I get that Dianna’s age throws off the movie; but considering that now it is normal for 20-30 y/o to live with their parents, I think the character being an adult who is afraid to move forward is more relevant an nuanced.
Same I literally had nightmares about the Lion and Toto back then my mother had bought me a Wiz themed blanket when we saw it in the theater back when it came out and I was terrified of the Lion especially😂
This movie has a very surreal dream-like quality to it. I actually like some of the art direction in the film but man did it scare the shit out of me when I was younger.
I agree with Korey, Diana Ross was miscast. Stephanie Mills would've been perfect for the movie version. I'm so glad Martin is here to let ppl know what was happening during those times
I grew up with this movie and it made my family so proud to have it. We were so proud of this movie. I know it could have been better, but it exists and we were so happy.
I'll correct you about Black Panther being the next high- profile film with a mostly black cast A- list. You overlooked "HARLEM NIGHTS" (1989). Its got Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, Della Reese, Arsenio Hall, Jasmine Guy, Stan Shaw, and even the legendary Howard "Sandman" Sims.
As much as this version is appreciated and became available to the world, The Wiz Live on NBC is still the best iteration I've seen to date. it doesn't feel as heavy or as tragic as this iteration. That said, it's always fun to hear Michael Jackson and Diana Ross sing Ease On Down.
I love the music in this movie so much. I still play the soundtrack at least a few times a month-“You Can’t Win”, “Be a Lion”👌I even had the record way back when. The subway scene and Evilene’s sweat shop were scary af to me as a kid.
Fun fact: In the subway scene Michael Jackson has done filming at Hoyt Schermerhorn Street subway station twice in his career. One being that scene in the movie and when he also filmed music video BAD in 1986.
"Alright so, before we start.. stay away from the trashcans, if you THINK the pillars are moving, tell someone, immediately... and if a guy with 2 red dolls shows up... You have permission to run away"
That impression of Diana crying at 18:02 killed me. I still love The Wiz, but seeing some of the cinematography errors y'all point out, it's hard to unnotice it. Favorite song from this has to be Don't Nobody Bring me No Bad News. At 55:56 what Chris said about doing a remake where it explores different parts of Black culture, I think that can work. Also they did an NBC special where they has Mary J Blige as the Witch, that was pretty good.
I love Nipsey Russell’s “What Would I do” song because it had the feeling of pain and also Nas sampled it for his song “Surviving the Times”. The beat is just amazing
I love the weird, grainy cinematography and it all adds a creepy yet fun quality to the film. Any time you have dilapidated urban structures it will always be creepy, but the whimsical production design made it fun too.
Even as a kid, the first thing I thought when I seen those people in that sweat shop peeling out of those costumes was how sweaty and funky that place became. It probably already was with Raspu- I mean Evilene who can't touch water.
I agree with Martin Thomas it's going to be very difficult to remake The Wiz because classic 90's New York unfortunately doesn't exist no more, so your only option is to animate the movie upon remaking it not to mention find someone to stand in for the late great Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.
I swear, the Doll-Puppet Man's scenes and the Munchkins peeling themselves off of the playground walls terrified me as a kid!!! Serioulsy tho, Classic; my family still loves The Wiz (the film, the play, soundtrack in the car). Cool to see you guys reviewing it!
I'm 33, and I saw this as a kid every year on vhs. It was one of those yearly Christmas classics growing up to catch while the family was in town and you were out from school break. The Wiz, Hook, Rudolph, and Scrooged would come on TV programs during that time. So it's a nostalgic thing about this movie.
"No Bad News" is one of my all-time favorites: a villain's song sung with Gospel fervor! Rest In Peace to the great Mabel King (of 'What's Happening!!') who played Evillene (in the play and movie)...
The Wiz was actually a horror movie musical in disguise! But then you would hear about the horrific things happening on the set of the original Wizard of Oz.
FINALLY!!!! FINALLY !!!! Been waiting on this Review Also Mabel King played Evillene on Broadway and Theresa Merrit who played Aunt Em was her understudy And to Chris' remake statement there is a "remake" by NBC even tho it isn't actually a remake but a live version of the Play.
a damn near 40 year old diana ross playing dorothy always took me out of this movie, But yeah you could not escape this movie growing up black, plus it was on my local tv station all the time.
The creepy man, the scarecrows, and the poppies ladies all were working for the evil witch. She was upset that none of them was able to get dorothy and decided to send out her flying monkeys
That subway scene always scared me when I was young because that's how the subways looked back then. There was always someone down there trying to sell toys, batteries, or candy.
The Wiz is more accurate to the original book, even with some of the liberties taken (i.e. Dorothy’s age). All 4 witches of Oz were represented unlike the Wizard of Oz: Ms. One - Good Witch of the North, Evermene - Wicked Witch of the East, Evilene - Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda - Good Witch of the South.
This movie was a commentary on life for color folks at the time period. Like the original Oz series was a commentary on industrialization for farm country folks.
One thing I notice watching this as an adult that I didn't notice as a child... Aunt Em was subtly trying to kick Dorothy out. That's why she was trying to get her to take a job teaching in high school lol
Aah yes, the film people remember as the one Michael Jackson was in lol. On the one hand, this film is weird, at times crazy, has some static cinematography, and may not truly capture the spirit of the original Wizard of OZ or the original broadway show. On the other hand, the music is memorable, the dancing scenes are well-done, the cast is great, and the costumes are stellar. Although, I do agree that Diana Ross seems too old for the part. Moreover, Michael Jackson's voice is just so unique and he is good in this, it's a shame he didn't do more films. Regardless, I think this was a great film for the DT crew to do as retro review as Korey and Martin have the generational perspective of growing up with this film, and so much of Chris's perspective resembles how the NC and Todd in the shadows felt about this movie when they reviewed it a long time ago. Ergo, I can see the perspective of those who don't like this film, but I also get those who do and have fond memories of it. For me personally the movie does have a unique charm in some parts and is kind of a time capsule of black 70s pop-culture. A remake of this is definitely warranted 😎.
I mean the original Wizard of Oz is THE BOOK. And there are elements they used in the Wiz that were omitted from the Judy Garland Wizard of OZ. It’s fun to think of them as two different musical interpretations of the same source material.
That song is “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock. It's a dope song 43:00, my girlfriend always said it's the scariest part of the movie too lol and we tracked down the vinyl with the full-length song 😂. A horror remake with a strong script and cast would be dope.
This movie had some nice soulful music. And Diane Ross running up and down stairs steps- over taxi cabs- out running motor bikes- and dancing and prancing and git'en all down that road! In high heels- is a feat all by itself.
My dad loved this movie and showed it to me when I was a kid. He showed me Blacula, Night of the Living Dead, all the horror classics and exploitation films, but the subway scene in the Wiz is the one I had nightmares about.
I remember growing up and watching this for the first time at my grandmother's house. Also this is the same grandmother that showed me the version with Judy Garland as well but as I got older, I'd always see the different worlds of people I'd step in with The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz
The sister was just used to show Dorothy was stuck at home and not progressing. They didn’t need to go back to the sister after Dorothy comes back home from the Wiz dimension.
As a now 50 year old man I still recall our school having a field trip as a kid to see this in the theatre and I recall sitting in the theatre terrified watching this movie lol! As a grown man I still feel residual fear wow
Man I just had a thought that it would be awesome for some indie game developer to turn that whole scene into a little horror game 😃! But yeah the subway scene is my favorite right next to Evilene's "No Bad News" ❤.
That’s really cool with the offer where you can buy the movie for about seven bucks. However, I’ve owned this movie since it was available and I have had a vinyl copy of the soundtrack compact disc copy of the soundtrack and now I have a digital copy of the soundtrack as well as the movie……. I saw the actual musical with Ted Ross and Stephanie Mills as a child so let me say first of all the scarecrow was truly supposed to have two songs that they actually did when the musical first opened, but it ended up being almost a four hour musical, because all the characters had anywhere between two and three songs……. so the song that was used on Broadway for the scarecrow it was “I was born the day before yesterday” and that is the song that is actually the one that they decided to put on the soundtrack for the musical…… When they filmed the wiz, they decided to use “you can’t win” But I also have some other tidbits and historical facts about this movie for you ……. When we first see the subway peddler, he’s not at that point under the control of the wicked witch when they meet in the subway and everything goes crazy HE is…… But the subway peddler…. The Taxicabs…The poppy’s…. Even the flying monkeys on their motorbikes where under her spell to stop Dorothy and the gang…. and that’s where this movie failed because they in no way explained that this was the case. The lady that played the wicked witch of the west evil Aleene is Mabel King …. she played the part of the wicked witch of the west on Broadway with Ted Ross and Stephanie Mills. Also she was in the Gong Show movie and she is the mother on the show what’s happening…. I’m going to wrap this up because I’ve gone on long enough but let me just say the one thing you guys missed in this review was the story of the human spirit which is on full display in this movie…. The wiz is a story about truly finding yourself this April 4 on the anniversary of Dr. King’s anniversary I will be 50 years old and this musical has always been a part of my life ❤️
I saw the movie on TV in my teen years. I thought Diana Ross was all wrong as Dorothy, Michael Jackson was severely underused, Brand New Day ran way too long, and it ended too abruptly. Still loved it though.
Why do I get mad when they review Black films? I feel like they're way more critical when it's a Black led movie. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel.
I didn't finish the Baby Boy review. Yes that movie is flawed and packed with stereotypes but it inspired me to be a better person when I first saw it and I think even tho the movie is a mess that message is still there. Tbh Primm's Hood Cinema had a better take on Baby Boy because he brought up the fact that Jody is supposed to be 20 yrs old according to the movie. I understand and appreciate some of their critiques tho, I'm adding this cause I don't wanna come across as negative cause I think they do have interesting things to say especially Martin
I always thought the last scene was then peeling of the stereotypes and ugliness of oppression put on the people. Then they are showing their true beautiful selves.
This dude asked why MJ was underutilized……this was before MJ joined Quincy Jones, did Off The Wall, and became the King of Pop. But he doesn’t know MJs time line and is judging MJs portrayal on his perspective on Thriller MJ. Its a crippled critique. And Martin should know its cultural significance….. and didn’t defend it well enough….IMO.
Loved this movie growing up. My dad somehow ended up getting some of the yellow brick road they used in the film when they were cleaning up the sets. They were just going to throw it out so he asked if he could take some. He used it for the stairs in my house.
I LOVED this movie from my childhood, being 7 when it came out. Two years ago, I showed it to my daughters when they were 10 and 13. They LOVED it too and said it was weird, sort of like a musical H.R. Pufnstuff. Thanks for this retro review.
When people say ‘the original’ they forget the ‘original’ Wizard of Oz was a book and both the Judy Garland Movie (classic that it is) and this Movie/Stage Musical (The Wiz) are entirely separate takes on the same source material (the Book). The Judy Garland Wizard of Oz also made up, changed, combined and added to the material that wasn’t in the book.
I remember this movie me and my classmates at one of my many elementary schools we watch The Wiz featuring Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, it was okay I give it a 9 out of 10. Something nice to watch with uncles and aunties, if you are a black man or black woman.
I was a munchkin in my school’s production of The Wiz and I didn’t see the movie until long after the play which was a bit shocking because when I saw the movie it was a bit odd but I still enjoyed it. The thing that surprised me the most was with how fast everybody was! In that subway scene everybody was going at super speed 😂
Diana Ross was cast for her star power. As for her character, she was depressed and introverted due to not feeling like she fit in. Each character has more mature issues than in the original Wizard of Oz .. and the settings and challenges were more streetwise issues.. addiction, for example.. homelessness, domestic abuse, and materialism and social media.
@@asanitheafrofuturist not social media In it’s current form.. but if you think about.. the scene at the Emerald City depicted the media being used to promote the WHIZ’s agenda.. in the form of fashion, ideas, which served as distraction and dictated the citizen’s social interactions… not in the networking form, but definitely in the way they interacted.. so perhaps, media used in a social context
@@asanitheafrofuturist the cameras ignore Dorothy and the gang.. until she displays something of value to the WHIZ.. once the media acknowledges her value.. she is immediately embraced and followed by their society… social media is the use of technology to promote ideas, interact, and network..etc…back then it was more exclusive, but it did exist
Great review!! My reaction to this movie the first time I saw it when I was younger was like Chris’s, I was so excited to watch it bc of the great cast & I love musicals but I was very underwhelmed. Watching it again as an adult I appreciated the movie much more & enjoyed the songs but I could still see its flaws: shooting musical numbers in such wide angles so it was hard to appreciate the dancing, the drab color scheme even after they arrive in Oz, Diana Ross being so miscast & constantly on the verge of tears, etc. I still enjoy this version even if it has it’s issues but I would love to see it remade bc I think it has the potential to be so good if it was done right.
