The Wiz (1978)

Many reviewers were not aware of the fact that this was a Broadway stage musical in 1974. Director Sidney Lumet ruins the entire production by making it too urban, depressing, and dull. The TV copy is murky, dark, and panned & scanned. The cable Broadcast on BET was 215 min. long for a 133 min. movie! (DVR it.) Dated musical orchestration by Quincy Jones. The whole thing is lifeless and staged badly. Using NYC as a backdrop is a failure. The Munchkins pop off the wall as live graffiti. Some of the minor songs are "pitchy". Michael Jackson is a major disappointment and has a surprisingly huge nose! Both Tin Man and Lion upstage him! Much of it is set in trash-filled alleys and streets. (Coney Island was shot on location.) Diana Ross (and only a select few) can actually sing. The "Poppy Girls" sprinkle-down either pixie dust or cocaine on everyone? Terrible! It only "comes to life" in the last 45 minutes. Richard Prior is a wimp as the Wizard. Even Lena Horne's great talent falls flat and the babies in the sky are just "creepy". The worst part: The NYC subway becomes an urban nightmare with attacking electrical wires and snarling trash cans with huge teeth. The sweat shop has a great musical number ("Don't Give Me No Bad News"). The "Winged Monkeys on Harleys" double as "The Winkies" as well. Brilliant! Then, The Wicked Witch gets flushed away. Finally,there is joyous dancing and singing in "Brand New Day". Why isn't the rest of the musical this good? Diana Ross is 33 years old and fools no one pretending to be only 24. She sings a dreary version of "Home" at the beginning and her "legendary version" as the finale. A soul-less Black Musical! So, Dorothy and Toto just go home. No reunion. Why such a weak ending? Please watch the 2015 NBC "live" remake, on DVD, and see it "reimagined" as an exciting and amazing TV "stage" musical.

I've mentioned my admiration of the directorial resume of Sidney Lumet before, but every director has a missstep somewhere along the way and for Lumet it was definitely the 1978 musical The Wiz, the overlong and overblown film version of the Broadway musical that was an "urban" re- working of The Wizard of Oz about the little girl who is transformed to a magical world where she meets three friends who she helps during her own journey back home.In the original L. Frank Baum novel, the character of Dorothy was 10 years old. Judy Garland was 17 when she played Dorothy and Stephanie Mills was in her early 20's when she created the role of Dorothy in the stage version of The Wiz, but the role had to be re-thought when Diana Ross pretty much purchased the role of Dorothy for herself, so for the film, Dorothy has become a 31-year old schoolteacher (who looks 40) which legitimizes Ross' casting in the role, but does not legitimize the story because the story here is a little girl's dream and the fact that Dorothy is no longer a little girl, makes the whole thing a little hard to swallow.Ross works hard in the role, but is pretty hard to take as a 31 year old living a 10 year old girl's dream. Michael Jackson is annoying as the Scarecrow and Ted Ross is serviceable repeating his Broadway role as the Lion. The only completely satisfying lead performance for me was actually by Nipsey Russell, who brings a humorous dignity to the role of the Tin Man, which is actually quite entertaining. Mention should also be made of the legendary Lena Horne, who stops the show with her one number, "If You Believe" and Mabel King, repeating her Broadway role as Evillene, the wicked witch who commands the screen with "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News."But other than that, this film is long and boring and despite a lot of glamorous trappings and the obvious money than went into the production, including the hiring of Quincy Jones to overhaul Charlie Smalls' original score, the film is a huge disappointment, especially if you've seen the show onstage. This was Lumet's first and last foray into directing musicals and I think that's a small mercy.

I had to vote it a 1, but if I could've, I would've given it a zero or negative rating. I just watched it on HBO and I was intrigued to see a Michael Jackson and Diana Ross version of the Wizard of Oz, since I'm a fan of their music. The original movie is one I grew up with and have seen many times, and is a timeless classic, even though it is ancient. I had also seen the latest movie Oz, in the movie theaters, and while nowhere near as good as the original movie, it was at least interesting. This one? Horrific. Terrible acting. Terrible costumes. Terrible music. There was not one single redeeming quality about this movie it was so bad. I think the only possible way this movie could have gotten any positive reviews was black people simply liking it because it was all black. The downgrade in acting by every single character, relative to the original, was mind boggling. Save yourself the time and if you bothered to DVR it, delete it.

The first time I saw THE WIZ was when in first aired on TV back in the '80s. I was still a kid with a curfew, but luckily it was a Saturday, but at least I got to see it. I've seen the original THE WIZARD OF OZ more times than I can keep track, but this version always felt more relatable to be because I grew up in the Bronx in the '70s and '80s, and I remember those days of abandoned lots and practically every subway and building spray-painted with graffiti. But at least I was more mature and adventurous than this 24-year old Dorothy who lives like a teenager and has the emotional maturity of a preteen. Seriously, if her family was sheltering her, I can understand but apparently even her family want her to go out and experience life for a change. Just not in the middle of a Thanksgiving snowstorm in Harlem.I don't think Diana Ross was that bad, but I do feel that the role of Dorothy should've gone to someone much younger like a teenager. But then again, Judy Garland was also too old when she played Dorothy in 1939, and it didn't seem as drastic. To go from a young teenager to a 24 year old schoolteacher is a huge leap. Also, with all the beautiful costumes in the film, why give Dorothy the most bland lavender dress to wear? Even Judy looked cute in gingham.The thing that bothered me the most about the movie was the ending. After over two hours, you want the ending to be satisfying, especially after hearing the song "Home", but no, we just get Dorothy and Toto going back to their apartment. No seeing her family again. Nothing. Such a letdown.It's not a perfect adaptation, but you can tell there are fixable flaws to this still watchable film.