<P> Notable for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters, it has become an icon of American popular culture . It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but lost to Gone with the Wind . It did win in two other categories, including Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow" and Best Original Score by Herbert Stothart . While the film was considered a critical success upon release in August 1939, it failed to generate profit for MGM, earning only $3,017,000 on a $2,777,000 budget, which made it MGM's most expensive production to date . </P> <P> The 1956 broadcast television premiere of the film on the CBS network reintroduced the film to the wider public and eventually made the presentation an annual tradition, making it one of the best known films in movie history . The film was named the most - viewed motion picture on television syndication by the Library of Congress, which also included the film in its National Film Registry in its inaugural year in 1989 . Designation on the registry calls for efforts to preserve it for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant". It is also one of the few films on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register . </P> <P> The Wizard of Oz is the source of many quotes referenced in contemporary popular culture . It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming (who left production to take over direction on the troubled Gone with the Wind production). Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but uncredited contributions were made by others . The songs were written by Edgar "Yip" Harburg (lyrics) and Harold Arlen (music). The musical score and the incidental music were composed by Stothart . </P> <P> The film begins in Kansas, which is depicted in a sepia tone . Dorothy Gale lives with her dog, Toto, on her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's farm . Toto gets in trouble with a mean neighbor, Miss Almira Gulch, when he bites her . However, Dorothy's family and the farmhands are all too busy to listen to her troubles . Miss Gulch produces an order from the sheriff allowing her to have Toto put down . She takes him away, but he escapes and returns to Dorothy who, fearing that Miss Gulch will return, decides to run away from home . </P>

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