Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition) Reviews

• Candy is dandy...

  
  By A2VE83MZF98ITY on 2004-05-26
  The film is based on a much-loved children's book, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', by Roald Dahl. Dahl wasn't always happy with the changes made between his book and the film, and wasn't always consulted on them. Today probably more people are familiar with the film sequence of events than the book. Charlie is a down-on-his-luck boy who is nonetheless optimistic and happy. He and his mother work to tend for their bed-ridden family members, all living together in a one-room home.

  One day there is an annoucement that Wonka is going to open his factory to visitors, to be chosen more or less at random through finding the Golden Tickets, contained in Wonka bars (a brilliant marketing device back then). Scenes of shoppers' frenzy are shown all around with world, including a Wonka delivery van shown arriving at the White House.

  The five golden tickets are found all around the world - the first one in Dusselheim, Germany, by the fat boy, Augustus Gloop (played by Michael Boliner, who is now a tax accountant in Munich, and is still rather large). The second ticket was found in the UK, by spoiled brat, Veruca Salt (Julie Dawn Cole, the only Wonka child still acting), whose father, Roy Kinnear, is a well-known actor in British cinema. The third ticket was found in the USA, by gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson, now an accountant at a nuclear plant in Colorado), whose used-car-salesman father was played by Leonard Stone (who was selected over Jim Bakus). The fourth ticket was also won in the USA, by Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen, considered a real brat by most of the cast and crew); his frantic mother was played by Dodo Denny (later Nora Denny), who was one of the few minor characters in the film to consistently act after this film. The final ticket at first is reported to be won by some shady businessman from Paraguay, but in the end, that is proven to be a forgery. Of course, Charlie buys a Wonka Bar expecting nothing, and gets the ticket.

  An ominous figure, Slugworth (the arch-enemy of Wonka - who knew chocolate makers also made arch-enemies?), appears to each of the winners, whispering in their ears. Charlie is also confronted, and promised a reward should he bring Slugworth an example of Wonka's latest creation, the Everlasting Gobstopper. One wonders why (a) any candy maker would make a candy that never wears out (thus defeating re-sales), and (b) why Slugworth can't just buy one himself when they are released, analyse it and ruin his own factory the same way? But I digress... Gunter Meisner, a very prolific German actor, played the villain, who wasn't in the book (nor was the 'gobstopper plot').

  The grand day of the event, the winners enter the factory with great fanfare, meeting Wonka (Gene Wilder) for the first time, and get the first taste of his bizarre sense of theatre. (It is reported not only Wilder's idea for the limping/somersault introduction to the crowd, but also a condition of his accepting the role.) From that point on, what was truth? It is ironic that Wonka's entrance doesn't occur until the film is half over. What we remember of the film comes after this, but over half the film is actually set-up. This is rather like the Wizard of Oz, where most of the film is done before we see 'the major character', although admittedly Wonka is far more prominent than Oz's balloonist.

  Wonka, the man of mystery, only ever became even more of a mystery as the tour progressed. He is constantly switching his words ('we have so much time and so little to do'), and there are surprises at every turn. Wonka borrows a lot of his key phrases (Ogden Nash, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde) and there are a lot of fantasy-inspired elements (Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings).

  At each major scene, something ghastly seems to happen, but in epic-fantasy form, it doesn't seem to matter to the majority, who proceed onward with their quest. In the chocolate room, Augustus Gloop meets his untimely exit from the factory by falling in the chocolate river. Violet turns into a blueberry by chewing experimental gum, and has to be squeezed (squoozed?). Veruca, in the room with the geese who lay the golden eggs, turns out to be a bad egg herself, but has a sporting chance of going down a chute with an inactive furnace. Mike Teevee shrinks in the Wonka version of the Star Trek transporter beam, leaving in the end only Charlie, who is denied his prize of a lifetime of chocolate for a minor infraction.

  It would seem that Wonka had a sinister side in many ways - the boat that carries the prize winners only seated eight, implying that Wonka knew someone would be missing. The Wonkamobile only had seats for four guests. Of course, the children apparently all had sinister sides, too, including Charlie, until the end. None of them let Wonka know of their Slugworth contact.

  In the end, we never know what becomes of the fallen questers - we are led to believe that in this candy factory they got their just desserts. The Oompa-Loompas put the moral to each downfall in song, with a 1970s karaoke-type presentation of the lyrics as they sing. In the end, of course, goodness and justice win out, as the factory is given to Charlie after his act of unwarranted kindness toward Wonka.

  Director Stuart always saw this film as a 'realistic' fantasy film. Those things that are not over the top are very ordinary. The people are not superheroes, and the situations, while fantastic, are not beyond the credible. Stuart also did his best for 'real' reaction - the kids had never seen Gene Wilder before his appearance at the door, the chocolate room in the factory, or the Oompa-Loompas prior to the first scene, either, so their reactions are more natural.

  A great film for children and adults!
  
  

• One of the all-time classics in a must-own DVD

  
  By on 2001-11-26
  The 30th Anniversary Edition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was originally botched as a fullscreen-only effort. However, Warner listened to the people and gave them a wonderful widescreen transfer.

  Colors are vibrant, the 5.1 Dolby Digital track is very nice, and there are a handful of cool extras. There is the 30-minute documentary "Pure Imagination" which shows some of the cast today, including all the children and Gene Wilder himself. The interviews of the cast looking back at the movie which was the defining thing for so many of them is very interesting. The documentary on the whole is rather fulfilling. While one feels that the documentary could have delved deeper and maybe been an hour-long, at a brisk 30 minutes, the pacing seems okay and it won't leave you wanting too much more. There is a limited amount of archival on-set "B" roll footage, but all that is there is interesting.

  Also included is the original theatrical trailer (Warner left off the 25th Anniversary trailer that was on the original DVD release from 1997), a 4-minute featurette on the production design, and a feature-length audio commentary from the children, who have now grown up. The other features - "character bios" and sing-alongs - are pretty much fluff features. Since this was one of my most anticipated DVD releases of the year, I can't help but feel Warner could have done more in the way of extra features - games, outtakes, deleted scenes, etc. Nevertheless, the overall content of this DVD is satisfying enough.

  As one of the greatest films of all time, and certainly one of the most enjoyable musicals and most enjoyable films of the 1970s, "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" has a timeless feel to it. This DVD deserves a place in every collection.

  If you like the movie, then know better than to be the fullframe edition, which was released earlier. Widescreen in the original ratio is the only way to go. Especially in a few years from now, when we all have 16 x 9 widescreen TVs, and that "fullframe" version leaves you with big bars on the side of the TV. See the movie the way it was made and meant to be seen - in widescreen. And when you do get that 16 x 9 television, guess what - the widescreen DVD will fill your screen!

  A classic movie with classic peformances, and a wonderful amount of heart. What are you waiting for -- get the widescreen 30th Anniversary Edition DVD of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory so you can enter a world of pure imagination today!

  Video: A -
  Audio: A
  Extras: B+
  
  

• Oompa-Loompa, doopity do, I've got another puzzle for you!

  
  By A2CZBGIJP8TZ1T on 2005-05-14
  WOW, I can't believe how long ago this film was made and how wonderful it is even today! It really doesn't seem like it's from 1971. I have probably seen this film over 500 times by now, since the 80's and I still am not the least bit bored of it. At 28 years old, I still totally love this film!!! The characters, especially Gene Wilder who plays Willy Wonka, who is THE Willy Wonka, who could never be topped EVER (yes I've seen the 2005 film!), the music, the setting, the songs, and especially the Oompa-Loompa's! Everything in this film is so wonderfully done and everyone who hasn't seen it yet, needs to as soon as possible!!
  
  My favorite place or scene in the whole film has to be the big candy and chocolate room where Willy Wonka sings "Pure Imagination." Not only for the song but because I can see how much work the director put into this film. All the candy and chocolate looks so real and alive and the whole room looks so beautiful the way everything is set up! I also love that teacher, Charlie's teacher that you see a lot until they go into the chocolate factory, he is so funny! And it's set in London, an added bonus!! I just cannot get enough of this film or recommend this film enough!! It's a masterpiece!!! It's definitely one of my favorite movies of all time!!!
  
  Who could not love Veruca's "I Want It Now" performance? That whole scene was totally brilliant!
  
  The Special Widescreen Edition DVD has tons of extras. There is commentary by the kids who got to go inside the factory. You'll also learn that Gene Wilder wouldn't play Willy Wonka unless he was able to do that somersault that he does before letting the kids through the gate. There is an interview with Gene Wilder from 2001, The Making of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, four sing along songs, a 1971 behind the scenes featurette, and a photo gallery.
  
  

• The widescreen version is pan & scanned from the fullscreen!

  
  By on 2002-12-31
  This DVD is an outrage! I had previously purchased the fullscreen version of this movie and liked it so much that I wanted to see what I was "missing" and decided to get the widescreen version. After reviewing each movie side by side on 2 DVD players, I found the widescreen version is nothing more that the fullscreen version clipped off at the top and bottom. An outrage! The result is lower quality resolution and missing images. One would be wiser to purchase the fullscreen version and zoom it in to pretend it is widescreen yourself.
  
  

• Excellent Classic DVD Musical

  
  By A2NSCDHYL2Q825 on 2001-09-04
  I love this movie. I've owned a copy of the VHS version for about 11 years now, and last week I purchased the DVD. Yes, its full frame, but I don't know why everyone is so upset about it. If you look on the back of the case of the DVD, it tells you that the movie was filmed in full frame, not widescreen. They had to change it for the theatrical release. You are not missing anything with this DVD, this is how the director intended it! The transfer is very crisp, especially the "Pure Imagination" room, it looks luscious with bright colors. The extras are great. Its a delight with the audio commentary, for the actors, thirty years later, enjoy making fun of each other as they watch the film for the first time ever together. They also tell how about how some of the effects were done. They are so funny, especially Julie Dawn Cole (whole played snobby Veruca Salt). The documentary is intesting to watch. The intro of the DVD and the transition to each feature is spectaculare. You entre the Wonka Elevator and are transported to the Special Features and such. Great buy, great DVD, spectacular quality.
  
  
• Nightmare
  By on 2001-07-13
  It amazes me that people think that this is a children's film. No child should be allowed to view this 'horror' film. I still have nightmares about the fat little boy getting sucked up the pipe in the chocolate river and Charlie and and his grandpa floating up to the rotating blades. What a horrible movie!
  
  
• Sick Willy
  By A2HII4U9WQ0XUV on 2007-08-23
  "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" is not a child's movie. Not even close.
  
  It's more like an Express Elevator to Hell. Let's be clear on that: whatever it is---aperture to Hell, gateway to a parallel dimension, portal to an alien universe full of diaper-wearing baby-eating carnivores---whatever it is, it's not a childrens' movie.
  
  "Willy Wonka" seethes with Faustian menance and a lurking sense of something sinister afoot, just behind the scenes. It's a kind of cinemo-genetic splice of Pol Pot, Josef Stalin, Satan, and the Teletubbies, with a little shark blood, cobra venom, & curare thrown in for variety.
  
  "Willy Wonka" traumatized me as a child. No kidding. I went to it with my parents, who were under the misconception that this was a fun, light-hearted childrens' romp at the local drive-in; I was digging my nails into my mom's headrest about 10 minutes into the thing. By the time the fat chick turned blue & was about to explode, I'd had it. My Ultra-Conservative, Vaguely Pious Little Boy Instincts had had enough.
  
  My parents practically had to do a bootlegger reverse in our whale-like family Oldsmobile to get me out of there, skirting the puzzled & the damned on their way back to the Horror with their popcorn and junior mints. Even then, on the verge of escape, my fingers clasped over my eyes, I was terrified at what hellish horrors the flickering blue-hued mountain-sized silver screen might burn into my young brain. Why did I look, you ask? Why look, on the verge of escape?
  
  Because I had to watch.
  
  That's the grim, ghoulish secret of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory", director Mel Stuart's cinematic Weapon of Mass Destruction & a screed advocating genocide against naughty children.
  
  Don't believe me? Yeah, well, they didn't believe the guy who said the alien diplomatic manual "To Serve Man" was a cookbook, either.
  
  "Wonka" is nothing less than the incarnation of what every parent wishes, secretly, to inflict on miscreant children: the Torments of Hell. Oh, and brutal, violent, gory death. And then little men in big-hipped pants come and haul your carcass away.
  
  For one, there is the Chocolate Factory itself, a kind of gingerbread Auschwitz with looming smokestacks to match. The River of Chocolate is actually blood red: not brown, or caramel, or black, but red. Like blood. In fact, I think it is a river of blood, nourishing by way of strange caverns the vile, fleshy plants that fasten themselves along its unclean banks.
  
  Or take the little troglodyte Oompah Loompahs, who shuttle miscreants into the Factory's Death Traps, after which they're never seen again. Where did they go? Wonka glosses this over like the hardened war criminal he obviously is: don't worry, he coos, the Oompahs (the Stasi? the Gestapo? The SS?) are "helping them" get better.
  
  Even as a child I knew better. The Little Fat Blue Girl, for one? Yeah, sure, they're "helping her"---helping mop her bright pink guts off the factory walls after she exploded. Or how about the little boy dragged into a chocolate tube & doubtless suffocated, or Charlie & his grampa's brush with whirring steely death in the Decapitator?
  
  Or what of the hellish topography of Wonkaland itself, where candy vats bubble like Yellowstone paint pots, bubbling, spitting, hissing, ready to snare and clutch and catch the unfortunate, usually a child, who gets too close & is scalded.
  
  This flick doesn't even bother disguising its real agenda: consider its psychedelic tunnel boat sequence, complete with hallucinatory glimpses of a writhing Conqueror Worm, dead birds, ambulatory guts, & the licking fires of Hell, accompanied by a nearly spastic Wonka yammering about Rowers rowing & "the Fires of Hell a-Blowing (a film addition not found in the book).
  
  Or best of all, consider the character of Willy Wonka himself, played by comic genius Gene Wilder. Wonka is obviously deranged. Wilder surpasses himself in bringing a kind of spastic, deranged, dangerous manginess to the persona of the affable old Dickensian eccentric imagined in Roald Dahl's truly childish children's classic (itself a work of pure unbridled whimsy). To a child, Wonka isn't endearing, he's dangerous. He's the Mad Stranger. You don't talk to him.
  
  And why would you, when Wonka looks to be, and let's face it, probably is, a drug addict. Just look at the wretch: the ill-modulated voice, rising from sibilant to screech in seconds. Or the unkempt wispy hair jutting out from the moldy top hat, or the yellowish cankered clothes, or the wild, jerky, drug-addled mannerisms.
  
  Is it so difficult to imagine this candy-coated Mengele with his syringe full of lethal blueberry custard, his vivisections done for the day, dispatching a troop of Waffen Oompah Loompahs to haul the latest batch of child-sized black bodybags out the back door of his Gingerbread Dachau while he retreats to the privacy of his miserable, woeful office to break out the syringe, the needle, and the spoon?
  
  A child, rightly, recoils from such a Monster.
  
  If you let your child be influenced by this tomb-rat, be prepared when he proceeds to torturing small dogs with a cheese slicer in the shed, and from there to trolling the seedier night clubs in search of boyfriends to bring home for sedation, dismemberment, and storage in the refrigerator (or perhaps a chemical vat, in a true homage to the original Sick Willy).
  
  It is instructive to learn that Dahl, horrified by the cinematic adaption, filed a lawsuit against the producers and director Stuart, thus preventing them from using his characters again, and thereby scuttling sequels---and perhaps stoppering up a gate to the Land of the Damned.
  
  Show this infernal concoction of slow death to the impressionable only if you want to literally carry out Christ's injunction: "Suffer the little Children."
  
  JSG
  
  
• A Golden Ticket to fun for you AND the kids!
  By A2OW6TJLWSKUJ3 on 2000-07-01
  Being one of my favorite books when I was much younger, I was very excited when I first heard that a WONKA movie existed. I don't remember when I first saw the movie, but it's been worth seeing several times since... and I decided to buy the DVD once I had a player. I wasn't disappointed.

  This DVD features crisp audio and video... perhaps not quite up to par with true 'philehead expectations, but plenty good for the average viewer like myself. Wilder provides an excellent portrayal of Wonka, from the opening Wizard-of-Oz-like transition from the streets of the city to his factory, through the vices of the contestants that devour them one by one, up to the ending scene in the magic elevator. Physical comedy abounds throughout, and Peter Ostrom does a surprisingly good job of playing Charlie. I'm highly critical of child actors but had no problems here.

  Not a ton on the Bonus Materials side of the DVD, but it does include some interesting Production Notes.

  All in all, a grand addition to any movie collection that includes timeless classics from an age not quite faded into the past. You'll enjoy it as much as your children (or cousins or neighbor's children or whomever the younger people in your life may be). The boat in the tunnel scene still spooks me, Wonka's antics still entrance me, and the songs of the Oompa's still teach me as much now as when I first watched this wondeful film.
  
  

• Classic Movie, but I have one bone (er, nose) to pick!
  By A1GLRZN5Y34PFW on 2002-02-11
  I bought the widescreen dvd of this classic family film the other day for my 4-year-old daughter. She loves the film and requests to see it over and over. I still feel some of the warm feelings that I had inside me nearly 30 years ago, when the film first came out in the theaters and then later on commercial television.

  There are only 3 things that I find objectionable about this dvd:

  1. It is *edited*! I recall back in the 1970s-version when Wonka and one of the parents are in the boat and are talking about a candy that allows one to spit in all of the colors of the rainbow, (I think) Violet says, "spitting is such a dirty habit," while her finger is up her nose! Then Wonka says, "I can think of a worse one..." In this dvd, they cut out the picture of Violet with her finger up her nose.

  2. Grandpa Joe has a candy bar for Charlie... How did he get it being bed-ridden for over 20 years? Then, when Charlie wins the 5th Golden Ticket, he gets out of bed and sings and dances. Then, later in the film, he advises Charlie to give the gobstopper to Wonka's candy rival (Mr. Slugworth). Grandpa Joe is a very dishonest and unlikable character for lying to the family about being bed-ridden and then wanting to cash out and get the money from Slugworth for the gobstopper when they get rebuffed by Wonka. What an unethical grandpa!

  3. They take out Violet picking her nose, but they leave *in* the beheading of a chicken in that crazy tunnel that the boat travels through. Unbelievable! What were the editors thinking?

  Does anybody know if the widescreen laserdisc has the finger still in the nose? If so, could you let us all know? -- I would buy that copy in a heart beat.
  
  

• Widescreen is not what everyone will want for Wonka because:
  By AXC4OG5GQ9A58 on 2003-01-07
  Firstly, despite what one reviewer says, the widescreen edition is NOT simply the deceptively named 'full screen' version with the top and bottom chopped off (no, it's not a 'faked' widescreen) it was originally filmed 'open-matte' in a 1.33:1 ratio (same as a 4:3 television), a process which involves covering up (matting out) the top and bottom of the image for presentation in theatres to create a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. I do not like this method of filming as it gives widescreen movies an underserved bad name. The widescreen shape is what the director intended to be seen but ,alas, it does offer less visible image than the open matte version so can make one feel ripped off! However, that said, keep in mind that when movies filmed this way are seen 'full frame' the artistic composition of the shot is often lost and sometimes things that shouldn't be visible such as microphones are seen. Widescreen is easily the way to go if you want to see the most image on the vast majority of releases as 'open-matte' is really not all that common a format.

  I would not say 'buyer beware' just 'buyer be aware' that there are a myriad of formats. I would encourage anyone who isn't familiar about the different film formats to do a web search for the letterbox and widescreen advocacy page for an excellent visual description of the various formats and matting techniques used in films.

  Finally, this movie is a lot of fun and I recommend it to children and adults alike. Yes, the boat ride is kind of bizarre and perhaps could be a bit unsettling for some, but it's no more scary (in my opinion) than a lot of scenes in 'The Wizard Of Oz' such as the witches legs curling up after she gets crushed by Dorothy's house. Children can't be so sheltered from life so as to not see a bit of darkness at times. Also, the worm in the 'Willy Wonka' boat ride scene crawls across a living person's face not a dead person...you can see their eyes follow the movement of the worm. One more comment on the boat ride scene...despite what a reviewer said, the widescreen version DOES have violet picking her nose while saying "spitting is such a dirty habbit" - my copy certainly does anyhow.

  I would give it 4.5 stars if I could but will have to round it off at 5.

  p.s. I must mention that Amazon.com incorrectly shows the widescreen ratio of this DVD as being 2.35:1 instead of its actual 1.85:1 ratio.
  
  

• GENE WILDER IS THE PERFECT WONKA. . .
  By A3VAXXMIYHZ3LY on 2006-05-18
  This is the one. Sorry, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY stands head and shoulders above its recent remake. There is a wonder and joy to this movie that is totally lacking in the new film. Gene Wilder is absolutely perfect casting as the slightly askew Wonka, someone whom you really believe could be the operator of such a wondrous candy factory and protector of the Oompaloompas. We also get the marvelous Jack Albertson, the wide-eyed Peter Ostrum, the always hilarious Roy Kinnear, and the great songs by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, which are infinitely hummable.
  
  This DVD edition also contains commentary by the now grown-up kids who played the children touring the factory, a featurette, a documentary offering fascinating insights into the production, and much more.
  
  If you're looking for a movie that kids and adults will treasure, this is the one. There are a couple of scenes which wee ones may find a bit scary, so screen it first. I can't make any higher recommendation than the original WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, a work of "Pure Imagination".
  
  
• The best, and most subversive, kids' film of all time
  By A2MH0QDRZFWF2S on 2002-01-28
  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, according to director Mel Stuart in his book "Pure Imagination," was bankrolled by Quaker Oats to provide children with "quality" entertainment, presumably as long as that quality entertainment sold its upcoming chocolate bar.
  
  Director Mel Stuart's film is, indeed, one of the best "quality" children's movies ever made, though it's so subversive at times, it's doubtful that this could be what Quaker Oats had in mind when it handed over the money.
  
  Don't get me wrong: the movie is a children's film in some of the usual senses of the term. There's an incredible chocolate factory that will have kids wishing they were there, and musical numbers entertain along the way as we learn valuable lessons about the dangers of greed, gluttony, and watching too much TV.
  
  But there it is, right in the middle of the film and directly out of left field, the scene that plays like a bad drug trip, in which Willy Wonka (who truly is played to perfection by the brilliantly deadpan Gene Wilder) captains a boat down the chocolate river and an array of multi-colored lights and random images flash on the walls as the boat goes faster...faster...faster...to the horror of everyone onboard. These images include a worm crawling across a person's face and a chicken coming into contact with the business end of a cleaver (no blood, but still...chocolates, anyone?). Then again, it's probably more effective then the "Just Say No" campaign ever was.
  
  If this sounds all too disturbing, it's debatable, and likely depends on the kid; the darker parts of the film are few and far between and all part of what makes this it so memorable and so unlike any other. Adults will love the sarcastic humor and most children will love the chocolate factory - scary boat ride and all.
  
  As for Mel Stuart's book, "Pure Imagination:" it's an interesting read with some behind-the-scenes pix and info - but to the die-hard fan it comes off as a little light on details and heavy on hardcover, the better to increase the price.
  
  By the way, Stuart says that Quaker Oats never did produce the chocolate bar tie-in it had intended; for some reason, it could never get the recipe right, which I guess makes it the first movie product tie-in that wasn't.
  
  
• Absolutely heartfelt and wonderful
  By A38NQGQW63IQJJ on 2004-09-02
  I challenge any but the hardest of hearts not to respond when Willy Wonka's fingers close over the everlasting gobstopper after Charlie, pure of heart and utterly destitute, rewards the magic he has seen with an honesty born of the simplest of spirits.
  
  One of the rare films as good as the book on which it is based, this is a classic children's story with lessons for everyone.
  
  And Oompa Loompas to boot! Who can resist?
  
  
• Train wreck of a movie...its popularity puzzles me...?
  By A2OG7XE23X5UM2 on 2004-12-25
  I watched this with my husband (who for some reason enjoys this film) again and I still don't know WHY it is so beloved. I mean...the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (based, like this film, on a classic children's book) is almost forgotten and they're pretty much the same as far as entertainment value, writing, etc. I guess it must be the fact that Gene Wilder is in this, or maybe it's that LSD trip scene with the B-horror movie stock footage inserted - I have no idea.
  
  I actually first saw this on its initial screen release back in the early/mid 70's - "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was one of my favorite books and so of course I was eager to see the film. What a disappointment it was to me then. Now it's just distasteful, boring, with shoddy production values.
  
  (My husband says "but it's a FANTASY" - he never did read the book...)
  
  Charlie's family - this is supposed to be taking place in the 1960's/1970's, yet Charlie's mom is supporting the family by taking in washing which she boils in a tub - the way wash was done back in the 19th century. In fact, the Bucket family lives pretty much in the 19th century - the only respite for Charlie is when he goes to school and into 'modern times'. In the book, Charlie also has a dad who lost his job at the toothpaste factory. Grandpa Joe seems to know a lot about Wonka - could he have been one of the workers who lost his job when Wonka closed the factory and brought in the free labor of the Oompa-Loompas, most likely sending the town into unemployment and depression? Hmm.
  
  The Golden Ticket search - doesn't it strike you as funny that "Slugworth" and the news film crews were always on the scene the moment the tickets were found? Sounds like a setup to me. I think Wonka had his eye on Charlie as a successor from the getgo (I mean he DID live in the same town as the Wonka factory) but thought it would be a good idea to have the contest. Think of how much money he made in the sale of candy worldwide - Wonka probably needed the extra bucks to finance his crazy schemes such as sending a bar of chocolate through TV. And speaking of inventions - those Everlasting Gobstoppers that a person could suck on forever - how the heck are you supposed to put those things in your mouth? I guess the filmmakers thought just making something that resembled a jawbreaker would be too pedestrian...?
  
  And the first room - the Chocolate Room. As another reviewer here has noted, the 'chocolate waterfall' isn't at all like what I'd imagined (based not only on the book, but having toured the Hershey factory as a kid and seeing the 'conching' pools). Rather than thick, rich, creamy chocolate, Wonka's 'chocolate river' is more reminicent of, say, untreated water from a sewage plant. (blegh!)
  
  The acid trip scene has already been picked apart and discussed so many times that all I'm going to say is it looks as though the producers/directors of this film were trying to cut corners by using stock film footage of decapitating chickens and what have you. Easily the most tasteless and unnecessary scene in the film.
  
  The songs - insipid, uninspired, and most of them are just plain BAD, especially when you compare the Oompa-loompa verses in the book to the lyrics of the songs in the film. (hopefully the new version coming out next year will use the words that Mr. Dahl used in his book.) And the Oompa-Loompas - I hesitate to even mention them...just ridiculous and they don't seem to be 'living in happiness' at all. Of course, in the film they're slave labor living captive in the Wonka factory...
  
  What was it about the 70's and kid's films anyway? This would be suitable on a double bill with the 1969 version of "Pippi Longstocking" as both are badly made films purported to be made for children, based on beloved children's books, but turned out to be like train wrecks - you don't WANT to watch but their very badness just compels one to do so.
  
  
• THIS MOVIE STINKS!
  By on 2005-07-10
  We are both ten years old so we are supposed to like this movie, right? Wrong! Reason #1: It's nothing like the book. Reason #2: Charlie's dad is dead. Huh? Reason #3: In the book, there is no person in South American who lies about finding the last golden ticket. Reason #4: Charlie is a brat in this movie. He says: "I want it more than anyone, so I should get it!" In the book, he's starving, so you really want him to get the ticket. Reason #5: In the book, he and his grandpa didn't drink the fuzzy lifting drink like they do in this movie. Reason #6: Instead of geese that laid golden eggs, there were supposed to be trained squirrels. Reason #7: There's no false Mr. Sloggworth in the book like there is in this movie. Reason #8: We don't know why they call this a children's movie; when we were young, it scared us (especially the scene in the tunnel with the gross pictures on the walls).
  
  All in all, we would not recommend this for anyone, especially young children.
  
  Signed,
  Abby and Cassie
  
  
• One of the more surreal films
  By A1CJPRF2X3V9EH on 2000-01-19
  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory belongs in the ranks of surreal film which includes The Wizard of Oz and An American in Paris. Perhaps it is something about the musical genre which thus frees the mind. One of the more memorable films from my youth (the Oompa Loompas haunted my dreams), having viewed it again I now see a tremendous amount of social commentary, some of which is laughably dated (as are certain of the special effects). Gene Wilder's performance is absolutely top notch, and one of the main reasons to see the film; his oscillation between mania and dry indifference proves how he intimately knows "the land of pure imagination".

  As for DVD details, the little bonus items (film details, cast bios, a bit about Roald Dahl's book) are of the standard variety, more like sprinkles atop a Wonka cupcake - you will appreciate them as eye candy, but they are not really satisfying. The film transfer is good, the colors being quite vivid. As for the remix of the soundtrack into 5.1, prepare for a little disappointment. While the sound itself is crisp, the subwoofer and rear channels were not really utilized to any significant degree.
  
  

• Now that I have read the book, I absolutely hate it
  By AMF2JK3CIMN2G on 2004-05-10
  or; Why this movie should be called Mel Stuart's Butcher Shop

  I grew up watching this film, although I probably shouldn't have. The movie is definitely not for the youngest children; there are very disturbing scenes that scared me as a child. However, now that I have read the original book by Roald Dahl, I can't bare to watch the movie.

  Why did Roald Dahl agree to pen the screenplay for the Hollywoodized classic book? Maybe to support his snozberry habit. We will never know.

  First of all, the movie has the cheapest of the cheap production quality. There are so many little mistakes in the movie that are so obvious. The movie could be remade shot-for-shot now for about $10 and a home video camera. That is not a joke. The film cost $3 million to make in 1972. I think the producers were pocketing the cash. My favorite example of the cheapo production is at the very end when the "Wonkavator" crashes through the roof. It's so laughable. This isn't the only example though. Every scene is flawed in some terrible way.

  Second of all, THIS MOVIE BUTCHERS THE ORIGINAL STORY. Very, very little about this movie is similar to the original. Willy Wonka himself is nothing like the original character, right down to the missing goatee. Gene Wilder did a great job of portraying a character that has nothing to do with how Willy Wonka was intended. Willy Wonka is supposed to be a very short man who is very mysterious, yet very quirky. I don't believe he was supposed to be a sarcastic sadist.

  Why did they decide to change the character of Charlie? Charlie is a boy who is completely pure of heart and who sacrafices everything for his family, very unlike how he was played in the movie. First of all, he's a whiny little brat in the film and partakes of the Fizzy Lifting Drink. This totally ruins the character who I loved in the book.

  They made unnecessary cuts and unnecessary additions everywhere. WHY DID THEY MAKE THIS FILM A MUSICAL? That's one of the burning questions I want answered. And why such a half-baked effort at that? There are several songs in the beginning, then nothing for a long time except the Oompa Loompas. I don't get it. Which brings me to another point: the Oompa Loompas. Why are they orange with green hair and from Loompaland? The original Oompas were black pygmies from Africa!

  Many of the changes were made because the director didn't know how to do anything that looked halfway decent inexpensively. 2001: A Space Odyssey was made several years before this film and the special effects of that movie still look great today. The same can't be said for Wizard of Oz-reminiscient special effects of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This movie was made in the 70s, not the 30s!!!

  Why did the fine gentlemen involved believe it necessary to make the children viewing the film feel like they were on an ACID TRIP? The inclusion of a snake running across a person's mouth during the chocolate riverboat scene was not needed, in my honest opinion.

  It is beyond my comprehension why they had to make such asinine changes to a story that was perfectly good to begin with. They changed everything right down to the title. They took the wonderful absurd fantastical story and tried to make it into a logical tale.

  The only reason I like this movie in any way is that it is sort of charming in itself. I enjoy the humor in the film when there is any. However, I think this movie is a total failure and I honestly have no idea why anyone would like this pile of garbage! Seeing this movie just gives me a much greater hope that the new adaptation directed by Tim Burton will be much more true to the original.

  But the sad fact is, people do love this movie because they grew up with it and have never been exposed to the book or the fantastical story contained within it. So go ahead, give me a low rating. But just promise me one thing before you do -- read the book and see if you feel the same way about the movie.
  
  

• Should have made the AFI list!!
  By on 1999-11-01
  I am with the majority who "LOVES" this movie, who thinks it IS the "BEST", who can't wait to "share it with my children" and thought Veruca Salt was the best, the brat we all loved to hate. This movie brings back so many wonderful childhood memories. I can remember watching it for the first time when I was five eating a pan of fundge as I watched in awe. It was released the year I was born and I always have to watch it when I catch it on TV. The music is wonderfully nostalgic and the special effects were incredible to me, a child of the 70s. I hate to hear people bash this movie. To so many, it is an all time favorite. And to the overly analytical critics, who wonder why Charlie was rewarded after imbibing in Fizzy-lifting soda, he was a regular kid who at one time or another did something he was not supposed to. He was not innately spoiled and shallow like the others. HE GAVE BACK THE EVERLASTING GOBSTOPPER FOR GOD'S SAKES! THAT was the final and true test. I learned something every time I watched this timeless classic.
  
  
• Gene Wilder Is The man And The Magic!
  By A2W00XKTTF1G0Z on 2002-07-25
  Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is a classic. Why? Not only was it makes ion the whim of a child and financed by oatmeal company but it survived the most important test of all - time. It has music, warmth and magic.

  The ensemble of children - including Charlie, was very well cast. The energy and enthusiasm of what their plight is made each one of them funny, obnoxious and charming. Their respective parents can be identified in your everyday life as `real' parents. Even the songs like `The Candy Man', `Cheer Up Charlie' and `I Want It Now' make you smile, cheer and sing along. Who could ever forget the Oompa Lumpa songs too?

  The sets were fantastic. Colorful and detailed is what everything on the set was made to be. From the moment the title role...to the blasting out of the Wonkavator at the end - you are left with a warm heart, good feelings and the extreme desire to eat chocolate. (Recently the movie `Chocolate' did that to me.) The costumes and location and sets were all timeless and the movie works well even 35 years later.

  The DVD extras include a clever menu that guides through the various scenes, languages and captions that this film was dubbed in. There is a `making of' documentary that was produced in the 70's and there is one produced last year (2001). They both are insightful and funny and complete with behind the scenes footage of the making of the very unique and detailed sequences that make the Magic of Willie Wonka so wonderful.

  I've saved the best comment for last. Mr. Gene Wilder is a genius. His acting and performance as Willie Wonka was one that I can even any other actor in history doing. He is so interesting and exciting and unpredictable that watching him makes you laugh, wonder and be amazed. His charm and talents also include my favorite song - Pure Imagination. Mr. Wilder has a very melodic and talent voice that sends shivers down your spine. He is got to be one of the best actors of our century and his Legacy that is Willie Wonka will be loved for generation to come. He is Willie Wonka, he is the magic and he is 100% of the fun.
  
  

• UNASSAILABLE CLASSIC...yet it's a pretty rotten movie
  By A2R1HAXRNU0QX7 on 2005-07-15
  First of all, I will not try to compare the Gene Wilder version with the book. Never read the book, so have no preconceived notitions. I was eight when the movie first came out, and actually went to see it. Don't remember too much about the experience, except the film seemed ENDLESS and boring.
  
  About eight years ago, we rented it for our then 9 year old son. Didn't make it to the end...boring.
  
  Saw it again last night on DVD. Lovely transfer, decent sound, ridiculous movie.
  
  The best part of the film is the terrific performance by Gene Wilder. His performance was, frankly, ahead of its time. He's a loon. At one moment sweet and open, the next frightening with his wide-eyed gaze, the next barely engaged in his surroundings. He's snide and whispers some really droll insults under his breath. Just the kind of thing "heroes" in kids movies didn't do back in 1971. His performance makes the film bearable.
  
  Everything else is dreadful. The sets are cheesy beyond belief. The boat ride through the terrifying tunnel is total out of place (a centipede crawling over a person's slightly open mouth!! What the..??!!??). It feels like Luis Bunuel. The songs are mostly totally forgettable, and even the ones we know (THE CANDYMAN CAN) are horrifically staged.
  
  The circumstances under which Charlie lives are not amusing or quirky. My first thought upon seeing it just recently was "He needs to be put into a foster family...NOW.) He appears to be the only breadwinner, while his grandparents sit around in bed all day. There's probably a good reason for it, but it's not explained. I guess they're just "quirky." Charlie uses his meager earnings to buy tobacco for Grandpa Joe. Even in 1971, tobacco shouldn't have been so glorified.
  
  The famous OOPAH-LOOMPAS (who DO have a memorable little tune to provide us) are just creepy, in all the worst ways. Their dancing is terrible and out of synch.
  
  The adult actors in the film all overact tremendously. The young kids who play Charlie's fellow contest winners work really hard at being obnoxious...and they are!! But there's no nuance to the roles...they just all kinda scream and throw fits and carry on. Except Augustus, who is so busy stuffing his face you can't even understand his dialogue. And Veruca Salt isn't just a greedy brat, she's a psychopath of the first order!
  
  I realize I'm sounding like a grinch. The movie is beloved the world over. Kids movies aren't supposed to be "realistic." But I believe even a totally unrealistic scenario has to have its own reality that we can tune in to. It's own set of rules. This film is made so clumsily and unattractively that it's pretty hard to find a way into the world so that we can believe the outrageous characters. Mostly, I just hate them.
  
  I know I'll take a lot "not helpful" hits for this, but I feel I must be honest. And I truly believe if someone actually HASN'T seen this film before they should be spared.
  
  
• Enjoyable, but inconsistent message
  By on 1999-09-14
  I recently rented this and watched it with my nearly-5 year old daughter. She enjoyed it, but I was surprised to find that I did not like it nearly as well as I did as a child.

  The set design is adequate for the time...and Wilder and the other actors do an adequate acting job. However, I cannot explain to my daughter the reason that Charlie was given the factory. He, too, misbehaved--led by Grandpa Joe, who suggested that they stay behind and drink the magic bubbles which caused them to fly. Why, at that point, was Charlie allowed to continue the quest? By rights, he too should have been whisked away!

  And what was that "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" boat sequence?

  This has a dark enough side that I cannot endorse it fully for young children. The edge made it less enjoyable for this adult, too.
  
  

• There's no earthly way of knowing...
  By A2098U4WUN1GHZ on 2001-08-21
  They just don't make movies this bizarre for kids (or anyone else) anymore. It manages to be cute and scary at the same time; charming and yet condemnatory. And Gene Wilder is tops.

  I think this film is probably appreciated today because it posesses qualities rarely found in pop culture anymore. It presents unapologetic black comedy, yet it honestly believes in its good parts. It skewers the upper and middle social classes (when was the last time a movie depicted wealth or television as a bad thing?). And, most of all, it presents a moral without candy coating it, or making you feel that it was put there just to win favor with consevative groups.

  People seem to get all hung up about how grim this movie is. Funny thing is, from what's showing in theaters nowadays, they're obviously willing to accept far grosser or more violent content in the name of comedy or cheap thrills, but when you do it to make a point, they get all uptight.

  Hate to say it, but I think another possible reason for this movie's continued popularity is that it appeals to some people's sadistic side (just look at which parts of the story they chose to depict on the cover of the latest release).
  
  

• Correction
  By A2RDRFX5S4TFBT on 2001-11-27
  This version of the classic filmed was modified to fit the full screen. The literature on the box does not state that this Pan & Scan version is the original aspect ratio. An anamorphic widescreen version is available.
  
  
• Scary movie, not for children
  By A4GS9COS4399Q on 2002-01-28
  This movie is billed as a children's movie, and most of the other reviewers cite it as a "wonderful, whimsical" fantasy for kids. However, I can hardly believe this movie is good for kids to see. Frankly, the movie is rather frightening. Two aspects, in particular, stand out as disturbing. First, the river boat ride through the tunnel is quite scary. While all the passengers are getting increasingly frightened, Gene Wilder is talking about how the danger is increasing (and "the fires of Hell aglowing"). In the background, there are quick flashes to shock the viewer, such as a chicken getting its head cut off. The second and most disturbing component of the movie are the Oompa Lompas. These are the Wonka factory laborers, and their appearance alone is unsettling (short, green hair, orange face, white eyebrows). What really makes the Oompa Loompas scary are the songs they sing. Right after something bad befalls one of the kids on the tour, the Oompa Loompas starting singing, like they are celebrating the child's misfortune.

  Although widely touted as a fun film for kids, I think that this movie would only disturb and scare children.
  
  

• PARENTS, BEWARE -- ONE SEQUENCE NOT AT ALL FOR KIDS!!!!!!!!!
  By A2UQLA3TURH46Z on 2002-07-01
  I grew up watching this movie as a little kid. The thing about it is that the boat ride scene ruins the rest of the movie. I think that in a certain way, this movie tricks the viewer because the rest of the movie is so sweet and child-friendly, seemingly overshadowing that one boat sequence. But after you finish watching the movie, the boat scene can come back to haunt children, because it sticks out so much from the rest of the movie. I don't understand how the filmmakers could be so stupid!!! Gee, this is a family movie about a chocolate factory but let's have a boat ride with very disturbing images shown such as a live chicken's head being chopped off with a butcher's axe and a centipede crawling across a dead man's face!!! Oh, little kids and their parents alike will love that! Geez, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that that is an awful idea!!! Yes, thousands of chickens are slaughtered to be eaten each day, but why the [...] would someone show the slaughtering of a chicken to a child. It's disturbing enough to watch for an adult. If this were a horror film, it would be different. The boat ride scene is present to shock viewers with grisly images, but it literally comes out of nowhere, with no true significance to the plot about the chocolate factory. And after the disturbing scene, it's back to candy land! Bizzare. It is clear that this movie wants to have a little bit of everything, so it becomes a horror film for a few minutes, but if the creators wanted to scare viewers for a few minutes, couldn't they tone this down? For the love of [...], there are 5-year-olds in the audience (!) -- I'm sure parents don't want little kids to see an on-screen chicken decapitation! Now, if the creators wanted this portion to be scary and succeeded, that would be different -- but it is just demented and disgusting. Just how messed-up were the creators to put this in a family movie? They look like tid-bits from a graphic R-rated picture. Why couldn't they save these ideas for a different movie? And why couldn't they have something scary along the lines of a monster, but a beheaded chicken -- good [...]! Too demented and random for words! Parents, even if you have seen this film before and didn't find the boat ride much of a bother, please DO NOT SHOW THIS SCENE TO YOUR CHILDREN! An executed animal and some other things one would not think this film to have! This is a really great movie except for this one scene, so I do quite strongly recommend it, but I very strongly suggest fast-forwarding the boat ride, and if you have youngsters with you, be sure to have them cover their eyes until the scene is finished being fast-forwarded. (Just before they enter the tunnel, start fast-forwarding.) Shame on the creators for letting this sequence pass and shame on Roahl Dahl for including this really-far-too-gruesome sequence in his otherwise really great screenplay!!! Think of the little ones!
  
  
• Fun for Children and Adults
  By A3KY68OTSNHM3G on 2002-08-26
  I have 2 children ages 3 and 1, so I've seen this video numerous times and I enjoy it each time I see it. The story revolves around Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), a lower-class child who longs to find one of the elusive golden tickets. Willy Wonka (played magnificently by Gene Wilder) has hidden 5 golden tickets inside Wonka bars. The finder of the ticket will be treated to a lifetime supply of chocolate as well as a trip through Wonka's magical factory. Charlie grows more and more distressed as the tickets are found. Finally, Charlie finds some money lying in the street and purchases 2 Wonka bars. The second bar contains the elusive 5th golden ticket! Charlie is allowed to take 1 member of his family along for the trip to the factory. Charlie chooses Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson). Once inside, the lucky winners are taken on a magical tour of Wonka's factory. I particularly enjoyed the way the Oompa Loopas gave a moral to each of their stories to help children learn right from wrong. The numbers dwindle as the tour continues due to misbehaving children. Finally, only Charlie is left. At the end, Wonka "tests" Charlie by saying that he and Grandpa Joe violated a clause in the agreement they signed, and he uncerimoniously dismisses them. Charlie gives the gobstopper back to Wonka before leaving. This was the test; a test of honesty and trustworthiness and Charlie succeeded. Wonka gives the factory and all of his most precious candy making secrets to Charlie.

  Morals are taught throughout the film by the actions of the characters. Agustus Gloop falls into the chocolate river and gets stuck in the pipe. The moral: don't eat too much. Violet Beauregard turns into a blueberry while chewing a special gum. The moral: don't eat a lot of sweets. Veruca Salt falls down a chute while trying to get a golden goose. The moral: don't whine and continually ask for things. Finally, Mike Teavee gets shrunk by a tv camera. The moral: don't watch a lot of television. The Oompa Loompas also teach morals in the puzzles and riddles they share.

  The special effects in this film are pretty good considering it is 30 years old. The "fizzy lifting drinks" and the "great glass elevator" are especially well done. As a parent, I highly recommend this movie. Your children (and you as well) will love it!
  
  

• Widescreen ... fullscreen ... Guess what? Everybody's WRONG!
  By A2LDHJSP3Y6D9Q on 2003-01-22
  Well, not exactly... Some here have complained that the widescreen version is simply a matted version of a full screen print, and that the widescreen presentation chops off part of the image at the top and bottom. Well, according to my copy of the DVD, that is only half correct. I own the 25th Anniversary 1996 release of this film on DVD, which has both the widescreen and full screen version on one DVD. I compared numerous scenes in freeze-frame between the widescreen and full screen versions. In widescreen, sure enough, a bit of the top and bottom of the image seems to be cut off when compared to the full screen version. But I also noticed that when viewing the full screen version, an equal bit is missing from the left and right compared to the widescreen version. So no matter which version you watch, you aren't seeing "everything". But which is proper? After comparing many images, I conclude that the widescreen version is what we are supposed to be seeing. Consider the beginning of chapter six. If you watch the widescreen version, you see a news anchor sitting at a desk. the bottom of the image is framed with his name plate on his desk, and the right side of the screen says "Evening Report" on the back wall. Watch the full screen version, and you will see a bit more blue background on the top, and more of the desk below the name plate on the bottom, but the right side of the image now reads, "Eveni Repo"! Folks, you ARE missing the left and right sides when viewing the full screen version, and from what I saw, the little bit of information that is missing from the top and bottom of the widescreen version generally was inconsequential. Every scene I watched and compared looked better composed when watching the widescreen presentation. Just FYI...
  
  
• Timeless classic!
  By AQTLEPYWOJNEM on 2004-03-14
  (((Spoiler following))) I watched this movie on TV for rhe first time when I was 6 years old and I haven't outgrown it since! It is a wonderful story about the power of imagination and how good things eventually come to those who do the right things. The movie is based on the Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Willy Wonka is an eccentric candy maker who initiates a contest offering a factory tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate to five lucky winners who find a golden ticket in their Wonka bars. One of them is Charlie Bucket, an impoverished, but good natured, child who hopes for a better future for himself, his mother and his grandparents. The other four winners are some of the nastiest, most obnoxious and brattiest children imaginable. Augustus Gloop is an overeating glutton, Violet Beauregard is a gum chewing fanatic with no manners (picking her nose while talking about how disgusting spitting is), Veruca Salt is a spoiled brat who wants everything she sees and whines until she gets it and Mike Teavee is a television addict with a smart mouth. One by one, they are eventually done in by their bad habits. Augustus falls into the chocolate river after drinking from against Wonka's objections and is sucked into a pipe, Violet chews a piece of Wonka's "meal gum," although Wonka warns her not to, and turns purple and blows up into a giant blueberry, Veruca goes on a tantrum when Wonka tells her she can't have one of his giant geese and she falls down a garbage chute and Mike wants to be on television so badly, he willingly gets zapped into the size of an insect by Wonka's TV camera. Charlie, by being the respectable child that he is and by not compromising his integrity, not only completes the tour, he wins a prize beyond his wildest dreams.
  
  The parents make it obvious why their children are so impish. When the children get into trouble at the factory, the parents blame Wonka instead of the kids' own bratty behavior. From the moment they step into the factory, they're complaining and finding fault with everything Wonka does and they take things way too seriously (much like the critics of this film)! I bet if the Oompa Loompas, with their wisdom, raised these little demons, they'd be much better.
  
  Don't miss this film. It is not only a fun to watch diversion from reality, the messages are very timely and it makes you think about the good that still exists in this world. The critics and nitpickers may not get it but anyone who watches with an open mind and doesn't take it too seriouly will.
  
  
• Wild about Wilder
  By A3AJFZW6OKLJ4G on 2005-08-03
  As a fan of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory since the 1970s, I may be a little biased, however, the recent re-make can not hold a candle.
  
  If you like musicals, this should definitely be on your list. The songs are delightful and fun,and with the exception of Charlie's Mom's song, I love them all. The screen writing is excellent.
  
  Gene Wilder is masterful as the eccentric candy maker, Willy Wonka. One can not help but feel anxious as Willy Wonka guides us through the inner workings of his factory.
  
  Adults and children alike will enjoy the lessons one learns from not listening, being selfish, greedy and not respecting others through this timeless classic.
  
  
  I highly reccommend it to anyone both young and old. No need to have children to "view paradise, simply look around and view it."
  
  
• Willy Wonka--Delicious in HD!
  By A27G3RAWPJP8T6 on 2006-11-05
  This HD DVD comes to us 35 years after its 1971 theatrical release. It is presented in full 1920x1080 HD and delivers the goods. The picture quality is greatly improved from the DVD and pops 3D in many scenes. A definite purchase for any fan of the original Willy Wonka movie!
  
  

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Edition)
• The Wizard of Oz (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Full Screen Edition)
• Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition)
• Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: Music From The Original Soundtrack Of The Paramount Picture