+TXF GET THE FUCK OUT! (door closes) old man: beauty! did you get thrown out of the castle? i'm going to have to sell you to another beast for even MORE money! (beauty gasps) NYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!
I was in the Wiz. At the time I was 5 and they didn't pin us to the wall they suspended us in a harness with wires. Lena Horn did the movie because the Director was her son in law. My Father , Ted Ross was the Lion. Everyone thought Diana Ross was too old to play Dorothy . Michael Jackson and Q. Jones didn't like the movie at all. When it comes to African American cast movies, it's a classic but yes too many changes were made and for 1979 the budget was enormous. Diana Ross' kids were snobs and I tried to pull off Michael Jackson's Reece's Peanut Butter Cup paper nose. That's all I have to say about that.
Wow! You were in the movie? Cool! While I agree with Nostalgia Critic about the flaws I still love the movie. I guess that makes me a bad critic. As you know, and as I remember reading the movie was panned by critics when it first came out, and didn't do well in the theaters. I was in a stage production of The Wiz back in 1987, and I loved every minute of it! I was in the chorus, but the chorus had a big role in the show, as you know. And the cast was wonderful! We never wanted it to end. We were all crying when the curtain came down on the final show. I remember going backstage to the dressing room singing "You Can't Win" and the guy who played The Scarecrow was so upset he told me to stop singing that song because he'd sung it for the last time. I guess I stopped singing out of respect, I don't remember. They were a wonderful bunch! The director, Don Leonard, was one of my best friends, but that didn't have so much to do with me getting into the show as my talent did. I didn't get into every show that he was directed that I auditioned for. But I also told him that no matter what decision he made about who gets into the shows I would always be his friend. He practically broke down crying and told me that I would never know how much that meant to him, and that he had lost so many friends because he didn't cast them in his shows. He lives in Las Vegas now, which is about 5 states away from where I live, but we still write and let each other know what's going on. I live The Wiz so much that I even came up with my own idea for a cartoon version of it featuring Alvin and the Chipmunks! They're some of my all time favorites! I'm thinking Brittany if The Chipettes would play Dorothy (Naturally!). Simon would play The Scarecrow (Note the irony! Simon, as we all know, is the brains of the group!), Alvin would be the Tin Man (Another irony, because Alvin is the ladies man of the group!), and Theodore would be the Lion! Then I'm thinking Dave could be The Wiz, and I'm not really sure who would play Glinda (The Good Witch of the South), Adepearle (The Good Witch of the North) or Evilyne (The Wicked Witch of the West). But I'm thinking they should either be characters from The Alvin Show (The Chipmunks' original cartoon from 1961), and/or various Disney characters (I know Disney doesn't have anything to do with Albin and The Chipmunks, but so what! Who doesn't like Disney characters!). I'm glad you added a comment!
It was cool that they had an all African American cast, but they used the script of one the whitest people who ever lived, and I'd care to wager that he wasn't the only white person who worked on that film, and to be honest that takes a lot away from the whole "black made" movie thing. Especially if all the bosses were just a bunch of white guys. That was a major factor of the original idea of the play. The Wiz has to have only African Americans writing, acting, singing, and producing it because the Wizard of Oz had Only white people doing all those things. It's literally the statement that the play was intended to make. That being said it was great to hear MJ and Diana Ross singing "Ease on Down the Road". So I gotta give it that.
My video stopped for half a second in the middle of Nostalgia Critic screaming at Todd to shut up when he was mocking how the Tin Man cries- and I honestly thought he broke the internet for a minute with his screaming. That was great.
I do have fond memories of this movie as a kid, but I remember asking about most of the points these guys raised: What are those people on the walls? How is this tornado possible? Why is Dorothy 40? Why won't the cabs stop? Who is that cart owner and why is he so scary? What did the wicked witch do? What is the tin man saying? Why did the workers take their clothes off? Why are there babies floating around? The only answer I got was "Just be quiet and watch the movie!"
Also, I wonder what the people in the rooms next to the Critic were thinking when he was filming this. NC: "DRAWER! DRAWER! DRAWER! DRAWEEEEEEER!" Neighbours: "WTF?!"
Labour...? I don't know. Maybe the people that were working for the evil witch were actually being payed a fair amount, and when the witch was killed they all lost their jobs. I think this film got who the villains were supposed to be backwards.
+Hopey Olguin Somewhere Over the Rainbow is all about Dorothy dreaming about a place where she can't get into trouble; and frankly it's all idealized. A land heard in a lullaby, where the clouds are far behind, and where problems melt like lemon drops. Sure she laments the fact that she can't fly like a bird to get there, and about how she can't realistically get there at all...but that doesn't necessarily make it a sad song.
I saw this movie once in like... 6th grade. All I remembered was Michel Jackson was in it, and it was weird as hell. This is the first time in a decade that I've ever heard it mentioned again. Probably a reason for that.
I'm going to click my heels together three times and hope that there isn't any racism in the comment section. No racism in the comment section No racism in the comment section No racism in the comment section
I only saw this movie once and that was awkward as fuck! For some reason my music teacher in 7th grade decided to show it to the class. I was one of the very few white kids in the class...and I was getting very angry looks from my classmates because I kept laughing at it. (in particular when the subway pillars came to life) They also didn't care much for my "Booty Poppin' field" joke. My music teacher realized too late into the film that I had never seen the movie before and didn't particularly want to get involved being white himself. I think the entire class wanted to kill me by the end of it. Long story short: I got body slammed at recess the next day, got a fucked up wrist from it, and didn't tell anyone what had happened.
imsure no one gave you dirty looks...im black and inot of black peoplewho laugh at this movie lol you act like this is the black person anthem or something...shit was crazy...still liked it though but im sure you didnt get dirty looks...nice try though :)
Matthew Ford Return to Oz?...Those two movies bare no resemblance to each other. This is supposedly a remake of The Wizard of Oz except with black people Return to Oz was basically a sequel to the Wizard of Oz.
Matthew Ford eh...I liked "Return" okay. Nothing spectacular, but nothing awful either. I mean yeah it was pretty deranged, but I took it okay, both as a kid and as an adult. 6.5/10
Stocking Anarchy I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that the poster was trying to avoid the video being detected and flagged for removal by RU-vid. Since they haven't done it to every Nostalgia Critic video, they might be afraid of the company behind the movie doing something like that.
Brandon Roberts More like unrelated. Unless the poster was black. And them turning the video around was connected to their unability to read.... No, I just think you misunderstood OP.
Stocking Anarchy as this is protected by copyright's loophole of critique, they should be able to show what they want without having to invert anything. perhaps a glitch? not sure....
ryan barker Some companies will still try to file claims which can hurt your account, regardless of if its legal for you to post things, and regardless of if the claim-er actually owns it or not. Look at NASA and how a private news station tries to claim footage FROM THE MARS ROVER is theirs to claim. RU-vid thinks they are awesome with the copyright algorithm but it sucks and it favors the claimers wayy too heavily.
Shadow Games having never posted a video, i wouldn't know how stringent/insipid youtube can be. while disappointing, i understand why the IP owner wants to protect their stuff (try finding a prince song), and sometimes youtube seems to go too far, although i grasp that someone at the office can't exactly sit down and watch these things individually, lol.
I realize that as a white person, I really have no right to judge this..but I feel like this movie is incredibly offensive to black people. :/ Idk. I guess it's kinda like they said, why is the all-black oz dirty and unpleasant? Why was the film adaptation of this musical urbanized so much? It's the things that Joel Schumacher changed from the stage play that bothered me. Just because it's an all-black cast is no reason to change Oz into the ghetto. And if that had been the original intention, then the all-black stage production would have been the same. But it wasn't. The stage production is awesome and beautiful. Like I said before, I have no right to judge, but it still bothers me.. They make what was a really fun stage musical into something dirty, unpleasant, and as critic said "ugly".. It's a tragedy honestly considering the incredible amount of talent in this film.
it has a deep meaning that it's a hidden message to show that the world isn't as beautiful as it seems it has it's ups and downs and you have to learn how to cope with it, it wasn't meant to be like "the wizard of oz" they wanted to stray away and change it up to have it's own meaning
Clayton Chester Okay. That makes a lot more sense to me. I really did want to like this version of Oz, and what you said gave me a reason! Thank you. ^__^
i remember i was watching the wizard of oz, and my uncle friend came in and said "u should see the wiz" that's the better version. BUT UMM ALL I SAW WAS A RUNNED DOWN, LOW QUALITY, RAGGED OUT SHIT FILM. idk i guess because im black my uncle friend thought i will automatically like it. but he was wrong, im sure this the reason why mj never got another movie deal, but thank god he's a music legend tho.
Yeah, I've never understood this idea that one is supposed to only enjoy stuff from your own background. A while back I had some arsehole telling me I couldn't really enjoy the Captain America movies because I'm British. I mean, really? That's how some people think?
breana Jackson Absurd, isn't it? One of the best parts of the modern world is that we can do exactly that; encounter and enjoy things from different places and cultures.
While imperfect, I think this film is enjoyable on its own terms. A stylish Motown take on the wizard of oz, with the soundtrack to boot, and sets that are an homage to the urban culture of that time. And MJ met quincy jones there, who would produce the albums off the wall, thriller and bad. In the wake of MJ's passing, I reckon this film may receive more attention.
It's true, there are Black farmers. Dave Chappelle has been one himself lately. He lives on a 65,000-acre farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio, which is where he spent most of his childhood.
For those of you who apparently didn't get it, I present to you "The Wiz - EXPLAINED" *"All the songs and scenes are decrepit and depressing!"* Well, no shit. The scenery was meant to be a reflection of the reality many urban black people had to live through in the 70's, not a saccharine fantasyland. Just because it's an adaptation doesn't mean it has to be an exact copy. *"Dorothy is so whiny!"* Again, no shit. Her storyline is supposed to be about her overcoming her serious low self-esteem and growing up. Not "growing up" like a kid, but growing into a well-adjusted young woman. It wouldn't make sense if she wasn't scared and whiny. Hell, the original doesn't make sense in that Dorothy didn't scream "WTF?!" at least once. *"There are too many songs!"* Hey - you wanted a Motown movie, you got one. And a Quincy Jones production at that. *"The Tin Man is weird and annoying! And he can't sing!"* NO SHIT. Nipsey Russell was a fucking COMEDIAN. He was only invited because his hey-day coincided with the movie. Also, he was supposed to be a battered husband who lost his career and (supposedly) shut-down his emotions to cope. They tried to make him robotic, but they didn't really "get" robots until the 80's; thus, weird performance. *"The Poison Poppies"* Heroin. It's supposed to represent heroin. (Context: In the 1970's, NY had a huge problem with prostitution and dope dealers.) *"Why did the slaves strip naked and dance?"* No clue. No one has any fucking clue. That scene weirded everybody out. ...And there you have it. Seriously, I first saw this movie when I was 8 and understood all of this right off the bat. I do not understand how you all cannot.
lunareclipse0629 I agree! In terms of the nudity, I think it was supposed to mean liberation. They are originally all in these costumes that parallel stereotypes of Black people. Big lips, over-weight, consumed by slave labor, singing the songs that justify the position of the enslaver, wearing bundles of clothes weigh them down. When the people shed those impositions they are naked, beautiful, not hiding their Blackness and not consumed by work but free to dance. They are lithe and liberated. It's always been a powerful scene for me. Fun fact: Luther Vandross wrote the song "Brand New Day" that coincides with that scene.
lunareclipse0629 What about the reality of rural whites AND blacks? Poverty knows no boundaries. They were pretty poor in the original, she wasn't all depressed and shit.
I found This to be too dark (not colourful enough)and depressing songs. Nipsey Russet was awful. I actually liked Michael Jackson's acting, dancing and singing. He was the only good point. I don't blame Diana at all she was given poor songs and script/story. The only song I liked was "ease on down the road"
i was in this musical in high school (if you were wondering dorothy and the wiz were the only black cast members) and ease on down the road was the only song we all liked and remembered.
I blame Diana. She was wrong for the part! Like what Todd said, she was too old for the role. The main character was supposed to be 14. They changed it to appease Diana and she was still too Goddamn old for it.
artistwithouttalent the one where Peter, Quagmire, & Cleveland become cops to help Joe after Mayor West sends the majority of the police force out of town.
I remember in either 8th or 9th grade my teacher asked what the students wanted to watch for Movie Day. Either he or someone mentioned the Wiz and I had no idea what they were talking about. Everyone was shocked I never seen the movie, considering I'm black. There weren't a lot of movies I'm familiar with at that time. I will say after watching it I got confused on what I was looking at. Never knew there was a play, but didn't really know if that's the black version everyone liked or not. Only saw it once, never saw it again cause I didn't get it at all. I loved the original Wizard of Oz and was curious on what version the Wiz was going to bring. Will say the only reason I wanted to see it was because of Michael Jackson..that's it.
wow this one was so bad I couldn't even reach the ten minute mark. I have a glass of whiskey in one hand, a good book in the other, only paying peripheral attention to the humor of your commentary, and I still couldn't handle the stupid. Till now I only considered you to be an entertainer nostalgia critic, but now I truly respect the amount of shit you put your self through on our behalf.
That's nothing. You should see the shit that Cinema Snob slogs through. Exploitation films and shock fests like I Spit on Your Grave, Cannibal Holocaust and Salò. Occasionally he reviews porn and I think he does it as a sort of vacation from his usual fair.
Storm Smith sad part is even the porn is so bad he can't even enjoy it. Thankfully he gets to leave that crap for something like Leprechaun every once in a while
This has to be the most unfair critique of a film I've ever seen. I haven't seen one thing pointed out that makes it a bad film. The location of Oz for example, of course it makes more sense to make it Harlem than a countryside setting. Black Americans as a whole haven't lived in farms for a long time. Nor do I see a problem with the wide angle when 'ease on down the road' is being performed. If anything in film the camera cuts too much and pans too close to faces limiting our views as an audience. This is grittier than the 1939 film, weirder, better performed musically and more expressive. The one major downside I see is Diana Ross was too old to play Dorothy.
+Nipples O' Tungsten (Mc Trollyface) Yes whites brought blacks from Africa and made them work on farms as slaves but the last time that happened was over a 100 years ago. Since then most black Americans have lived in urban areas. I don't even understand what point you were trying to make lol.
+Nipples O' Tungsten (Mc Trollyface) "As a whole" doesn't imply all. 95% of black Americans live in the City and the remaining 5% live on farms. Is that clearer enough for you?
I love both versions; from the farm like innocent version of 1939 to the urban upbeat motown version of 1978. But honestly, I ADORE The Wiz morely. Not because it stars just an all black cast, but its very upbeat, it grabs your attention, plus there's actually many life learning lessons to learn from it, heart warming lessons at that. Many of you are commenting negatively about the film based on its location, the cast, the songs, saying "its a ghetto version of the original film" or " who ever came up with mustve been on drugs" and i guess some of you feel that way cause the film was set in Harlem, New York and and other locations of the city and that it was an all black cast, with eccentric costumes, and how urban the film looked, but I bet most of you haven't even heard of The Wiz until you saw this sophomoric review about the film and already thinking its a bad film. Plus i bet you didnt know that before NBC did a live remake of the musical, Broadway has been showing The Wiz musical for years since the early 70s with over 1,672 performances and its one of the most notable musicals of Broadway across the world..you can't honestly say or remember the last time you saw/heard that The Wizard Of Oz was showing in Broadway. Sure if it wasn't for the original adaptation, maybe The Wiz wouldn't exist, but honestly I feel that ppl in general should at least watch and to try to take the time to understand , instead of judging it based off of somebody else's negative view of the film and not make crude comments on something y'all heard nothing about. Besides this movie got soul, and if most of y'all don't understand, then honey you ain't got it.
Galacticdscool the wicked witch doesnt even seem evil, she sang a good song we never saw her do a single bad thing in this movie, she has a motorcycle gang and she has a toilet for a throne
Anyone else notice Dorothy did nothing while her friends were being tortured but the moment the witch threatens the dog THEN Dorothy takes action? Priorities girl. Priorities. PS favorite joke: "A close up you jerk! A close up!"
I remember when I was about 14 picking this DVD up from the library. I've always loved Michael Jackson, the Supremes, grew up with the Wizard of Oz, and at that time, became a huge fan of Sidney Lumet after seeing Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and 12 Angry Men. I figured the formula was perfect and so the movie had to be incredible. ...Wow, did I ever regret it. The scenes were so bland and drawn out, unimaginative, and brought out the worst in the people I thought would deliver. I especially couldn't stand how long the scenes felt, but also how much I couldn't stand Diana Ross in this role. All she did was whimper. This is one of my least favorite movies of all time.
It's a good thing that the Batman And Robin movie didn't take a lot of inspiration from this movie, a dance and song version of that movie would have been majorly evil
The reason they changed Dorothy's age from twelve to twenty four was because Diana Ross wouldn't take no for an answer. She was too old to play Dorothy, but still demanded the role be given to her. So yeah.
You know, during the scene where everyone was in their undergarments, it would have been a PERFECT opportunity for NC to show that marriage dance scene in Coming to America. Everyone was almost in the bare basics there too. But at least THAT scene had some super epic choreography.
you really can't compare these two movies. the main reason is that the wiz isn't really based off of the wizard of oz the movie as much as it is based off of the myth that the book is about actual people, places and experiences from the time period. the author denied this but the lore still lives on. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz the wiz discussed the black experience through the same story but with the intention of it representing certain people, places and experiences. btw, only the movie did this... the wiz as a musical play did not do this. however the movie is set in harlem which the play isn't. the fact that they can't get a cab or that they go through a subway is all the movie. the fact that a almost 40 year old was playing the teenage dorothy is because ross begged to do it. she refused to take any other role. she clearly was not their original pick! i love nostalgia critic but this one could have done without whoever this other guy is...
The reason they can't catch the cabs is because she can't take the easy way out! Who played the race card? And actually this was a great film. It was an American story that is told from a black point of view and told to black people. I still feel more connected to this version of the story and I could every feel towards a white girl in the country. And the music is awesome "you can't win"( the one Micheal Jackson sings) is one of my favorite song ( you can't win, you can't break even and you can't get out of the game) . The guy in the subway is really creepy and gave me nightmares for years. This proves that we all live to different experiences in this country. It is so weird to me that white people didn't like it but most black people I know loved it and still do. Then some jackass tried to please white people and blend both the wiz and the wizard of oz together with a black cast in 2016 and they screwed it up. I think your wrong on this.
O poor coward got offended by what I said. It is so sad that after all these years you all can't even be half as creative. Is it suppose to hurt my feelings that some sad ass coward called me a name that you all have been using for hundreds of years? Really?
I totally agree with you!! Every time when African Americans does something a bit different in their own way, ppl wanna pull the race card and call it "ghetto" or "no class". Last time I checked , I don't really remember when "The Wizard Of Oz" was playing in Broadway, but it was The Wiz that got more recognition for the film AND the Broadway Musicals
I am a huge fan of the original book by L. Frank Baum, and I think it's pretty obvious that he would spit on this adaptation. Not only does it lack the imagination, colour and overall heart of his story, but it also goes against its moral that there's no place like home.
I, for one, really enjoy this movie. It's not perfect in any way, but the more I see it, the more I get attached to it. Me being a huge listener of R&B/Pop/Funk, I can really appreciate the musical numbers. But, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Despite what Todd says, the movie is actually very faithful to the songs from the stage show. The only song that was written for the movie was Dorothy's first song. Only three songs were not included in the movie: "I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday" (which was replaced in the movie by "You Can't Win", which was written for but cut from the stage show), and two songs sung by the Wiz: "So You Wanted To Meet the Wizard" and "Yall Got It".
5:49 "Who's the man, the only one who can give your wish right to ya?" "THE WIZ!" "You're daaaammmn right." "Who is the man who'll send you back through time by running magic through ya?" "THE WIZ!" "Can you dig it?" Although it obviously sounds nothing like that, that was the first thing that popped into my head when I first heard the lyrics.
Masterchief1228 racist against who? black people? if this was a movie with an exclusively white cast instead of an exclusively black cast, this movie would be considered racist. since it is exclusively black though, it is fine. I say that if an exclusively white cast is racist against blacks, then this movie is racist against whites.
I just wanted to say, it's more realistic that Dorothy (in this movie) would be living in a city like New York, because although black farmers do exist, they make up less than 1% of all farmers in the United States.
+GreenCrobatman as of now, "Texas has 6,124 Black principal farm operators, the largest number in any state. Blacks make up 2.5 percent of the total farm operators in Texas. In 35 states, blacks or African Americans comprise less than 1 percent of all principal farm operators." i just googled "what percentage of farmers are black". find the citations yourself.
The reason why the people in the sweat shop shed off their skin is commentary on how people used to find African Americans big lipped, nosed and just ugly. In this song they shed off the skin also taking off the racial stereotypes showing how they actually are beautiful. The suits they are wearing is very common in Africa.
