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The Wizard of Oz (1939) has just been released in the 4K UHD format. Is it worth an upgrade? Read on to find out...


The Wizard of Oz (1939), one of the best-loved movies of all time, stars Judy Garland as Dorothy, a young Kansas farm girl who is whisked away by a twister to the land of Oz. Accompanied by a brainless Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a heartless Tin Man (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, follow the Yellow Brick Road seeking the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan), in order that he may grant her wish to return home.


I don't really need to say much about the movie itself. Undoubtedly, you've seen it thousands of times in your lifetime, and have bought it on just as many home video formats. A new 8K 16bit scan of the original Technicolor camera negative was used for the 4K UHD scan included in this set. I can honestly say that this new 4K transfer blows ALL previous releases out of the water. That's quite an accomplishment since the previous Blu-ray releases were quite exceptional. The movie has never looked more vivid than it does here. Even if you already own it on Blu-ray, this new 4K Combo Pack is worth the upgrade.


The Wizard of Oz (1939) is presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:41:47. Audio languages include English, Spanish, and French. The film includes English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful slipsleeve.

Here is a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the 4K UHD disc.

• Audio Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren.
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic (51:38) - A 1990 CBS special hosted by Angela Lansbury, which has not been included on any The Wizard of Oz home video release since 2009's Emerald Edition Blu-ray.

Also included in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray Combo Pack is a second standard Blu-ray disc (originally released back in 2013), which contains the movie and all of the bonus features listed below. Audio languages include English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Thai. The film includes English SDH, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish subtitles.

Here is a list of all of the bonus features that can be found on the Blu-ray disc.

• Audio Commentary by John Fricke with Barbara Freed-Saltzman, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, John Lahr, Jane Lahr, Hamilton Meserve, Dona Massin, William Tuttle, Buddy Ebsen, Mervyn LeRoy and Jerry Maren.
• Music and Effects Track - Watch the film without the dialogue, enjoying all of the music, songs and sound effects.
• Original Mono Track - The film's original mono audio mix.
• The Making of The Wizard of Oz (1:09:02) - Actor Martin Sheen narrates this 2013 documentary (presented in high-definition) chronicling the film's creation and long life thereafter.
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook (10:27) - Angela Lansbury delivers a condensed reading of L. Frank Baum's original book.
• We Haven't Really Met Properly (21:23) - A series of biographies narrated by Angela Lansbury about Frank Morgan (the Wizard), Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion), Jack Haley (the Tin Man), Billie Burke (Glenda the Good Witch), Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West), Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry), Clara Blandick (Auntie Em), and Terry (Toto).
• Sing Along - A subtitle track that provides lyrics and timing cues during songs from the film. Songs include "Over the Rainbow", "Munchkinland Medley", "Follow the Yellow Brick Road/You're Off to See the Wizard", "If I Only Had a Brain", "If I Only Had a Heart", "We're Off to See the Wizard", "If I Only Had the Nerve/We're Off to See the Wizard", "Optimistic Voices", "The Merry Old Land of Oz", and "If I Were King of the Forest".
• Jukebox - A large collection of original recordings and outtakes of "Over the Rainbow", the "Munchkinland Medley" (rehearsal and sequence recordings), "Munchkinland Medley" (voice tests), "If I Only Had a Brain", "We're Off to See the Wizard", "If I Only Had a Heart", "If I Only Had the Nerve", "Emerald City/The Merry Old Land of Oz", "If I Were King of the Forest", "The Jitterbug" and "Triumphal Return to Emerald City." Also available is underscoring for "Kansas", "Munchkinland", "The Road to Oz", "Emerald City", "The Witch's Castle", and the "Finale."
• Leo Is on the Air (12:25) - An extended radio ad featuring descriptions of the film, song excerpts, and dialogue.
• Good News of 1939 (1:01:01) - A full-length radio broadcast in which host Robert Young interviews the movie's cast.
• Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (1:00:48) - A December 25, 1950 radio broadcast that tells the entirety of the film's story. Judy Garland reprises her role as Dorothy, while the other characters are voiced by different actors.
• Stills Galleries - Hundreds of stills, production photos, and more can be found in these eighteen galleries: Oz on Broadway (2:50) (17 images), Pre-MGM (2:50) (17 images), Sketches and Storyboards (2:20) (14 images), Costume and Makeup Tests (8:50) (53 images), Richard Thorpe's Oz (5:20) (32 images), Buddy Ebsen (1:20) (8 images), Oz Comes to Life (45:32) (273 images), Behind the Scenes (1:10) (7 images), Portraits (12:10) (73 images), Special Effects (4:40) (28 images), Post Production (1:40) (10 images), Deleted Scenes (3:00) (18 images), Original Publicity (5:20) (32 images), 8/15/1939 Hollywood Premiere (1:50) (11 images), 8/17/1939 New York Premiere (2:20) (14 images), 2/29/1940 Academy Awards Ceremony (1:30) (9 images), Oz Abroad (1:50) (11 images), and Oz Revivals (1:10) (7 images).
• Trailers - The following seven trailers are included: 1939 What Is Oz? Trailer (0:32), 1940 Loews Cairo Trailer (1:59), 1949 Re-Issue Trailer (2:50), 1949 Grown Up Trailer (2:22), 1970 Children's Matinee Trailer (1:35), 1998 Warner Re-Issue Trailer (2:05), and 2013 Warner Re-Issue Trailer (2:30).

A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case.


The Wizard of Oz (1939) is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, 3D Blu-ray, Three-Disc Emerald Edition Blu-ray, and 3-Disc Collector's Edition DVD. (I did not include any of the releases with pack-in physical collectibles or any of the myriad of other releases. I'm only listing the best releases, in terms of on-disc content, for each format.)


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. The item was provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.