“The Wiz” (1978) is a film based on the Broadway musical of the same name. It is a black version of “The Wizard of Oz” set in New York City. Diana Ross was Dorothy, Michael Jackson was the Scarecrow, Richard Pryor was the Wiz and Lena Horne was Glinda the Good Witch of the South. Kansas was played by Harlem, Munchkinland by Queens and the Emerald City by Wall Street. Quincy Jones was in charge of the music.
Despite all that wonderful talent it did badly. Universal and Motown made it for $24 million (4 million crowns) but lost over $10 million. That ended Diana Ross’s days as a film actress and pretty much killed Hollywood’s desire to make black films for years to come. It had been steadily turning them out ever since “Shaft” became a surprise hit in 1971.
But “The Wiz” did bring together Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, a match that would lead to Jackson’s “Off the Wall” (1979), “Thriller” (1982) and “Bad” (1987).
Parts of the film seem shockingly cheesy and amateurish, like the subway scene or the snow tornado in Harlem. But the ending was wonderful and powerful, way better than Judy Garland’s 1939 Oz film. That is when Diana Ross sings “Home”.
It has 25 songs and 650 dancers! I have never seen it on Broadway but the film does come off seeming like a warmed over stage show.
Its two famous songs are “Home” and “Ease on Down the Road”. Ashford and Simpson helped to write a song. So did Luther Vandross.
Stephanie Mills played Dorothy on Broadway and was set to play her in the film too, but then at five o’clock one morning Diana Ross called Berry Gordy, the head of Motown, and talked him into giving her the part.
There is no way I would have known that the Scarecrow was Michael Jackson apart from his voice and some of his dance moves. He was scared of crows and would often pull out bits of paper from his stuffing and read wise sayings.
The Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) was found at the Coney Island amusement park. The Lion (Ted Ross, no relation of Diana Ross) was one of the stone lions at the entrance of the New York Public Library. The Wiz lived at the top of one of the Twin Towers. The Emerald City dance scene took place in the square down below. The “Don’t Walk” signs said “Don’t Ease”. The flying monkeys were a motorcycle gang and the poppies were prostitutes.
The Wicked Witch of the West (Mabel King) ran a sweat shop that produced sweat. She was not killed by a bucket of water but the sprinkler system. When she died the sweat shop workers took off their ugly clothes and faces and sang and danced in one of the film’s best scenes.
The Wiz could help not Dorothy and her friends – he was from New Jersey and had no powers at all. But then Glinda tells Dorothy about her silver shoes, etc.
– Abagond, 2010.
See also:
- Lady Sings the Blues – another Diana Ross film
- “Home” – as sung by Stephanie Mills
- The Wizard of Oz
- Shaft
- cast:
- New York City
- black actresses
Perhaps if they had use a child as Dorothy. Stephanie Mills was too old too. For me I had no inclination to see the movie with Diana Ross as the lead, that would take all the magic out of it. I know they wrote the part for an adult, but I don’t think that should have been necessary. In a way I thought Judy Garland looked a little old for that part too.
The Return to Oz I liked but it did not do that well at the box office.
I think if they should revise the show, they should rewrite it so that Dorothy can be a child. I am sure that they can find a Black girl that can sing and act.
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I saw this when I was very young and the sets for MJ’s first scene with the crows, and the sweatshop scene, I remembered vividly. I downloaded it for my kids after MJ’s death and found it couldn’t hold anyone’s attention for the whole movie – too long and uneven. But the sets were still wonderful. It was a great concept, it’s too bad it didn’t work better.
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“Uneven” is a good way to put it. If I did not like both Diana Ross and the 1939 Oz I am not sure if I would have made it to the end. It does seem like a huge opportunity missed, though Michael Jackson said that it could not have been done any better than it was.
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@ Hathor:
Diana Ross’s character was 24 but Ross herself was 33. I agree that even Garland was pushing it. On the other hand you do need someone with a strong singing voice like Mills or Ross to carry off the ending. Ashanti played Dorothy last year on Broadway and it did not do well.
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abagond,
When they cast Annie for Broadway, Andrea McArdle was 14. I also believe there have been younger Annie’s.
I think if anyone tried, they could find a 12 year old who could sing in theater. Women’s voices are not like men’s, their voices do not go through changes when they enter puberty.
Think of Janice Jackson’s voice at 9. She sounded a lot better than at forty something.
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I meant Janet Jackson.
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I remember the Wiz very well. I was in junior high and we sang “Home” in our choir. I don’t know why I do not own this movie, but I’m going to!
Michael Jackson was a revelation as an actor. He really should have done more movies. And it’s a shame about Diana Ross too who is a very talented actress.
What I want to know is why with all the cash in Black entertainment aren’t there more black studios churning out movies for us and about us. Not to mention other POC. IN this day and age there really seems no reason for it to me.
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Poetess:
I agree. That is a mystery to me too as there seems to be more than enough black dollars to support it.
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And what movies are out there are usually piss-poor comedies hardly a notch above minstrel shows.
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for the sake the movie didn’t do good i consider it a classic because i do love the original wizard of oz but some parts were boring and plain. the wiz had more soul to it and michael was the best in my opinion. and i agree with the woman that said he should’ve done more movies because he could’ve been a great actor. diana was too old for the role and i felt stephanie was for the part and sang “home” a lot better than diana.
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I guess I should watch the end so I can hear Ross sing “Home,” but I’ve never been able to make it that far in the film. I think you have to blame Sidney Lumet for the bad staging. I’ve often thought the movie could have been salvaged if it had just been shot with more close-ups and fewer Broadway-scale scenes. It’s true that Ross is too old for the part, but she’s also badly, badly directed. And dressed. And made up. Etc. If I were more paranoid, I’d think it was a plot to take a veritable bonfire of black talent and drown it in buckets of cold water. I own it so I can watch MJ’s “Move on Down the Road,” but that’s about it.
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BTW, abagond: i went to your Michael Jackson post and thought you might like to make a correction in it. Doctors weren’t turning Jackson’s skin white, vitiligo was. For years he used brown makeup to cover the splotches of skin where he’d lost pigment (check out photos of him as Charlie Chaplin), then he used white makeup to cover what was left of the brown. Common treatment for vitiligo is to complete the process of losing pigment; Jackson apparently did that, which explains why in later years he needed complete protection from the sun.
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michael jackson never had vertiligo. he was replaced with a white boy. the real mj retired. also, he is alive and well and still lives with him mom in encino. he never occupied the neverland ranch.
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I hated this movie so much. I usually don’t like remakes or adaptations. The acting was horrendous and this movie was nothing more than the Wizard of Oz turned into a cheap Blaxploitation film. Diana Ross was very annoying and whiny when she acts in movies. Her characters are really unlikeable.This movie was very racist too:Lena Horne, who is light skinned, thin, pretty plays the “good witch”. The Wicked Witch of the West is fat, ugly, men, and really dark.
Nothing beats the Wizard of Oz.
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I love the Wiz.. It’s definately not for children because when I did see it as a child I was scared. I really watched it when I was in high school and fell in love with the music and the drama. My favorite songs are Can’t get out of the game, and I’m a lion. I love singing along.
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THE WIZ IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES EVER MADE. MS. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DOESN’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT. THIS MOVIE IS NO WAY RACIST OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. DIANA, MICHAEL, AND THE WHOLE CAST WAS PHENOMENAL IN HOW THEY PLAYED THEIR PARTS. I WATCH THIS MOVIE ALMOST EVERY WEEK AND IT NEVER GETS OLD. I KNOW JUST ABOUT ALL THE SONGS. THIS WILL ALWAYS BE MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME.
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I remember seeing this in the theater and was very disappointed, I thought Diana Ross was old and I was so disappointed In Michael Jackson’s performance, I thought the costumes were beautiful and the set was wonderful. But after Michael passed away, I watched it and was so sad.
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Hated the updated version of this.
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Stephanie Mills was the best Dorothy loved the original Broadway soundtrack from back in the day. Stephanie Mills was wonderful. Was able to appreciate the movie version after MJ’s passing.
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