Alicia I love this movie so much

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

wes-connors This silent version of "The Wizard of Oz" has become one of the bonus features frequently included on home releases of the 1939 classic. It certainly isn't as good as the more well-known version. It can be intriguing due to the familiarizations you have with either the characters from the MGM film, or their counterparts in the L. Frank Baum books. "Dorothy" (Dwan) is a nubile teenager lusted after by others in the cast. "The Scarecrow" is her real-life husband and director Larry Semon, a once beloved comedian who died mysteriously. "The Tin Woodsman" is Oliver Hardy, before teaming up with Stan Laurel. And, the actor playing "The Cowardly Lion" is identified as "G. Howe Black" to highlight his skin pigmentation. Some of the visuals and stunts are good. But, the story isn't.**** The Wizard of Oz (4/13/25) Larry Semon ~ Larry Semon, Dorothy Dwan, Bryant Washburn, Oliver Hardy

thewebbiest They just showed this on TCM.I love silents, the more obscure the better, but this really tested my limits. It is a caricature of a silent picture. Pointless slapstick gags. Cardboard villains. A hair brained and kind of creepy heroine (she is 18 but dresses like an 8 year old). Hammy acting. Racist stereotypes, including enthusiastic watermelon eating. Also lots of negative typecasting of fat people.The score by Robert Israel was the only redeeming feature, who has composed excellent scores for many silent pictures. I would say this movie is strictly for film scholars.

happipuppi13 In my travels of music & odd movies it really amazes me at what I find. I found this 1925 "OZ" at a Goodwill store 1 mile down the road. It's a VHS 1980s copy. It plays pretty well,except a bit wobbly at the start.I already knew this wouldn't be "Dorothy & Toto" but I thought at least it would be in the same stratosphere. Now,I'm not saying it's a bad movie but it's certainly not at the level of "silent era creativity" I expect from that time.The best things here are the sets for one,very inventive,some of the visual effects (like the director/star jumping hundreds of feet to the ground and surviving!) Yeah..right! ...and as mentioned,it is interesting to see Oliver Hardy before "Laurel & Hardy".The biggest downsides here are : The obvious racist and insulting stereo-types of the day,that being our resident "token" black whose been renamed for the amusement of the 1920s audience and just "has" to be filmed eating watermelon! (Insert roll-eyes here).On top of that,the overweight Uncle Henry who is "literally" the butt of heavy humor. (I was wondering, "How many more things will he sit on and hurt his posterior with?" ) Very annoying in this copy is the incessant organ music. True it's what they used then in the movie-house but for today's time it's an irritant. I turned down the volume and did what Charlie Chaplin did and used classical music. This music actually fit the scenes I was watching and in a great coincidence...... the moment the film ended,so did the classical tape! If you're not familiar with the books,you will pretty confused but even if you were it would be the same story. ...but in this case it's not.5 stars for some interesting sets,stunts and even visuals plus Mr. Hardy. 5 off for the rest. I watched Judy Garland's right after and got more than my $1.99's worth. (END)

kubrick2899 If you have only seen the public domain version of this film, chances are you despise it. I know I did. The public domain version is slowed down to play at a normal speed. It has an annoying score and a bored woman reading the title cards to you. It is absolutely torture to watch.Enter: Warner Bros' Three-Disc DVD of The Wizard of Oz (1939). This film appears on the third disc, digitally restored, with colored tints, and a brand new score. It's played at the correct silent film speed and is absolutely hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this version of the film. This film is much different from the story we all know. In this film, Dorothy is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Oz. However, King Krewl is out to make sure she doesn't find out. Larry Semon and Oliver Hardy are hilarious in their roles as farmhands who end up disguising themselves as a scarecrow and a tin woodsman.