Done long before CGI, the special effects in this film (done largely by A. Arnold “Buddy” Gillespie) are still great. That tornado is still as creepy and menacing as it was when I first saw it many decades ago. If you're curious, you can read all about it here.
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Reply by Zürich Gnome
on July 12, 2019 at 11:10 PM
Thanks for the link, @pt100 . Yes, that tornado was really creepy. It really weirded me out when I first saw it as a kid. Another neat effect was the stuff seen in the Wicked Witch's crystal ball.
Reply by genplant29
on July 13, 2019 at 3:21 AM
It's impressive how well really everything about this movie still totally holds up, from casting and performances, to special effects, costuming and make-up, set design and decorating, etc. Likewise, of course, the tunes.
I infinitely prefer the look of the special effects in this movie to what we see nowadays in new/recent movies that - yes - have splashy special effects, but that are so obviously CGI.
Reply by rudely_murray
on July 13, 2019 at 3:38 AM
I completely agree. Along with King Kong and The Thief of Baghdad, this is one of those movies from the early days of talkies whose visuals still dazzle today. One can only imagine how eye-popping they must have appeared to audiences at the time:
Reply by genplant29
on July 13, 2019 at 3:58 AM
This movie, in 1939, must have been sensory-overload inducing, there being so much about it that audiences weren't used to seeing back then.
It seems incredible that this actually is a film from 80 years ago, as it continues to exude so much life, vibrancy, and imagination, and certainly doesn't seem in any type way "backwards".
Reply by PT 100
on July 13, 2019 at 2:51 PM
I recently watched an interview w/an actor who was bemoaning the fact that even though something done in a recent movie was NOT a CGI effect, audiences will probably assume it was, and will shrug it off as such.