The Wizard of Oz(1939) directed by Victor Flemming.
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most globally recognized films ever made. One of the movie’s most prominent features is its coloring.
The movie starts off in Kansas where everything is sepia toned and has a dreary appearance to it.
After the tornado is seen sucking up Dorothy’s house, she opens up the door to reveal the Munchkinland. It starkly contrasts Kansas as everything is colorful with high saturation giving it an inviting feeling.
Colors often have meanings associated with them. The Wizard of Oz juxtaposes certain colors in order to visually indicate themes happening in the story.
The Wicked Witch’s black clothing shows that she is evil. Her appearance instantly makes her stand out from the rest of Munchkinland helping distinguish her as the antagonist.
The bright, almost unnatural color of Munchkinland along with the rest of the Land of Oz represents happiness and discovery. It is this warm and welcoming coloring that invites Dorothy to explore the area after just being swept by the tornado.
The red in the Wicked Witch’s hourglass symbolizes danger, the witch’s anger, and Dorothy’s impending doom.
The Wicked Witch’s green visage represents her jealousy of Dorothy. Dorothy has a naive and innocent look to her because of her colorful dress, blue ribbon, and red hair. The Wicked Witch and Dorothy have contrasting appearances that further illustrates who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist.
The scale between Dorothy and Munchkinland in this shot is meant to diminish Dorothy’s stature illustrating that this new land is unfamiliar and overwhelming to a little Kansas girl like her.
Although Dorothy is supposed to be a kid, she towers over the Munchkin’s making her stand out from the rest of the people in the shot making her the focal point of the situation.
When judging the scale of the characters, Dorothy’s height is closest to Glinda the Good Witch of the North. This could be one of the reasons why the munchkins look up towards Dorothy. Glinda the Good Witch was taller than everyone else in Munchkinland, but now Dorothy is here and is nearly the same height as Glinda, they figure Dorothy must be important.
ALEC CONSTANTINOS CHRISTONIKOS 