The Wiz

( *I hope I didn't offend/upset anyone by 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 (go to the 'Wizard of Oz Links Page' and you'll find it listed there). During the entire movie, it starngely seems to keep changing from day to night to day, and sometimes Toto even disappears from sight too. 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 Teenaged Munchkin Children (finally in blue outfits) thank her for killing Evermean, the Wicked witch of the East (who can be seen as a playground bully in this movie, which has a new way of Dorothy's fall killing the witch without using a house). 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 (Slave-Driver to the Adult Winkies and certain other characters, dressed up to resemble her), who sends Flying Monkeys (or actually, the RIDING Monkeys, as in this movie they ride motorcycles - 'Biker Monkeys from Oz!') to capture them. Her attempt to take back the Silver Shoes fails, and Dorothy defeats her, freeing the Grown-UpWinkies (whose true colour is yellow after taking off their slave clothes) and returning to the Emerald City, only to make a very disappointing discovery - unlike other versions, the Wizard doesn't leave Emerald City. But even so, Dorothy realizes that her friends have 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 14 minutes. The DVD also comes with excellent Special Features such as a 13 min "Wiz on Down the Road" Making of featurette on the Movie, Production Notes (which gives a good reason to understand casting Diana Ross as Dorothy), Biographies and Film Highlights of the Actors and Director, a Theatrical Trailer and a Web Link to Universal. Much later, I found this DVD in a Sale Special with a different back cover, but the Australian version ONLY has the Theatrical Trailer. 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". There are a few NEW songs in this movie which I belive was not in the 1975 musical and of course not all the songs (I look forward to getting the Broadway CD soon). I do think that maybe this movie could've had a few scenes shot in the New York Park to make it look natural and authentic. But I do like how Michael Jackson's Scarecrow is something of a teenager (he was 20 when he played the part!). As Diana Ross' Dorothy is a teacher in this, there is much symbolism representing herself in the movie, such as when Aunt Em talks to her and when she appears in Oz. And I do agree that although Diana Ross made a good Dorothy, an actual teenaged girl might have been better suited, but there's always still a 'someday' remake. (* 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 plans for "the Wiz": 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 maybe 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. P.S. If you think this movie of 'Oz' is bad, a Much WORSE adaptation is 1976's Australian "OZ: A Rock 'N' Roll Road Movie" (renamed "20th Century OZ" for the USA). THAT movie has no cyclone, but instead is more similar to MGM than the book, having bad language, drugs and other material only suitable for 'those' mature adults! Compared to that ("OZ", 1976), this ("Wiz") is much better!!!

Blu-ray Update: Got my Blu-ray copy yesterday and I have to say that I bumped up my rating from 4 stars to 5 stars because of the vast improvement of the picture quality. I had tempered my initial reaction because of reading that movies 30 years and older would not really benefit from Blu-ray upgrade technology. That theory is proven the moment you pop in the DVD and see the Menu page which is brighter and crisper. The soundtrack is wonderful. Diana actually looks more beautiful than in her previous stark, extra homily looks on previous editions. The bonus materials are still skimpy (read my unheard plea to Universal below). However, the featurette by producer Rob Cohen is less hype-y and you get a true sense of what a large production it originally was. Addendum: I am probably writing far too late to make a difference for the masterminds at Universal Home Video even to react to fans' inquiries and input. However, here is the good news that "The Wiz" will be forthcoming in Blu-ray technology. Coupled with the fact that a movie this old (1978) will only see minimal improvements with the Blu-ray technology and the knowledge of existing b-roll content from this project, please, please Universal stop production and sweetened up this release. Consider including things like the original press conference at Astoria Studios featuring Diana and Michael, Diana's rumoured recordings of solo versions of songs from "The Wiz" (Diana fans are aware that a studio mix of "Home" surfaced on her "Motown Anthology"), the dedication ceremony of naming one of the Astoria Studios' soundstages in honor of Diana, interviews w/Sidney Lumet about Lena Horne (if no footage of her exist) and interview w/Quincy ("usually available for these kinds of press opportunities) to embellish this release. It is just so unfair that a movie this old, with a rather strange legacy of having only the Star of the movie be the only actor still living, demands that you enrich the Blu-ray release with more B-roll footage. Finally, a movie where I and probably millions of others may be interested in some of the backstory.....and you announce only a "featurette" which was on the 30th Anniversary version released only 3 years ago. The DVD has been at least 3 times. Certainly the 30th Anniversary version, with its CD Bonus Disc, probably had a large number of fans previously owning other versions of the DVD or VHS. So often most people, myself included, would have little interest in that bonus disc.......now we are! UNIVERSAL PLEASE ADD MORE GOODIES TO THE DISC..... For those who remembered when "The Wiz" first premiered on 24 October 1978, the naysayers were out with their poisoned pens. Only Rex Reed, of all the national press, saw its magic initially in a glowing review for the New York Daily News. The soundtrack came out about a month before the album. As is most any of his productions, Quincy Jones did a great job with the soundtrack eliciting strong vocal performances from Diana, Michael and Lena. Diana's voice would go up and octave or two vocally preparing her for her iconic, thrilling "The Boss" album that is considered, vocally, one of her best. And of course, Michael and Quincy would go on to work together on the groundbreaking "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" albums. Lena left an indelible impression with her turn on "Believe in Yourself". The box office was not initially kind to the movie as expectations were high and the naysayers were ready to go as low as they could go. But it began to find a new life as a midnight cult film classic, in much the same way that "Rocky Horror Picture" had done. Not quite as profound as "Horror Show", but, a new lease still the same. Like its predecessor, "The Wizard of Oz", "The Wiz" began its annual seasonal run on networks, soon embraced by young viewers of a different generation. Universal had already reported that they made their money back by leasing the movie for syndication. It was as a home video title where it really began to take hold. Universal has released the movie in video formats at least 3 times, the most recent being the successful 30th Anniversary edition a few years ago. The movie has a potent but sad legacy, in that, only the gorgeous Ms. Diana Ross is the only major star still alive. Richard Pryor, Theresa Merritt, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross transitioned on early. The passing of Michael Jackson helped greatly to add to its legacy and most recently La Horne. All these factors lead to the new found success for "The Wiz" to bask in. Diana gets the last laugh as with her previous movies, "Lady Sings the Blues" and "Mahogany" all possess a certain cache and credibility as an actress and a box office draw. It is Michael's only feature film if you don't count "Captain EO". It is a blazing, lasting tribute for Ms. Horne. It certainly reminds us of what a lost it is that Diana has not made more movies. Even her Golden Globe-nominated performance in "Out of Darkness" and her pop-culture outing with Meron/Zadan "Double Platinum" were both successful tele-pics that are in constant reruns. TVONE recently held a Diana-Marathon, one Saturday evening with back to back showings of all of her movies. Now, as it becomes a Blu-ray converted title, "The Wiz" takes its place in cinematic history. It reminds you of the greatness of Michael Jackson and Lena Horne.......and it leaves you yearning for more movies from Diana! Hopefully, Hollywood begins banging loudly on her door (Tyler Perry apparently has been in high pursuit of her) to get her back in front of the camera. I wish some of my friends were still around to see this. A couple must be smiling down from the heavens at the irony of the fact that 3 decades later, "The Wiz" continues to find new fans, the reported $1 million dollar salary for Diana was a wise investment for Universal/MCA.....and maybe, there should have been more effort to find another film project for Diana and Michael to work together on.

I have seen some disparaging reviews on other sites, but Amazon seems to have the right idea. This is a 5 star or at least a 4 star movie. I would probably give it 4.5. Here is what's really good about it: • Costumes. Just excellent. Great imagination of a "ghetto" version of a scarecrow, tin man, etc. • Sets. Amazing. Very large sets with great design. Also some spectacular scenes in front of the World Trade Center towers. • Ted Ross. Best performer. If Bert Lahr were black, that would be him. Great lion. • Quincy Jones arrangements. Moved the music up about three notches from the original. Also loved the addition of Brand New Day. • Michael Jackson. Very soft-spoken here, but great singing and dancing . . . and before he got all weird. • Lena Horne--Brings the old time belting from the big band days. I just love her. The other cast members were mostly quite good as well. I was surprised how well Nipsy Russell did. I think Ben Vereen would have been the better choice, but Nipsy was still pleasant to watch (and even though he can't sing quite as well as the rest, he still did fine on his two solos). Diana Ross was and is the controversy of the picture. I have to admit that it is still hard to get used to an older Dorothy. I always pictured her so young. However, her singing is top notch and the acting was reasonable (a little over-emotional, but so was Judy Garland). This is the best thing to come out of Motown, hands down. I also liked Richard Prior--he played a great charlatan--but would have preferred a singer in that role. I do wish there could be just a few changes. Primarily there are too many ballads. More upbeat tunes would be nice. The ending has three ballads one right after another. Great songs, but too much. One other thing: For continuity, the original Wizard of Oz had the Wicked Witch watching Dorothy on her journey so we got to see her several times before the big ending scene and in this movie that didn't happen. However, it looked like they could have taken a different tact and had Glenda (Lena Horne) watching and interacting with Dorothy throughout the movie--something akin to a fairy godmother. I think that would have tied things together better. Overall this is a classic and we are blessed to have such a treasure in the pantheon of great musicals.

Great movie

The best movie of all times.

Needed a quick reminder of how much I enjoyed this movie as a kid

My favorite movie the dvd is great and it’s in good condition

Good watch

Everything was great 👍

Per tutti i fan di Michael Jackson che dovrebbero vederlo muovere i suoi primi "passi" sullo schermo, in tutti i sensi. Adoro il fatto che sia in versione originale, ottimo anche per fare pratica della lingua.

Good disk

Llego antes de tiempo, en buen estado, y me encanto verla en HD.

I had never seen this movie before, but I have to say it's a good one!! We watched it as soon as it arrived. The quality and the sound are great. It's an overall enjoyable movie! :)