Unusually brilliant blue-green to green colour with fair hiding power.

Warner's 1999 transfer is the first actual restoration, with an immaculate, nearly damage-free appearance; the color can seem a bit subdued at times, partly owing to a relatively high brightness level which, however, yields very transparent detail: e.g., the folds of the Witch’s cloak and the hair that protrudes from beneath her hat, Toto’s eyes and strands of fur, are all wonderfully crisp. Dorothy’s rosy cheeks have a fresh, girlish quality; the copper-based makeup of the Witch’s green face is an accurate, specific shade; and the grass in the Scarecrow’s field is a completely appropriate color. Warner used its somewhat controversial “Ultra-Resolution” process for the 2005 DVD, and certainly the visual results are more opulent, the color close to saturation; the picture has deeper black levels and a great deal of contrast. It is exciting though its seductive splendor can be misleading. The most discernible details are those benefiting from the darker, heavily contrasted picture: in the bonus feature “Prettier than Ever,” the restoration engineers are at pains to point out the more visible weave in the burlap of the Scarecrow’s head (at 1:30:10). Yet, transparency has been sacrificed in brighter scenes. The same details cited as examples in the 1999 DVD are less natural in the 2005 transfer: its darkness obscures the folds of the Witch’s cloak and hair; Toto’s eyes and fur are blurred. The intense color occasionally gives Dorothy’s rosy cheeks the impression of too liberally applied rouge; the Witch’s green makeup is sometimes almost lime-colored; the grass in the Scarecrow’s field is too dark. Details in the 1999 DVD seem clearer because the brighter image and paler color reveal more information.

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Warner claimed that film shrinkage of the color strips at unequal rates over time caused size distortion in the 1999 restoration, asserting that in 2005, it was computer-corrected for perfect alignment. While the brightness and more muted colors do make the 1999 picture seem “soft” at times, there are other instances where it is noticeably sharper than the 2005 image, in which the contrast, augmented black levels, and extreme color cause some blurring. Warner was obviously pitching their “double-dip”; after all, they were proud of the earlier DVD until 2005, never mentioning any difficulty with the transfer.

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The two Warner restorations are so different in concept that there is no clear “winner.” The 2005 “Ultra-Resolution” Oz has vivid Technicolor, an excellent commentary track, the mono sound track (valuable despite 1998 edits), and some new extras. The 1999 transfer has an unzoomed image, often clearer detail, a brilliantly convincing transition from black & white to color, and most of the same extras on its single disc; it also seems less “gimmicky.” The three-disc “Collector’s Edition” is for Oz completists.