THE LASER BIN : Unforgettable Trip to Oz

“The Wizard of Oz.” **** MGM/UA CLV Extended Play laser video disc, under $25 ; ***** MGM/Criterion Collection CAV Standard Play laser video disc, under $100.

If you’ve never seen “The Wizard of Oz” in the theater and if your most recent memory of the film is the TV broadcast or a videotape, then get ready for a trip down the Yellow Brick Road that you won’t soon forget. The Criterion video disc obliterates the competition. The brilliant color of the original, including the sepia introduction and conclusion with Dorothy at home in Kansas, is scrupulously captured in crystal-clear detail and a rainbow of hues. Even better, the Criterion laser disc--celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film--brims over with fascinating supplementary material. Among the tidbits: a continuous audio commentary by film historian Ronald Haver on Track Two; composer Harold Arlen’s home movies (behind-the-scenes footage of the deleted “Jitterbug” dance sequence, costume and makeup tests, as well as scenes of the film in production); the complete version of “If I Only Had a Brain” with Ray Bolger and Judy Garland, a sensational piece of dancing edited out of the final prints; an MGM promotional short with Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man (he had to drop out after getting sick from the makeup); many production and publicity stills; a 1956 theatrical re-release trailer; photographs of the 1903 stage production, and an excerpt from the 1925 silent version with Oliver Hardy; radio interviews with Garland and Munchkin Jerry Maren.