The magic of Oz is the magic of movies [Mizumaru Kawahara's CINEMONOLOGUE Vol.23]

Wicked Witch, Witch of the West

The Wicked Witch of the West leaves as much of an impression on me as Dorothy's three companions. She doesn't have as much make-up or extensive costumes as the three of them, and although she has the classic appearance of a black-clad witch with a green face, she is a villain who gives off a sense of immeasurable power.

The scene where she appears and disappears with smoke is so cool that even if you watch it 80 years later, you'll still wonder how they filmed it. And as expected, the way Margaret Hamilton speaks, laughs, and acts like a wicked witch, so it can only be called a ghost performance. Her real face is certainly long-faced, reminiscent of the Witch of the West, but her cheerful and kind expression makes it hard to imagine that she is a green Monster.

We take it for granted that the acting is amazing, but the highlight of this movie is the comparison between the special makeup and the real face. This is because even in the scenes in Kansas where Dorothy spends her days feeling confined, the three attendants and the Witch of the West each play different roles with their true faces.

The three are cheerful men who work on the farm where Dorothy lives, and Hamilton, from the Witch of the West, plays the mean landowner Mr. Gulch (it's easy to understand because she looks exactly like a witch). Each character overlaps with the person in the Land of Oz. The reason why Dorothy ran away from home once was because her dog Toto was about to be disposed of by Mr. Gulch for unreasonable reasons, but even after going to the land of Oz, she confronts a witch with the same face. It turns out.

What is the true identity of the Great Demon King Oz?