Part of being a filmmaker is accepting the fact that you’re mental masterpiece may turn into a cinematic failure. Many failed films don’t succeed due to a variety of reasons including low budget, poor acting, lazy or misdirected advertising or ‘fill in the blank’.  However, there are a handful of films that audiences and critics alike have tossed by the wayside, that are truly diamonds in the rough. One such film is the 1978 musical, “The Wiz.”

I only remember seeing bits and pieces of this film during my childhood but remember it being dark and somewhat creepy compared to my beloved Judy Garland and her magical land of Oz. After having watched it again I realized that as a child I couldn’t truly appreciate a good musical, which is exactly what “The Wiz” happens to be.

Story – 4/5

“The Wiz,” originally a 1975 Broadway musical written by William F. Brown, was adapted to film by Joel Schumacher and saw its theatrical debut in October 1978.  “The Wiz” took a classic beloved children’s story and audaciously pushed it to a new and altogether different level. While the central plot remains the same, there are a number of significant differences in this all African American adaptation.

The script for this film is pretty solid and flows really well, which isn’t terribly difficult considering the fact that there was a book as well as a previous film from which to model.

The story begins with Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) helping her Aunt Em prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Instead of being set in nostalgic early 1900s Kansas, “The Wiz” takes place in modern, urban New York.  While her family is having dinner and enjoying one another’s company, Dorothy escapes to the kitchen where she begins to sing about the loneliness that she feels in her heart. It is immediately evident that Dorothy is timid and somewhat of an outcast in her family with only her dog Toto to console her.  Not long into the film, Toto runs away and as Dorothy chases after him, a snow twister carries her into the night.

Dorothy crashes into Oz through the roof of what appears to be a run down Munchkinland. There are graffiti figures on the walls and a dead Wicked Witch of the East crushed under a piece of the ceiling. This is where things start to get a bit strange. The graffiti on the walls comes to life and approaches Dorothy, informing her that Evermean, the Witch of the East, had trapped them in the wall. The spell was broken when she was killed and the “Munchkins” can now live in peace.

Like the original story, a Glinda type character, Miss One, provides Dorothy with the silver slippers and instructs her on how to get to the Wiz. She begins down what is left of the yellow brick road, largely random broken bricks scattered about on a path, and eventually comes across the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), The Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross). The latter two encounters aren’t overly noteworthy but the meeting of the Scarecrow is quite possibly the best scene in the film.

Dorothy arrives at a refuse dump and hears some voices. She hides and sees a group of crows dancing around and making fun of a scarecrow on a pole. The crows refuse to help the Scarecrow down off of his pole and they make him recite “The Crow Laws” which demean the Scarecrow and explain how great the crows are. What makes this scene so powerful is when Scarecrow sings “You Can’t Win” while still attached to his pole. Eventually Dorothy comes out of hiding and scares the crows off, helps the Scarecrow down and they continue down the road to Oz singing “Ease on Down the Road.”

Shortly after Dorothy and the entire group of friends are united, the creepiest and probably most out of place scene occurs. I understand that the scene is in the film to establish credibility for Lion, but after I explain, you’ll agree that they could have gone about it differently.

First, the group enters a subway to get to the Emerald City. While in the subway, they encounter an old man who is carrying around two marionettes. As he begins to make them dance, they come alive, break free from their strings, grow larger than life and, for no apparent reason, being chasing the group, hell-bent on destroying them. They finally get through a gate and lock the marionettes in, only to realize that their unusual trip to the subway isn’t over. The Lion saves the Scarecrow from demonic garbage cans and the Tin Man from being electrocuted by the subway’s electrical system. He then sees the support pillars coming to life and breaking free from the ceiling and floor. They chase Dorothy and surround her, clearly plotting to pillage her. The Lion uses his brute strength to spread the pillars apart just long enough for Dorothy to escape. The group rushes out of the subway and find themselves just outside of the Emerald City.

As is expected, the group meets with The Wiz (Richard Pryor) who sends them on the arduous task of defeating Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. Feeling a little slighted by The Wiz, the group rents a hotel room and discusses what they are going to do. Dorothy finally decides that, while she doesn’t want to kill anyone, she can never be happy in Oz and killing Evillene is her only logical option.

The group eventually finds Evillene in her underground sweatshop where she has slaves working for her. The group is captured and taken before Evillene who demands the silver slippers from Dorothy. When Dorothy refuses, Evillene cuts Scarecrow in half, crushes the Tin Man, lifts the Lion into the air and threatens to throw Toto into a furnace joking that he’d be “one hot dog.” Dorothy eventually saves the day by pulling a fire alarm, which sets off the sprinkler system and melts Evillene.

The group then returns to see The Wiz, only to see the giant Wiz head knocked over and the room in shambles. They walk over to a bed in the room and pull the covers off revealing The Wiz. They accuse him of being a phony and he admits to not having any powers and being “just plain old Herman Smith from Atlantic City.” He eventually reveals that he has a hot air balloon, which is how he got to Oz.

This is where the story differs from the original. The Wiz, unable to grant their wishes, turns to Dorothy for the pearls of wisdom. She tells the Scarecrow that he’s had a brain all along because he’s the one who originally found the yellow brick road and it was his idea to pull the fire alarm. She tells the Lion that he’s had courage all along. The Tin Man has more heart than anyone she’s ever known. Dorothy sings about believing in oneself and then she is approached by Glinda the Good Witch (Lena Horne) who tells her that she’s done good in helping her friends find what was already inside of them. She informs Dorothy that she’s had the power to go home inside of her the entire time. She sings about how she needs to believe and click her heels three times.

Dorothy sings about going home in a powerful final number. The background fades away and it is just Dorothy singing with a black background. She then clicks her heels together and is taken back home. The film ends with Dorothy running across the street and into her apartment building.

Dorothy will never forget her time in Oz, nor the final bit of the Scarecrow’s newly found knowledge, which sums up the entire subtext of the movie quite nicely.

“Success, fame, fortune. They’re all illusions. All there is that is real is the friendship that two can share.”

Acting – 3/5

Acting is usually what makes or breaks a film. If the actors are too over the top the film becomes campy, even irritating. On the flip side, if the actors lack talent, the film can quickly become a joke and be difficult to sit through. This film has the best, and worst for that matter, of both categories.

Now you’re looking at the rating of this category and thinking to yourself that 3/5 isn’t terrible. I agree, however it is just mediocre. If you take a look at the other ratings, you’ll notice that the acting was the downfall of this film.

Before I delve deeper, it should be noted that there are some really big names in this film, most of which gained fame as musicians and singers. The cast included Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor and Nipsey Russell. On paper, it’s hard to believe that this cast wouldn’t work. The reality is that it likely would have worked much better if the dialogue in the film was sung 100% of the time; sadly this was not the case.

The main issue that you’ll find most critics had with this film was Diana Ross. I agree that she was the weakest of the bunch, but for a different reason entirely. Most critics argued that Ross was too old to play the part of Dorothy Gale. She was definitely older than Dorothy, but she didn’t look it. The makeup artists did a great job of making her look younger than she was. My qualm is that she has no acting talent whatsoever. In fact, saying that she can’t act would be an overstatement. I understand that this may seem harsh, but it’s the painful truth. That’s not to say that she was terrible in this movie, because she wasn’t. Fortunately a majority of her lines were in song. Diana Ross, as we all know, is an incredible singer and this absolutely stands true in this film. When she was singing, she was brilliant; it was only during her speaking parts that she became stale and generic.

While the remainder of the cast was good, one man stole the show with his singing, acting and dancing skills, as well as his overall demeanor; that man was Michael Jackson. We all know Jackson as the King of Pop from his long and illustrious singing career, but in this film he displays how talented he really was as an overall entertainer. From the time that he is introduced until the end of the film, Jackson is able to connect with the viewer in an intimate way that leaves you rooting for him and genuinely wanting him to succeed. His singing was outstanding but what was really admirable was the way that he was able to really make the Scarecrow character his own. He was able to do this by incorporating his ability to dance and be light on his feet. While the rest of the cast was borderline forgettable, Jackson raised the bar and really made this film enjoyable.

Sound/Special Effects – 3.5/5

In the 1970′s, the world hadn’t quite broken through into the digital age, which probably plays a big role in the film’s special effects shortcomings, but because I’m an optimist, I like to think that the pared down visuals were a conscious decision in order to help deliver the original Broadway experience directly into the viewer’s home.

What was lost in special effects was more than made up for with the sound and musical score. Produced by musical legends Luther Vandross and Quincy Jones, the entire soundtrack was nothing short of phenomenal.

Overall Score – 3.5/5

I really enjoyed this film. While I never had the opportunity to see the play, I get the feeling that not much was changed in the transition to film.

While I am a huge fan of the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz,” the characters in “The Wiz” felt more intimate. I was able to connect with them on a more personal level and actually cared that they completed their journey. In the end, the story is essentially the same, but “The Wiz” is a more exciting journey thanks to the unforgettable characters and, of course, the music. “The Wiz” is a fresh take on a timeless classic and it’s worth every minute.

Under the Radar by Greg Kita
Under the Radar is a weekly column written by The Moving Arts Film Journal’s resident expert on schlocky cinema, Greg Kita, that focuses on B-movies, cult classics, genre films, and low-budget flicks–Hollywood’s neglected step-children. For every Citizen Kane there is a Citizen Toxie; for every Lawrence of Arabia there is a Larry of Arabia. Regardless of how critically acclaimed or maligned, they have helped launch and further the careers of many struggling filmmakers. Check out the Under the Radar Archives.