MovieChat Forums > The Wizard of Oz (1939) Discussion > Still the best portrayal of a tornado in...

Still the best portrayal of a tornado in any movie ever


This movie came out in 1939 and it still has the most realistic, most engaging, and most horrific tornado sequence I've ever seen. Audiences at the time most have been at least a little bit terrified by that scene because it's still pretty intimidating in 2019. The way it very slowly grows closer in the background, how more and more objects are lifted off the ground, and especially the fantastic sound design of deafening bellowing wind that really captures how frightening the experience actually is in real life. In fact, it's very realistic to how being caught in a real tornado is in real life. It's stunning how 80 years have passed and nobody has come even close to this.

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I agree, and to think they did it with a large sock!

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There's test footage that shows the effect at different angles and in closer detail, and it's absolutely amazing how they were able to capture how a tornado uproots fencing and destroys a house with pin point accuracy. Ironically, it would've looked totally fake if made in CGI today, even though artists have tons of video footage to go by. It's like special effects artists today are so confident in CGI, they don't feel they have to work very hard to make anything look convincing. They don't worry about things like gravity, weight and volume.

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You are totally correct.

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