relatively new system ? the three-strip Technicolor process which yielded excellent results but was very expensive to make and somewhat difficult to handle. Despite these difficulties, however, the movie went on to win three Academy Awards.

Recently it was announced that the Warner Brothers studio have managed to digitally remove dust, scratches and debris from the film?s original three-strip Technicolor negatives and the new digitally restored movie will be screened in 40 UK cinemas from December 15th.