As this Google Doodle so gracefully reminds us...Today (8/12/2010) marks the 71st anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz (1939). I'm sure many of you share our sentiment that Oz is indeed one of the most wonderful worlds ever translated from the bookshelf to the big screen. The many forms Oz has been given over the years are a clear statement of the enduring connection this film has made with so many of us, all over the world. And, the fact that the tale can exist successfully in so many variations speaks volumes about it's impact on everyone who's seen it.
Oz trivia abounds! There's no way to cover it all in a single post. If you want to know more, watch the bonus features on your movies, search the internets, and be sure to have a lot of time set aside for doing so. ;-)
BONNETT'S Short List of Recommended OZes:
- The Wiz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson
- Tin Man with Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, and Neal McDonough
- Wicked: The Musical, based on the remarkable "untold story" of the witches of OZ and based on the remarkable book by Gregory Maguire.
And now for the Bonnett's Trivia part of the post...
Bonnett's Book Store was also "released" in 1939. The year was full of good company! Our exciting, graceful, and timeless compadres of 1939 include Batman - then known as the Bat-Man, and the film versions of Gone with the Wind, Wuthering Heights, and the first of the Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone, and a whole lot more.
The truly amazing thing about all this is that these great and beloved works all began as books! What's that you say? Batman isn't a book? Well... OK. I could be snide and tell you, "They're called comic BOOKS, aren't they?" But you deserve better, so here it is... Bonus Trivia!
The look of Bob Kane's Batman is said to have been inspired by another movie - based on a book!
The Bat Whispers movie was based on The Bat, a book and play by Mary Roberts Rinehart & Avery Hopwood. The Bat wore a costume and mask with a cape, and climbed around on ropes, but... he was a criminal! In the opening titles of the movies there's a great silhouette shot of The Bat disappearing quickly up a rope just like our beloved hero. And now you know.
I hope you've enjoyed these bits of book-land trivia. I love this kind of stuff and could go on and on, but I want to post this while it's still the 71st Anniversary of Oz in my time zone. If you've been kind or interested enough to bear with me through the whole post there's one last thing I'd like to share... a blog "easter egg", if you will, like those sometimes found on DVD's and in films (Did you see R2-D2 in the 2009 Star Trek movie? You'll have to find that one on your own), and I hope you will heartily enjoy... this. :-)
