Anyone going to see Wizard Of Oz at Sphere in Vegas? From a lot of the images I've seen, it looks like they cut off the bottom of the picture and added a lot of sky. There are also lots of effects the audience gets in on as well, like, apparently the twister. I looked up ticket prices, and two tickets for a decent location would set me back $369.00, the least expensive ticket will cost you $100. So I'm gonna wait till there are reviews and till ticket prices drop a bit.
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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...s/85748697007/LAS VEGAS – Lorna Luft brushed aside any doubts about how her legendary mother, Judy Garland, would have felt about “The Wizard of Oz" at the Sphere.
The actress-singer Luft, 72, brought her two grown children and four grandchildren to the Aug. 28 "Wizard of Oz" premiere at Las Vegas’ Sphere to witness the nearly $100 million reimagining of the 1939 classic starring Garland, then 16, as Dorothy. The iconic film now plays across the venue’s 160,000-square-foot, 16K-resolution LED screen that wraps over and around the audience.
“We’re all here, the whole family,” Luft told USA TODAY on the yellow carpet, adding her half-sister, Liza Minnelli — from Garland’s marriage to director Vincente Minnelli — was “completely supportive” of the project which has drawn some criticism over the use of AI to enhance the effects.
"My mother would have loved this, absolutely," said Luft. "I hope there’s a standing ovation during ‘Over the Rainbow.'"
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We've been to the Sphere twice, once for the Eagles concert and once for the film "Postcard From Earth." The Eagles was the better of the two experiences.
At the Eagles show, the preshow image on the screen when you arrive is an outdoor landscape, so when you walk into the arena, you'd swear you are walking into the outdoors. There's even a slight breeze now and then.
I've seen a lot of photos of the images from the Wizard of Oz show. It looks like they added a lot of skies, forest, etc., and used A.I. to fill in more details of whatever space is being shown. I would like to see the show because I'm a fan of that movie, but my guess is they are hoping the "wow" factor of the special effects and the giant picture will override people being upset with the changes to the movie's iconic images.
If you ever go to a concert at this venue, you basically have two choices: Do you want to see the artist up close, or do you want the best screen experience? You really can't have both, because if you opt for the best screen show, you won't be very close to the artists - you're farther away than you are at most concert venues. If you sit close to the stage, you can't see most of the screen because it's above and behind you. BUT, I think you get a great experience either way.
There are four levels to choose from: The upper middle level has two sections: Regular-folks seats, and private suites. The center of any level is best, of course, but if you opt for the floor and wind up in a rear section, the balcony housing the lower middle section will block your view of the upper parts of the screen. This might explain why most of the Wizard of Oz action is in the lower third of the picture. If you get closer seats, you'll be able to see the whole screen but you may wind up with a stiff neck from looking up and side-to-side a lot.
The top level would probably look good for the screen experiences, but forget about even being able to see people on the stage -- they'll look like ants at best.
The big thing to avoid is sitting on the sides. (For film experiences, they don't even sell the side seats.) I would never go to a concert there and sit on the sides, because the screen image will be all wonky for obvious reasons. I do think they try to avoid showing things with a lot of vertical lines etc. to avoid the picture looking distorted from the sides, but sometimes it's inevitable.
The sound in the place is un-fucking-believable. So clear, it's like listening to your home stereo system on steroids. The picture (a 16K image) is equally spectacular. They could make a travel documentary for this space and you would almost swear you're really there.
If you go to any show, try to arrive right at the time they open the doors so you can enjoy the preshow experiences in the lobby. There are sound demonstrations that are pretty interesting. Concessions are available, but are expensive (but no worse than anything else in Vegas).
One thing to keep in mind, especially if you have any mobility issues is, the seating is very steep, even moreso than a traditional Imax theater. The floor sections are more like a traditional theater from what I can tell (have never been down there), but if you sit in the middle or top, you will likely be navigating a lot of stairs to get to your seats. They have wheelchair and other accessible areas, but if you are subject to any kind of vertigo, it would be a trip getting down the stairs to your seats. Even if you are not bothered by heights, etc., try to avoid a bathroom break during the show if possible, because getting in and out of there during a show would be positively hairy due to the huge image playing with your depth perception, not to mention the darkness and the steep stairs. And the legroom between the rows is painfully small, so if you have to leave mid-show, the rest of your row will hate you. Whatever you do, don't arrive late.
As far as the prices coming down in the future...it's hard to predict that. It's super expensive to operate the place, so they might be about as low as they can get already. Given the recent state of tourism in Vegas (declining), who knows what'll happen though. Bottom line, it's a fun venue to go to, and I hope to get there again to see "Oz."
Here's a picture of the inside that I didn't take. At the left center you can see the area that has the suites and the "high end" seats. The seats directly above those (sections 300) are the best for us regular folks, in my opinion, but they can be expensive.
Screenshot 2025-08-29 144018.pngLast edited by Mike Blakesley; 08-29-2025, 04:34 PM.Comment
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Based on Mike's concert description I guess if you want to sit up close to the artist you might as well see them at another venue. It seems the point of seeing a show at Sphere is to have the screen experience as part of the show.Comment
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How long before we are remastering and re-releasing old 133 classics as Scope with AI making up everything previously out of the frame?
I'm conflicted, but it is, like this, an interesting idea to breath new life into a piece of older media.Comment
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I guess it's not much different than the systems that use extra projectors and screens to add more width to an existing theater's image. Except in the Sphere it will look good because it's seamless and a higher quality picture.
Still, a good movie is a good movie even with a 1.33 picture.Comment
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If they've got nine million robocams, shooting the action from every possible angle then you could be standing right next to the performer and you still wouldn't get the view that you can see from the audience.
The screen experience isn't part of the show. It IS the show.
I understand what's going on and how much it costs to produce such a show but $100+ to see the Wizard of Oz is too rich for my blood unless there was a 3-D hologram of Judy Garland giving the audience a lap dance or something.
Now, THAT would be a good use for AI!
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Unless they were starting from special scanned masters, would not surprise me if the whole frame had AI involved. AI upscaling specifically, cause most intermediates are no where close to 16K.Comment
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One thing that bugs me is, they trimmed something like 30 minutes out of it "to improve the story flow" or some such nonsense. (The actual reason: More shows per day, or in other words: "$$$$") The movie was already trimmed by about a half hour from its original cut when it was first released, from what I remember reading. I've been looking online to see a listing of what was cut out, but haven't seen anything official yet.$100+ to see the Wizard of Oz is too rich for my blood
I got this from Google AI, but take note that it says about 30 minutes were cut, and then one paragraph later it says the running time was reduced from 105 minutes to 90 minutes, so .... somebody's math is off.
I can't say I disagree with losing "If I was King of the Forest," I never liked that song, but it was a good spotlight for Bert Lahr. That's likely the only reason it was in there to start with.The Las Vegas Sphere's version of The Wizard of Oz cuts nearly 30 minutes from the original film, including some dialogue and musical numbers, and rearranges scenes to fit the venue's format. While major plot points and songs like "Over the Rainbow" remain, the edited version removes portions of the Wizard's goodbye speech, the hourglass scene, and certain character interactions to streamline the experience and maintain its ~90-minute runtime.
Specific Cuts- Run Time:
The film's runtime has been reduced from 105 minutes to approximately 90 minutes. - Scenes and Dialogue:
- The scene where the Wicked Witch throws the hourglass is cut.
- Part of the Wizard's goodbye speech when he's in the balloon is removed.
- The back-and-forth between the Emerald City gatekeeper and the Witch is shortened.
- The Cowardly Lion's full "If I Were King of the Forest" song is absent, with only a few bars of his other song included.
- The Tin Man's "If I Only Had a Heart" is also significantly shortened.
- Narrative Structure:
The Sphere's version removes the initial scenes featuring the farm friends and Professor Marvel, only to reintroduce them at the very end.
Reason for Cuts- The cuts are made to adapt the film to fit the massive, curved screen of the Las Vegas Sphere, which requires a different format and pacing than a traditional cinema experience.
- The goal is to create a more experiential and feature-length "show" that maintains the cultural significance of the original film while making it suitable for the unique venue.
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How can you cut the exploding hourglass right before the castle chase? Seize them, Seize them! I'm honestly surprised they got away with such a heavy handed edit... Wizard of Oz is not quite in the public domain yet (10 more years). Someone studio person had to approve all this.Comment
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Source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertai...s-21017397.phpThe Sphere is an amazing venue, great for concerts like its original U2 residency as well as its popular Dead & Company and, more recently, Backstreet Boys runs. And I’m sure other movies, if made for and properly formatted for its massive screen, would truly pop.
But here, it’s best to think of the venue’s presentation of “The Wizard of Oz” not as a movie but as a theme park thrill ride akin to Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” It’s definitely an experience, complete with fun displays in the Sphere’s atrium.
The reviews I've read list many issues with the use of technology to adapt the film that premiered on a 24 foot screen back in 1939. I would like to see it just for the "theme park thrill ride", not to see the original movie we have all enjoyed for decades.
Source: https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...e-ai-las-vegas“The Wizard of Oz” has always braved new technology. An early adopter of Technicolor, it boasted a lighting budget nearly double that of its rival, “Gone With the Wind,” yet the latter gobbled nearly every Academy Award and poached “Oz’s” director, Victor Fleming, who swapped projects halfway through and won an Oscar for his vision of Sherman’s March instead of the Yellow Brick Road. In the 1950s, when the rest of Hollywood was terrified of television, “Oz” agreed to be the first theatrical movie to screen in full on a prime-time network. TV transformed the prestige money-loser into a hit. Sphere has turned “Oz” into a flash point in the industry’s fundamental fight over the use of AI. Artists and audiences alike fear a future in which, behind the curtain, there might not be a man at all.
I like my art made by human beings. But I’m no nostalgist. “Oz” was a book, a musical, a silent short and a cartoon before MGM made the variant we adore. It should be a playground for invention.
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Has this writer actually been to Disneyland? Pirates of the Caribbean is a boat ride with audio-animatronic scenes. Outside of it being "immersive," it't completely different. If we're going to compare the Sphere/Oz show to a Disney attraction it would be closer to Avatar: Flight of Passage, at Disney World, which is shown on a similar gigantic curved screen (not AS gigantic, but gigantic nonetheless). Supposedly they are adding an Avatar-land to Disneyland, so maybe this attraction will be installed there. It is pretty tremendous.it’s best to think of the venue’s presentation of “The Wizard of Oz” not as a movie but as a theme park thrill ride akin to Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.”Comment
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We had discussions previously about using LED flat panel technology in theatres as a replacement for front projection technology. Wasn't it Samsung who was trying to convince exhibitors that their modular LED panels could be the next alternative and able to be? Back then I think the consensus was that, yes theatre-size LED display walls could easily be installed (such walls are already in use on shows like the ABC Evening News and The Jimmy Kimmel Show prove they work very well). But back then, the issue wasn't the ability to produce a large, high rez display, but the ability for that display to be acoustically transparent so speakers could be placed behind it. Mike's assessment of the sound quality seems to mean that issue has been dealt with quite effectively, and in a dome shape (which I would have guessed) is very problematic even without the necessity to hide them behind the screen.The sound in the place is un-fucking-believable. So clear, it's like listening to your home stereo system on steroids. The picture (a 16K image) is equally spectacular. They could make a travel documentary for this space and you would almost swear you're really there.
Thank you Ryan. Never had any trouble selling seats to a really good story presented in 1.37:1 Or one that didn't have single explosion or gun fight or car/motorcycle/space ship chase.Agree, we show them all the time, still draws, crowd doesn't care how much masking is involved.
I think most of us who have been involved with this industry that had many really substantial technology changes over the years and had to adapt to them have no problem with classic works being envisioned again with new technology, AS LONG AS the original remains available it the form the artists/filmmakers created it. Sure, they had to mess around with THE WIZARD OF OZ to adapt it to this new technology and I for one would really like to see what they did and how they did it, but I know I would be very much appalled as most others who grew up with that classic, if the original wasn't still readily available.
How awful would it be if all we have of GONE WITH THE WIND was that horrific "wide screen" version or that equally abdominal Superscope version of FANTASIA? Luckily in todays' digital world, you can always go back and see works in their original form, at least we can as long as we still have physical copies -- hold on to your DVDs and BluRay's boys and girls, because if you don't have it in your fat little fingers, you don't have it!
In theory, Ryan, in theory. I remember the story of a discussion in an SMPTE meeting at the wine and cheese get together, there was excited buzz about the fact that Disney's FANTASIA was due to lose its copyright in less than a year (56 years of the legal copyright protection was about run out), because although copyright holders never like to say it out loud, the actual intent of the Copyright Law was never to give unlimited monopolistic protection to a work forever, but only finite/limited protection that had a very specific end date.Wizard of Oz is not quite in the public domain yet (10 more years).
At this meeting was a Disney executive and someone had mentioned to him that FANTASIA was due to into Public Domain. Lots of very curious people quickly gathered around him to hear his response; he paused, took a sip of his wine and with a smirk on his face and in his voice, said, "You don't think for a second that Disney is ever going to let FANTASIA go into Public Domain, do you?" And of course after plying Congress with Wine, Women (probably Guys too), and not so much Song as much as plenty of money, Hollywood was able to get the Copyright Law changed to stop exactly that scenario...letting their title ever go into public domain. Just so happens, every time it seems that a work is about to lose copyright protection, the law magically gets revised. With FANTASIA, 56 years became 98 years; then it was revised again to "the life of the author plus 50 years." Yes, it does get a bit murky trying to determine what's the life of a corporation! Anyway, seems like many MANY years after FANTASIA was first destined to go into Public Domain, here we are in 2025 and it is still fully protected by a very much and many times extended copyright duration.
Last edited by Frank Angel; 09-09-2025, 12:18 PM.Comment
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