The Wiz
Every generation has to have their on-screen version of the Wizard of Oz. The first is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, released in 1910, complete with a cow and a donkey, who accompanies Dorothy and Toto and the Scarecrow (!) to Oz in a tornado. Many failed film adaptations later, and only after the death of Frank Baum, the creator of Oz, did the greatest of film adaptations happen, The Wizard of Oz, in 1939. Every adaptation had to follow this great comedy and color success. In 1969 there was an animated version of the Land of Oz. In 1976 there was an Australian musical Oz-- A Rock n Roll Road Move. There is a live action sequel to the 1939 classic, Return to Oz (my favorite of the non-1939 versions), which is pretty scary for kids. There's the prequel about the Wizard, and other animated adaptations.
The most successful of the post-1939 adaptations is The Wiz, staring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, with Richard Pryor as the Wiz. It pretty closely follows the storyline of the 1939 classic, with some nods to the original novel (the shoes are silver, not ruby). But this version is distinctly Black and distinctly 1970s New York. Garbage bags are everywhere and Coney Island is closed and buildings are crumbled-- until they reach the Emerald City with an apple for a sun, and everything is fashion and glitz and metal. The Wicked Witch of the West is a sweatshop owner telling all her workers that there would be no lunch break.
Just like the 1939 film, the sets are huge and spectacular, although not always as colorful. Munchkinland is drab and it takes a bit to get to the first real color of the film-- the yellow brick road. The colors gradually open up-- grey at the public library, red in the "poppy fields" and white in the subway-- until in the Emerald City there is a long sequence, similar to Sesame Street, which glorifies Green, Red and Gold with filters and a huge traffic light.
All this is amazing, and some of the scenes work particularly well. The sweatshop with the Winkies, the Flying Monkeys Motorcycle Gang and Evilina, the Witch is eye-popping. Nipsey Russell, who played the Tin Man, was a lot of fun and he had the opportunity to sing the song about lubrication which was mildly risque. Michael Jackson is adorable and his (one) song is wonderful. There's a lot to appreciate here.
In the end, I think it is a mediocre film. I think it mostly fails as a children's film, which is what it is trying to do, with the morals and fables and eye-candy. But there are too many dull songs-- usually and surprisingly sung by Diana Ross-- that anchors the film, which should have sailed smoothly into popularity. There are eighteen total songs in this film, and that number could have been cut in half, easily. Even if the slower songs were shorter, to allow the more entertaining parts to be highlighted, this movie could have done well. Also, and I hate to say it, they really needed a child protagonist, not a kindergarten teacher in Diana Ross. It is this very point of contention that caused the original director to leave, and they had another Dorothy in mind (teenager Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original stage production), but no one could say no to Diana Ross in the 70s and she had made up her mind.
As it is, the film is remembered fondly, and there are quite a number of sections which are amazing. As a whole, it is okay. I'd say the same for the music. Ease on Down the Road is always a great song, no matter how many times they reprise it. But so is You Can't Win, Don't Nobody Bring me Bad News and Believe in Yourself. In the end, just too many snoozers on the list.
3.5/5