My Review of The Wiz (1978)

 

Written by Joel Schumacher 

Directed by Sidney Lumet

The Wiz: "Dorothy ... Can you do something for me?"

Dorothy: "They've had what they've been searching for in them all along. I don't what's in you. You'll have to find that out for yourself. But I do know one thing: you'll never find it in the safety of this room. I tried that all my life. It doesn't work. There's a whole world out there. And you'll have to begin by letting people see who you really are."

With the imminent arrival of Wicked in cinemas next month, it was time for me to revisit this particular movie. Yes, it was a box office bomb that eventually became a cult classic. It's also the trippiest version of this story you'll ever see. Probably.

First of all, this ain't Kansas anymore. It's Harlem and Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) ain't a kid. She's a 24 year old elementary school teacher having to deal with her Aunt Em (Theresa Merritt) and Uncle Henry (Stanley Greene) setting her up on dates while lamenting about her life not being satisfying. 

Then there's Toto, still an adorable dog who ran off into a snowstorm in which Dorothy followed him into. Yes, it's this very thing that would transport both Dorothy and Toto to Oz where things would get strange for the pair.

You've got Dorothy and Toto meeting the Munchkins, their benefactor Miss One (Thelma Carpenter) aka the Good Witch of the North and the death of of the Wicked Witch of the North. Also sticking the source material, it was Silver Slippers that Dorothy found herself wearing while taking the long way.

From that point onwards we got the introductions of the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) and Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross) and they're fun introductions. Then again, so was the Wiz (Richard Pryor) himself. However there was one character I was really curious to see again.

Yup, I'm talking about Evillene (Mabel King). Yes, she's the Wicked Witch of the West and she certainly did her best to make up for the short screen time she actually had in this movie. I wish we had seen more because I do feel the third act was somewhat rushed between Evillene's scenes and Dorothy heading back to Harlem.

- Glinda (Lena Horne) has something of a smaller role compared to the 1939 movie.

- Ted Ross previously played the Cowardly Lion in the stage production of this.

- The only musical from director Sidney Lumet and Joel Schumacher used his fashion connections to get many of the costumes for the movie.

- Some of the lighting choices really added to scenes, particularly the use of red for Evillene.

- Standout music: Can I Go On?, Soon As I Get Home/Home, Ease On Down The Road, You Can't Win, Is This What Feeling Gets and Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day.

- Chronology: 1970s Harlem, New York during Thanksgiving. 

I have a soft spot for The Wiz. It's a different spin on the source material and one that I think does work a lot. Retooling Dorothy as an older character certainly worked in its favour and Diana Ross gave a very underrated performance. 

Rating: 7 out of 10