The Wiz

Rating:
Summary: A "Wizard of Oz" for the African-Americans
Review: ( *I hope I haven't anyone buy the title, it's all I could come up with* ). I first saw "the Wiz" as a very young boy (somewhere around 5-8 in year 1 or 2) in Primary School, which had been taped by a teacher when it premiered on TV. I had already seen "Return to Oz" and "the Wizard of Oz" on its 50th Anniversary both on TV. I ordered this DVD for my 20th Birthday (it came a week after that, however) and watching it was so exciting. I really enjoyed the movie and DVD and the songs (alomost all of them) were fantastic. Many farmiliar parts of the story have new twists, like Glinda and the Wizard being seen earlier than the original story says, and the Yellow Brick Road appearing AFTER the Scarecrow. Of course, there were a few similarities between this Universal version and the MGM version, but only by conicidence. I also read the script of "the Wiz" 1975 Broadway Musical on a site ( * I can't put it down here because Amazon.com will just take it off leaving a (. . . ) *) before I saw the movie on DVD.
THE MOVIE STORY: Dorothy, Toto, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry live in New York City, receiving the rest of the family to celebrate the birth of Aunt Em's daughter's baby - Dorothy feels excluded and is extremely shy. ( *Even though a lot of people hate Diana Ross as Dorothy, I think that it was good of her to play Dorothy because it's a new twist and some people can relate to Dorothy in this version, afraid to step out into the world and make a big change in her life *). Aunt Em goes about how Dorothy has to find a place for her and Toto. (This next scene I LOVE!!) After that, Toto runs outside into the swirling blizzard storm and Dorothy chases after him, resulting with them being caught up by a tornado (which has a new twist itself), and crash landing into a place where the Munchkins (finally in their originally described blue outfit) thank her for killing Evermean, the Wicked witch of the East. Miss One (the Good Witch from the North) appears and thanks her also, gives her the Silver Shoes (about time they were SILVER!!) and says that the only way to get home is to The Wiz in the Emerald City by following the Yellow Brick Road ("EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD" is such a GREAT song that you'll want to sing along with the subtitles available). Dorothy saves the Scarecrow and with his help, company and companionship, find the Yellow Brick Road and follow it until they meet the TinMan and the Cowardly Lion (who has a name for the first time). But afterwards, they get attacked (in a subway) by a strange man and many subway monsters, just before Dorothy, Toto and the Lion get put to sleep by the Poisonous Poppies. After that, they finally arrive at the Emerald City (*the Big Green Apple, displaying a funny pun *) and manage in seeing the Wiz, but of course they can't get what they want unless they kill Evillene, the Wicked witch in the West, who sends Flying Monkeys to capture them. Her attempt to take back the Silver Shoes fails, and Dorothy defeats her, freeing the Winkies (whose true col,our is yellow after taking off their slave clothes) and returning to the Emerald City, only to make a very disappointing discovery. But even so, dorothy realizes that her friends had what they wanted all the time, and that's when Glinda, the Good Witch of the South appears, telling Dorothy that she can go home. Saying good-bye to her friends and singing about 'Home', she and Toto return home, and the movie end credits play "Ease on Down the Road", ending the movie after 2 hrs 15 minutes.
The DVD also comes with excellent Special Features such as a 16 min "Wiz on Down the Road" 'Making of' featurette on the Movie, Production Notes (which gives a good reason to understand Diana Ross as Dorothy), Biographies and Film Highlights of the Actors and Director, Theatrical Trailer and a Web Link to Universal.
However, even for me the movie takes a little too long and the movie could've been made shorter by cutting a few songs either out altogether or shorter, as most dance sequences go on too long and a scene could've be put in at a different place (like the Winkies taking off their slave clothes), allowing the DVD to have a 'Deleted Scenes' feature and the ending could've been better, like Dorothy and Toto going through the swirl again on their way home. Richard Pryor plays the Wiz, who later played Gus in "Superman 3". The songs in this movie which didn't exist in the 1975 version are 'You Can't Win', (I think 'Can I Go On Not Knowing?') and 'Brand New Day' (which was performed in my High School's 2000 Jubilee).
(* THE FOLLOWING IS QUOTED FROM "THE ANNOTATED WIZARD OF OZ, pg 69*) "In her "Secrets of a Sparrow" book, Diana Ross argued that each of her 3 companions signifies a different aspect of dorothy's essence: 1) the Scarecrow was a representation of Doorthy's hunger for knowledge, the part of her that longed to know more about life and living. 2) the TinMan personified Dorothy's craving for love, the search for her heart, the deep need in her (in all of us, for that matter) to increase her capacity to give and to receive love. 3) And the Lion, the supposedly mean old lion, was uet another part of Dorothy's psyche. His loud and aggressive roars, designed to distance people by projecting fear and rage into their hearts, was merely a cover-up of his own fears and rage, an armoring to protect the sweetness and vulnerability of his, and of course Dorothy's, gentle heart".
I have made a review about this Wiz DVD, and i have 2 more pland for "the Wiz": 1) Send a letter to Universal Studios on making a "30th Anniversary Edition" DVD for 2008, and for me to do another movie remake combining the movie and stage for 2035, with a sequel to follow afterwards.
It was a pleasure to have written this review, and see you on my next review - what will it be? We'll see.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the wizard if oz......
Review: forget what your feelings about Michael Jackson.This movie is awesome.The MUSIC IS JUST GREAT.QUINCY JONES YOU'VE OUTDONE YOURSELF.I just love this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Soul Classic!
Review: I remember sitting in the balcony of the theatre when this movie premiered. The theatre was so packed, literally there was not one empty seat in the house. Michael Jackson (who I just loved till no end) and Diana Ross were the major stars in this exciting black version of the Wizard of Oz. This film is still an all time favorite of mine and after nearly 30 years since its release, it is still a good movie. The music and the choreography in this film was excellent and it had you clapping your hands and tapping your feet from beginning to the end. Considering the fact that this movie was made in the late 70's, the costumes would look a bit cheesy today, but they were just costumes, costumes that were designed in 1978! Since Motown had a hand in the soundtrack department, they would indeed cast Diana Ross as Dorothy. Not taking anything away from Stephanie Mills, who originally played Dorothy in the broadway musical, but Diana who was still with Motown at the time was still hot commodity during that era. She was still in great demand since leaving the Supremes behind to start a solo career. Overall, I think this movie is good for children and adults of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: I would have given this 5 stars, except.....
Review: ...Diana Ross was horribly miscast as Dorothy. I'm sorry, but a 24 year old (who was actually 33 at the time) being as naive as she was portrayed in this movie just didn't fly with me. The role of Dorothy is for a pre-teen or a teenager, PERIOD. It should have gone to someone else, preferably to a newcomer that would have been surrounded by an all-star cast...or to the young lady who originated the role on the Broadway stage, Stephanie Mills (who was a teenager at the time, as was Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz", 1939 version). I had seen Stephanie in "The Wiz" on Broadway only a couple of years before this film was made, and she was fantastic. To me, based on that, it seemed like she rightfully earned the role in the film. Unfortunately it went to Ross and that is what killed the appeal for many people. She just was not believable in the role, and apparently a lot of movers and shakers in Hollywood felt the same way, because "The Wiz" was the last major motion picture (excluding TV movies) she was ever cast in.

Overlooking that, "The Wiz" is a very good musical that featured Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow (Mike's performance of "You Can't Win" and "Ease On Down The Road" is outstanding), comedian and dancer Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion (who had also been in the Broadway production and won a Tony award for it), Mabel King as the Wicked Witch of the West (her singing "No Bad News" - wow!!), the incredible Lena Horne as Glenda, the Good Witch of the South and Richard Pryor as the Wiz. I love the musical score (done by Quincy Jones - excellent job) and the choreography (Michael was definitely in his element here). I thought the costumes were a bit cheesy-looking, but being a native New Yorker, I did like the transformation of New York City into the Land of Oz. And for those of you who have a problem with the World Trade Center being the scene for the Emerald City, please keep in mind that this was filmed in 1978, and no one could have known back then just what was going to happen 23 years later.

If you can ignore Diana as Dorothy, then "The Wiz" is a very enjoyable film for the entire family.

Rating:
Summary: I like the mystery of the film best
Review: I love it when Dorothy tries to take a cab and they keep bilnking off duty and driving away on her. Also, it feels like she's really in another world even though you can plainly see it's New York City. The film suffers from vuisual editing problems galore but the musical numbers are touching and memorable.

Rating:
Summary: "The Wiz" (1978) directed by Sidney Lumet
Review: Visually delightful but overall mediocre Universal/Motown all black cast screen adaptation of Broadway musical based on the L. Frank Baum novel. Dorothy (Diana Ross), Toto, the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tinman (Nipsey Russell) and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross in role that won him a Tony on Broadway) make their journey down the Yellow Brick Road in search of "The Wiz" (Richard Pryor) who resides in the Emerald City and reportedly has the power to grant each their wish (a trip home, a brain, a heart and courage).
The film begins with the painfully shy 24 year old Dorothy helping with a family gathering at her home. After the gathering her dog Toto runs off and while chasing him she gets swept away by a tornado that materializes from a blizzard(!). She and Toto are magically transported to the Land of Oz with the aid of Glinda the Good Witch of the South (Lena Horne in bit role). The Wicked Witch of the East is inadvertantly killed during Dorothy's arrival and Dorothy is given her silver slippers and told not to take them off until she leaves Oz. Thus the adventure begins.
The movie was filmed in and around New York City including at Shea Stadium, Coney Island and in the central plaza of the World Trade Center (which served as the setting for the Emerald City). The indoor set shots were filmed at Astoria Studios on Long Island. In fact the sets are very well done and add greatly to the ambience of the almost post-apocalyptic urbanized setting of Oz. While some laud the musical numbers in the movie (arranged by Quincy Jones), I found most of the songs forgettable. There are musical highlights however, including the title song "The Wiz","Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" (sang by Mabel King in role as Evillenne the Wicked Witch of the West), "Believe In Yourself" (performed by Lena Horne in her only musical number) and the best remembered song from the film, "Ease On Down The Road"-the movie's equivalent of "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" from the far superior 1939 film version. A couple of elaborate dance numbers also populate the film, including a weird number featuring the newly freed minions of Evillene dancing in their underwear.
I remember thoroughly enjoying this film as a child when it was released theatrically. As an adult however I found it a little slow, almost boring in parts. It's also more difficult to watch the scenes with Michael Jackson and especially those of the World Trade Center without being distracted from the story in light of subsequent events. I also thought that Ross' portrayal of Dorothy was overly whiney which provoked mild irritation. Overall I would recommend this movie to those with grade school aged children (the movie is rated G). The DVD version is a good widescreen transfer and provides some extras (production notes, trailer, cast bios and short making of featurette "Wiz On Down The Road") and is certainly preferable to the VHS version.
While the Broadway production won 7 Tony's, the film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards (Best Costumes, Best Art Direction/Set Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Music Score), losing in all categories.

Rating:
Summary: "If You Believe"
Review: Before 1996, I had always heard several people saying that I should see THE WIZ. In the year of 2000, I saw bits and peices of the movie, but I wasn't too moved. As far as the music goes, the song "No Bad News" is an ok song and I do like the song "He's The Wiz," but the part that really caught my attention and made me a little teary-eyed was when Lena Horne did that soul-stirring rendition of "If You Believe." And honestly, that's the only reason I bought the DVD- to hear Lena Horne sing "If You Believe."

God Bless Lena!

Rating:
Summary: THE WIZ..............A VISUAL STUNNER !!!!!
Review: THIS LAVISH TOUR DE FORCE IS AMAZING FROM START TO FINISH..FILMED IN NEW YORK AND LONG ISLAND -ON ONE OF THE BIGGEST SETS EVER- INCLUDING THE(WORLD TRADE CENTER) TWIN TOWERS,THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE AND THE CYCLONE ROLLERCOASTER OF CONEY ISLAND AS THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD ,SHEA STADIUM, AND THE ASTORIA STUDIOS AND ALSO A CAST OF OVER 400 DANCERS & SINGERS...COMPOSER EXTRORDINAIRE QUINCY JONES PRODUCED THE MUSIC & GARNERED AN ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION.....DIANA ROSS IS INCREDIBLE AS DOROTHY, HER VOICE IS SILKY SMOOTH AND POWERFUL AT TIMES, EVEN THOUGH STEPHANIE MILLS WAS MORE SENSATIONAL IN THE BROADWAY VERSION (7 TIME "TONY WINNER"). THIS URBAN VERSION IS VISUALLY SPECTACULAR AND WAS NOMINATED FOR 4 "ACADEMY AWARDS" EXCELLENT DVD QUALITY-SEE MICHAEL JACKSON SHINE AS "THE SCARECROW", ALSO NIPSEY RUSSELL AS "THE TINMAN" AND TED ROSS FROM THE BROADWAY PRODUCTION AS "THE LION" CAMEOS FROM LENA HORNE & RICHARD PRYOR AS "THE WIZ" HIMSELF. GREAT SONGS INCLUDE "EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD" "YOU CAN'T WIN" "BRAND NEW DAY" "NO BAD NEWS" "BE A LION" AND "HOME"(FINALE)- A PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY...NO DVD COLLECTION SHOULD BE WITHOUT..GET YOURS TODAY !