One project I decided to take on this summer is cutting down on the large pile of unwatched Oz DVDs I have somehow accumulated. I'm going to try to watch one Oz movie a week until I have no more. Most I've seen before in one form or another, but these DVDs are giving me a chance to rewatch some. First up is the special edition of The Wicked Witch Project. This short spoof came out in 1999, and is about four friends who go out hunting for a witch. Yes, it's an Ozzy take on The Blair Witch Project. (Actually, it's one of two, as around the same time, someone else put out The Oz Witch Project. But I haven't rewatched that yet.) I've only watched the original version of the main feature so far, but there's a director's cut, a filmmaker's commentary, a behind the scenes making of feature, and all kinds of other goodies, which I hope to get to soon. The film itself is pretty silly, but that's what you'd expect from a mashup like this, wouldn't you? What amused me the most was Toto, as he kept changing from scene to scene. Not only was he played by several different breeds of dog, but also various other animals, stuffed animals, or other weird objects, with nary a comment from anybody. I was most amused, however, by one scene starting up with a close-up of Dorothy and asking the operator, "Is it recording, Toto?" Yes, Toto got to work the camera at one point. Lots of shots from down low in that part of the movie. I was also tickled at Dorothy's reading matter in the second scene. This is definitely not a serious take on Oz, and not to be taken as canon. (The characters are portrayed as their counterparts from The Movie anyway — except Toto, of course, but he never looks much like he does in the book, either!) There is some adult, very non-Ozzy language (those bits are, I suspect, closer in spirit to The Blair Witch Project than The Wizard of Oz anyway), so sensitive viewers may want to stay away, but otherwise, if you want to watch it and all the extras, you can get the DVD. Or, if you just want a taste, here it is:
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