The Wizard of Oz As You’ve Never Seen It Before
October 17, 2025 9:11am
When the Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, it was a revolutionary film. Over the nearly nine decades since, the Wizard of Oz has been revered as one of America’s most iconic cultural accomplishments. One would think it would be impossible to improve upon that. One would be wrong.
Las Vegas, with its over-the-top glitz and glamour, has done it. In 2023, Sphere opened in that desert oasis. Sphere is the most astonishing entertainment venue on earth, featuring a near wrap-around 16K LED video screen with 256 million pixels across 1.2 million light modules. The Wizard of Oz is currently showing Sphere. But the technology used to shoot the movie in the 1930s compared to the technology Sphere uses to entertain today is the difference between riding a horse and flying in a 747. If the original Wizard of Oz were to simply be projected onto Sphere’s massive video screen, it would be so pixelated that it would make a 1975 Atari video game look like an IMAX production. So before the Wizard of Oz could be shown at Sphere, it needed significant digital enhancements and embellishments.
Through the use of Artificial Intelligence, The Wizard of Oz was digitally enhanced to achieve far sharper focus and better color & clarity than the original, thus allowing it to be viewed in true-to-life quality projected onto Sphere’s massive video screen. But just as importantly, the original film’s aspect ratio of 4:3 had to be expanded to satisfy Sphere’s 160,000 square foot screen that fills the entirety of one’s peripheral vision right, left, and up. So producers for the The Wizard of Oz at Sphere had to also digitally create additional scenery that never existed in the original film.
The immersive life-like visuals stun the eyes and the imagination. And Sphere’s 1900 strategically placed speakers, which are controlled by 167,000 computer drivers, deliver sound that the original producers would never have even dreamed possible. Unlike most movie theaters, whose experience is limited to audio and visual, attending a show at Sphere is a four-dimensional immersive experience. With its haptic seats and its targeted air blowers, the audience is whipped into the tornado along with Dorothy and Toto. Fortunately, the flying cow that nearly hit me in the head was only a digital creation.
In the original film, when walking through the enchanted forest along the yellow brick road, the apple trees threw their fruit at Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and Tin Man. At Sphere, the apple trees throw their fruit at the audience as well. I did not catch one of those foam apples, but I wish I had one as a souvenir. They are quite coveted.
Dorothy Gale said, “There’s no place like home.” Yeah, and there’s no place like Sphere. I predict other classic films will find their way to the screen at Sphere. But for now, it is The Wizard of Oz that thrills. Why? Because, because, because, because, because… because of the wonderful things Sphere does. Go see it for yourself. You’ll be blown away.