If I only had a Bombadil... - Page 10
© Michael Martinez
For about 23 years I wondered what the heck that line was referring to. And then I bought the fiftieth anniversary commemorative video. Mamma mia! What fantastic footage was revealed on that tape. And, sadly, the notes which accompanied the tape revealed that other scenes had been filmed and lost. The Jitterbug sequence only survives because the choreographer made a home movie of it (fortunately, he used color film). So, you not only get to see Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Burt Lahr, and Jack Haley doing the Jitterbug, you also see one of the tree operators (yes, the Jitter Trees in the Haunted Forest had people inside them) coming out for a breath of fresh air.
Sadly, we never actually get to see the Jitterbug, although it was there in the original movie as an animated pink and blue insect. And the dance number required five months of rehearsals and filming. The deletion of this scene was a crime against all film-making.
"The Wizard of Oz" is a great movie, and one of my all-time favorites. It's almost nothing like the book. Well, there's a tornado, and Toto too. People can enjoy both the book and the movie (I loved the book when I read it). Or not. But we can also hope the "Lord of the Rings" DvD collection offers at least as much extra magic as the Wizard's 50th anniversary video. Because, you know, Bombadil is important to the story no matter how much it gets changed. He is.
Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The copyright of the article If I only had a Bombadil... - Page 10 in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish If I only had a Bombadil... - Page 10 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Michael Martinez's J.R.R. Tolkien topic, please visit the Discussions page.