The Dark Side of the Rainbow

[Cornholio857]

Probably one of the biggest urban legends ever is that Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon being in sync with the movie The Wizard of Oz. I have done this before and was quite surprised. My question is who else here has done this?

Here is short video showing the best scenes:



The first 43 minutes synced: Link



Here is a list of the scenes that sync. Please note I did not compile this list myself. I found this info at THIS site:

Speak to Me/Breathe
1:28-In the prologue, the word "Time" is capitalized even though it is in the middle of a sentence, and "Time" is the title of track 3. Of course, "Young in Heart" is also unnecessarily capitalized in the prologue, but Pink Floyd didn't include a song of that title on Dark Side of the Moon.

2:10-As Dorothy arrives at the farm, you can see a triangle hanging from a tree. The triangle—along with the slats from the fence behind it—form an image reminiscent of the cover art for Dark Side of the Moon. (There's also a tire hanging from the tree but that doesn't show up anywhere on the album cover)

2:39-During the line "Don't be afraid to care," Dorothy caresses a chick. Auntie Em, annoyed with Dorothy, takes the chick out of Dorothy's hands and puts it back in the cage.

2:56-When you hear "Look around," Dorothy turns away from Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and when you hear "Choose your own ground" she walks away from them.

3:10-When you hear "And all you touch and all you see," Dorothy touches Hunk (who reappears as the scarecrow in Oz). This theme is restated in "Eclipse" but during that song Dorothy touches the Tin Woodsman in an effort to free him.

3:36-Hunk accidentally hits his hand with the hammer during the line "When at last the work is done". The work isn't actually done—he just stops working.

3:47-At the end of "Breathe", Dorothy does a balancing act on the fence. She extends her arms as though she is trying to fly when you hear "How you fly." She maintains her balance during the line "balanced on the biggest wave," but falls at the end of the song after the line "race towards an early grave." This could apply to Judy Garland, who died in 1969 at the age of 47.

On the Run
3:59-"On the Run," an instrumental track with a considerably different mood and tempo, begins as Dorothy falls off the fence. One of the great mysteries of the film is how Dorothy falls into a pigpen and emerges with a clean dress.

4:27-"On the Run" includes sound effects of someone running through an airport—not exactly appropriate sound effects for images of prewar rural Kansas. An announcer can be heard but the words are unintelligible. The announcer's voice coincides with Auntie Em telling the farm hands to get back to work.

5:52-Dorothy leans against a hay mound during the line "Here today gone tomorrow," which could be interpreted as another reference to Judy Garland's early death.

7:00-"On the Run" includes sounds of airplanes in flight. As Dorothy is singing "Over the Rainbow" she looks upward. At one point (7:00) Dorothy's eyes appear to follow an object flying across the sky.

Time
See the reference to the odd capitalization of "Time" in the film's prologue (1:28 during "Speak to Me").

7:54-Alarm bells ring as Miss Gulch, who appears as the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz, enters riding her
bicycle.

8:15-Uncle Henry, holding a paintbrush, briefly swings his arm as though he were ringing a bell, but by this time the alarm bells have stopped ringing.

8:30-The tone of the song reflects Dorothy's state as she objects to Miss Gulch's demand to take Toto. A couple of the chord changes occur when Dorothy moves, but this isn't very consistent.

10:13-Miss Gulch pedals her bicycle to the beat of the music as she rides away with Toto.

10:18-Toto escapes from the basket on Miss Gulch's bicycle during the line "Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town."

10:27-As Dorothy sits in her room, you hear the line "Waiting for someone or something to show you the way." A moment later Toto jumps into her room through the open window.

10:55-Dorothy runs away from the farm over the line "No one told you when to run."

11:12-The guitar solo begins as Dorothy and Toto cross the bridge. They see the sign on Professor Marvel's caravan, on which the words "Past, Present & Future" are prominently displayed, as though it were a reference to the title of the song, "Time". The full text of Professor Marvel's sign is "Professor Marvel - Acclaimed by crowned heads of Europe - Let him read your past, present & future in his crystal - Also juggling and sleight of hand."

12:38-As the words "racing around, to come up behind you again" are heard, Professor Marvel walks behind Dorothy. He isn't exactly "racing around," though.

13:20-Professor Marvel looks into his crystal as you hear "Time has come."

13:44-During "Breathe (Reprise)" you hear "Home, home again" as Professor Marvel tells Dorothy that she should return to her home.

The Great Gig in the Sky
14:39-Dorothy leaves Professor Marvel's as "The Great Gig in the Sky" begins.

15:17-The title of the song, "The Great Gig in the Sky," is vague enough to be a reference to the tornado that strikes Dorothy's farm. More likely is that Pink Floyd had death in mind when they attached the title to this song. As Nicholas Schaffner points out in Saucerful of Secrets, "the specter of death is eloquently invoked" by "The Great Gig in the Sky." (p. 174) Abbey Road's doorman, Jerry Driscoll, is heard saying "I'm not frightened of dying, anytime will do. I don't mind." as the tornado first appears in the distance. Puddy Watts, Pink Floyd's road manager, follows Jerry Driscoll with the line, "I never said I was frightened of dying." In a bit of tragic irony, Watts died of a heroine overdose in 1976, three years after the release of Dark Side of the Moon.

15:45-The wind increases and a tree is uprooted as the drums begin.

16:25-Clare Torry's wailing vocals are well suited to this part of the film, especially as Dorothy looks for her family and friends, who have gone into the storm shelter.

17:00-When Dorothy is struck and becomes unconscious, the tempo of the music slows. Dorothy begins hallucinating at this point, which is certainly appropriate for Dark Side of the Moon. Looking out her window she sees several images. At first these images are benign, but then she sees Miss Gulch on her bicycle, and this image transforms into the Wicked Witch of the West riding a broom.

19:16-The song ends as Dorothy opens the door to her room and approaches the front door of the house. On the original LP, "The Great Gig in the Sky" is the last song on side 1. This song concludes at the same time as the film switches from black-and-white to color. In other words, side 1 of Dark Side of the Moon is the same length as the first black-and-white portion of The Wizard of Oz.

Money
19:22-The sound effects that open "Money" begin when Dorothy opens the front door and the movie shifts from black-and-white to Technicolor. Adherents to the notion that Pink Floyd created an alternate soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz suggest that the band was equating money with color. That seems like a stretch, though. Had Pink Floyd intentionally created an alternative soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz, they could have done it more credibly if they had have led off side 2 of the LP with the song "Any Colour You Like" to coincide with the switch from black-and-white to color.

20:46-"Money, get back" is heard as Dorothy turns her back to the camera and the munchkins peer out from the bushes and hide as Dorothy turns again.

21:02-The bubble carrying Glinda the Good Witch appears during the line "Don't give me that do goody good bullshit." She materializes just after the line "I'm in the hi-fidelity first-class travelling set".

22:04-Glinda appears to be playing air guitar with her wand. She moves her fingers on the wand as though it were a fretboard.

22:22-The tempo of the song increases and Dorothy becomes more animated.

23:55-The munchkins emerge as the guitar solo begins and they move to beat of the music. More or less.

25:52-The Munchkin mayor speaks to Dorothy during the spoken words "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time"

Us and Them
26:18-"Us and Them" begins as the munchkin presents the death certificate scroll.

26:43-The mayor waves his arms to the rhythm of the music.

27:26-The lyrics "Us, us, us" are heard as the ballerinas enter. The verse ends as the ballerinas finish their pirouette.

28:00-The lyrics "Me, me, me" are heard as the Lollipop Guild enters and they kick their legs in rhythm to the music.

28:34-"Forward he cried" and Dorothy turns to face forward. Then she and the munchkins begin to walk. They aren't going into battle, but they are moving forward.

29:00-The Wicked Witch of the West, who is wearing a black dress, is on camera when you hear "Black, black, black". (29:11) Then Dorothy, who is wearing a blue dress, is on screen when you hear "Blue, blue, blue".

29:15-During the line "And who knows which is which and who is who" the focus shifts from Glenda, the Good Witch, to the Wicked Witch of the West. Perhaps this is a clever bit of ambiguity, consistent with the association of Glenda with "do goody good bullshit", and a bit of wordplay using "which" and "witch". I mean, it would be clever...

29:35-The lyrics "Up, up, up" are heard as the Wicked Witch of the West walks up on the platform. (29:40) Then the lyrics "Down, down, down" are heard as the Wicked Witch of the West walks down from the platform.

29:55-Dorothy turns to show her ruby slippers at the end of the line "it's only round and round and round."

30:07-When you hear "haven't you heard it's a battle of words," Glinda bends down to say something to Dorothy.

32:09-Glinda disappears after the line "Down and out." You might be a little disppointed to know that no coincidental event occurs when the Wicked Witch of the West disappears in a cloud of smoke.

32:35-Dorothy begins down the yellow brick road as during the line "With, without." The music crescendos as Dorothy begins skipping down the path.

Any Colour You Like
33:34-"Any Colour You Like" begins as Dorothy, walking along the yellow brick road, reaches the edge of the munchkin village. Dorothy then waves to the munchkins and departs. The title of the song could be interpreted as a reference to the Technicolor used in the film—color films were not common in 1939 when The Wizard of Oz was made.

34:53-The guitar solo begins as Dorothy enters the field and continues as she helps the Scarecrow down from the post.

Brain Damage
37:00-"Brain Damage" begins as the Scarecrow begins to dance and continues as the Scarecrow sings "If I Only Had a Brain".

37:30-"The lunatic is on the grass" is a suitable line for the Scarecrow, but by this time the Scarecrow is already on the yellow brick road. Dorothy stuffs straw back into the Scarecrow's shirt when you hear this line.

37:40-Dorothy and the Scarecrow are on the yellow brick road when you hear the line "Got to keep the loonies on the path".

38:37-Dorothy and the Scarecrow begin skipping down the yellow brick road during the line "I'll see you on the dark side of the moon".

39:30-The tempo changes as the trees come to life and the song ends as the trees attack Dorothy and the
Scarecrow.

Eclipse
40:48-Dorothy stumbles on the Tin Woodsman. The Scarecrow joins Dorothy as "Eclipse" begins.

41:00-The lyrics "All that you taste/All that you hear/All that you feel" accompany Dorothy's efforts to revive the Tin Woodsman by oiling his joints "All that you love" is an interesting line given the Tin Woodsman's lack of a heart.

42:20-"Eclipse," the last song on the album, concludes with the sound of a heartbeat. You hear this sound as Dorothy puts her hand to the Tin Woodsman's chest

[Olls]

Never heard of this one before, but isn't there also something about a song played backwards containing hidden messages? I think that was also a Pink Floyd song.

[Cornholio857]

^Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven backwards has been dubbed Stairway to Hell.

Check it out:

[Olls]

Right yeah, that was a Led Zeppelin song. Cool stuff, but very far-fetched.

[Nunzio]

They play Dark Side of the Rainbow in theatres here sometimes. It's a big deal, everyone knows about it. Round these parts anyways...

[Ecco]

Dark Side of the Rainbow is an awesome experience. The album and movie match up fantastically.

I was surprised that Wiki states that Pink Floyd denied any connection between the two. A friend had told me that the band made the album to match up, for some sort of sales gimmick, but then after doing so, MGM backed out of the deal... or something.

At any rate, they do match nicely and it's awesome, if you're a fan of Pink Floyd at least...

[The Jackal]

Ha, this reminds me of that Eeerie Indiana episode.

[profholt82]

Yeah about 10 years ago they screened Wizard with Dark Side playing at a theatre in Ann Arbor. I went with a few buddies and we got really burnt (it was senior year). I've always thought it was more than a coincidence. I think Waters knew exactly what he was doing.