Artificial intelligence enters cinema: Wizard of Oz and the magic of AI restoration

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only transforming work, medicine, or logistics: today it is also rewriting the language of art and cinema.

One of the most fascinating examples is the joint project between Warner Bros, Magnopus, Google Cloud and the spectacular immersive structure The Sphere, dedicated to the restoration and reinvention of the cult film The Wizard of Oz.

A new life for cinema classics with AI

Shot with a 4:3 lens and dated 1939, The Wizard of Oz represents a cultural heritage of enormous value. However, its original technical limitations made it difficult to adapt to new immersive formats and modern multi-screen experiences. The solution? Use AI to imagine, expand, and recreate every corner of the world of Oz.

The objective is not only to restore, but to transform the experience into something completely new.

The three challenges of film restoration with AI: outpainting, performance, and super resolution

1. Outpainting: creating what does not exist

With the technique of outpainting, the AI extended the original images beyond the original frame, creating new visual elements never shown on the screen. Each scene has been enriched with details generated based on:

Historical production documents

Storyboard and directors’ notes

Drawings, sketches, and vintage videos

In this way, the viewer can today “look beyond the frame” and fully immerse themselves in the world of Oz.

2. Performance generation: animate l’inanimato

Once the environment was recreated, the Artificial Intelligence generated new movements and interactions of the characters using performance generation models.

For example, if Dorothy is at the center of the scene, the AI can generate in real time what the Scarecrow is doing beside her, with coherent and realistic movements.

This makes the experience dynamic, immersive, and alive, perfect for environments like The Sphere.

3. Super resolution: beyond upscaling

To project the film on a gigantic screen like that of the Sphere, it was not enough to improve video quality. The AI used super resolution models to:

Building new pixels from scratch

Fill the gaps with generative data

Make every scene sharp and fluid even at extreme resolutions

Art meets technology: a new way to experience cinema

This pioneering experiment marks a turning point for the film industry. AI is not only used to speed up processes, but to reinvent aesthetics, storytelling, and the visual experience.

Other possible future uses:

Restoration of visual art works and silent films

Educational experiences for museums and schools

Immersive historical reconstructions

AI becomes the bridge between past and future, between classical culture and technological innovation.

The cinema of the future is born from the past

Thanks to artificial intelligence, films like Il Mago di Oz can be reborn in a new form, maintaining their soul but speaking the language of the present. Outpainting, generative animation, and super resolution are just the beginning of a new era in which human and artificial creativity merge to tell stories without limits.