You are definitely not in Kansas anymore, holding on to your seat watching The Wizard of Oz in Las Vegas. A hint for this new experience is when Bert Lahr pops up as the cowardly lion opening up the film roaring in the MGM logo. We saw the high tech immersive re-imagining of the classic Judy Garland film directed by Victor Fleming, re-tooled with AI at the World Premiere at The Sphere.
The centerpiece of the movie comes early when you get swept up as though you are in the tornado right along with Dorothy and Toto. It gets cold as strong winds blow around the cavernous theater and paper tree leaves fly at you into the seats. You’ll have to hold onto your hat, and onto your popcorn. And there are more haptic scenes that you will feel pulled right into the special effects. But, there are a few misgivings in the use of AI in this major production we will also mention.
Watch our interviews here and on You Tube with star Judy Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft and with the Head of Sphere Studios, Carolyn Blackwood, for a details on the high tech and AI used for this special screening.
Brace yourself, there is more you get to feel as you experience sitting in this massive venue that can hold an audience of 16,000, with even more standing room. But only 10,000 seats are Haptic equipped. Watch out for flying apples, snowflakes, and drone-powered monkeys floating by.
AI expands the field of vision to include all the scenery and full bodies of the characters that couldn’t be seen in the original camera’s lens. Where Dorothy and other characters, including cows on the farm, are cut off, they are extended and shown in motion to fill the screen, giving a wider perspective. AI is used to extend the bodies of Dorothy and rest of the cast to show them more in entirety, not just from the waist up which is what fit the original screen. But some of the peripherals look fuzzy, static or not detailed enough. When Dorothy lands in Munchkin Land, many of the inhabitants seemed to be standing in never-ending loops, pretty expressionless, their eyes like black pools. We wondered the difference between using AI or adding some animation. These are all problems that will be worked on and solved as AI is refined.
However, the sound and music soar with excellence. The process used to isolate and lift Judy Garland’s singing and voice off the 1939 mono recording is revolutionary. The producers went back to the same MGM soundstage to remaster and enhance the sound by taking that digitized voice recording and mix it back with the newly recorded orchestra to produce a crystal clear soundtrack. There were moments, however, when the synching of the lyrics missed slightly, just enough to notice, but still create quite a quality achievement.
Unfortunately, there were cuts to classic songs that were made for time. We looked forward to Bert Lahr’s fabulous lion characterization sing with his signature deep warble the famous “If I Were King of the Forest,” his second song in the original film. Disappointed the song was cut entirely. And Jack Haley’s Tin Man sings only part of his dance number, “If I Only Had a Heart.” The fun patter with the Frank Morgan as Guard/Wizard at the door of OZ was also shortened. These with other cuts bring the run time down from 102 minutes to 77. It reportedly was done to give the film better, more contemporary pacing, shorten some scenes that didn’t adapt well to AI or to The Sphere’s screen, and to be able to schedule more showings per day, at up to Las Vegas show prices.
We thought one of the effects that did not work was a number of drone-powered flying monkeys floating around us in The Sphere. They just didn’t have the same effect as those in the original film. They were too big, shiny and not very scary, lumbering through the air.
Credit to all involved in creating The Wizard Of Oz in such a uniquely immersive presentation. Particularly to Chief Muckety-Muck, (self-proclaimed as his credit) James L. Dolan (dressed as The Wizard himself at the Premiere), CEO Sphere Entertainment and Madison Square Garden Entertainment and his staff.
Not everyone may be over the rainbow with this AI creative venture, sure to develop exponentially with each new project. We found its high-tech Wizardry engaging and intriguing, sitting on the edge of our seats wondering what was going to come at us next.
The Sphere Entertainment, Warner Bros., Discovery, Google, Magnopus 77 minutes
Photos and video courtesy Sphere Entertainment
Related posts:
Knives Out Writer/Director Rian Johnson talks about having the whole cast on the set
THE CAMPERS AT THE SUNDANCE PREMIERE OF CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND THE FILM.
Ford v Ferrari Stunt Coordinator, Robert Nagle
Interview with Waves stars Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Taylor Russell and Writer/Director Trey Edward Shults talking teen angst, family and sound design.
White With Fear
Eddie Redmayne and Tom Harper talk challenges making The Aeronauts
