The Greatest (Oz) Story Ever Told

As my annual movie-centric time of the year beckons, I realize I need to get busy on prospective Oscar nominees and am grateful that I have a bit more time this year - the ceremony occurs in early March. However, the decision to nominate ten films for Best Picture will no doubt make my quest that much harder - a fact about which I am still confused and somewhat bitter.

Nevertheless, I can't help but pay homage to those classic films which have shaped my love of film. This need for tribute definitely came about because of the 70th anniversary DVD editions of two such cinematic marvels: Gone With the Wind and the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Most people of pretty much any age can relate to some memory of the mesmerizing Wizard of Oz from childhood. I can't actually recall the first time I saw the film. It's just always been a part of my soul. My mom, being a serious film enthusiast herself, never held the fondness for Oz that I did, since Ms. Garland's voice "bugged" her. I, however, like millions of gay men before me, was fascinated by her and the entire production. Though it never became one of my "classic" obsessions, I am quite fond of all things to do with Oz. Re-living it through this new, restored edition, I am reminded of many afternoons in my living room as a kid, crouched down watching an old VHS copy of the film and singing along.

I also did the same thing with Gone With the Wind, though I don't know if all kids felt the same way. When I was in my Civil War phase (see: North and South scrapbook in my basement, created circa 1986) this was certainly a staple of mine when parked in front of the television building Lego houses or playing paper dolls with my little sister. I really believe that these viewings let me in on what was truly a cinematic masterpiece - somehow I understood the magnitude of it. Now that I am an adult and again watching this tremendous epic, I realize I genuinely, innocently missed some of the sexual nuance and feminist underpinnings of Scarlet.

But that's okay. In my heart, when I see both these films, I am a kid again in the living room, flabbergasted by what I see. When I watch the Oscar nominees for this year, I won't be cognizant of the influence on the way I view films.

But it's always with me, just like the joy of those early memories of these masterpieces.