Raimi: "'The Wizard of Oz' is my favourite film of all time"

Sam Raimi, director of 'The Evil Dead' and the 'Spider Man' trilogy, has given an interview to 'The Guardian' newspaper where he reveals that 'The Wizard Of Oz' is his "favourite film of all time".

Raimi has just spent spent three years making his new fantasy adventure film 'Oz: The Great and Powerful'  - an update of the original 1939 MGM musical -  starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz.

The 3D film which has just opened in the UK is forecast to be a hit  - with a predicted $80 million opening in the US.  A sequel is already being planned.

Raimi fought long and hard for the job, up through a list of 14 other directors, and had all but accepted defeat by the time he was finally offered the project.

"I love Victor Fleming's Wixrd of Oz. I hold it in such high regard. The artistry of the actors, the production design, the music – it's my favourite musical of all time, too. It's the scariest movie I saw as a kid, and the most moving. Judy Garland: just surrealistic, beyond human performance. I hold it in as high regard as I can, but it's so daunting to approach a classic like this."

Raimi wanted to bring the story's original writer Frank L Baum, as well as Fleming, back to the centre of things. 'Oz The Great And Powerful'  draws visually from the book's original illustrations by William Wallace Denslow, and from early Disney backdrops and artwork, a visual inspiration for the 1939 Fleming version too.

It starts in monochrome Kansas, then, via balloon ride and tornado,  explodes into candy-coloured Oz.

"We go from an old studio-style, 1.33:1 aspect-ratio to a full 2.40:1 widescreen," Raimi  says with relish. "In addition, we played the opening 15 minutes in mono sound, then, when we get to the land of Oz, I took it from mono to stereo and then to fully immersive surround sound. The first time we enter this beautiful, strange land, we really need to feel and sense it thoroughly – I also dialled up the convergence of the 3D so it became much more dimensional at that moment – a modern tribute to the original classic."

James Franco plays conjurer Oscar/Oz, while Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams are the three witches of Oz.

"With Michelle Williams, it was that real sense of goodness that she exudes naturally – easy. And with Mila Kunis I needed someone young enough and pure enough to convey innocence, but then once her heart was broken to really reach inside and pull out that rage of a woman scorned. I saw her in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and she had this real positive, sweet vibe about her, which fits in well with Theodora The Good. And when I saw her in 'Black Swan', she had this witchy quality about her, and I thought, that's the same girl – she's got everything she needs to pull off this role. Except green skin, but we can fix that!"

A self–taught film nerd, Raimi, now 53 in October, started out making indie American horror movies for cult audiences.

"'The Evil Dead' was on such a shoestring budget. We had to work 15- to 18-hour days, seven days a week, no days off, constantly, constantly, constantly. And after a while my crew left because I didn't have money to pay them, so I had to film the thing myself. And in 30-degree winter weather, my hands would be covered in Karo syrup, fake blood, because I had to move blood-stained props all around, and then I had to operate the camera myself, with those same hands … Dude, the whole thing was just awful, it was a mess. At least now I get to stay warm."

After every distributor in New York turned 'The Evil Dead' down, Raimi was rescued by  UK outlet, Palace Pictures, which made it a national hit, then had to defend it in court when it was dubbed a  "video-nasty".

Raimi went on to make "palate cleansers",  'A Simple Plan', "For Love of the Game' and 'The Gift'. Then, a decade ago, he took on the Hollywood blockbuster with his acclaimed 'Spider-Man' trilogy. The films won huge critical acclaim and took $800m apiece.