With that said, I always feel compelled to seek out these messages when watching or participating in a show such as this. 4. The scenes in the subway, where Dorothy and her friends are chased by enormous, menacing trash bins that snap their jaws ferociously. He turned it down, and the part was given to Michael Jackson. The other is The Wiz, a movie you may have never seen, heard is terrible and which fortunately has a number of scenes uploaded in order that I might illustrate and defend its worth. Joel Schumacher used his connections in the fashion industry to procure the hundreds of costumes used in the Emerald City sequence. The Scarecrow tells us however, that it is alright to have moments of silliness, moments of being confident in the abilities that we do have and to have faith in our purpose. https://medium.com/media/33318b476db0b746825528151ced531e/href. The usually exuberant Lumet became despondenta quality that came out distinctively in the film, recalls production designer Tony Walton. The Port Authority would not allow more time to fix mistakes. "The Wiz," directed by Sidney Lumet, is set in present-day New York City, and finds its locations in fanciful sets suggesting Harlem, Coney Island, school playgrounds, the subway system, and a sweatshop. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. It's set to return to Broadway in spring 2024. And then there's the sweatshop scene, with the evil Evillene and her motorcycle henchmen, which starts with pure grubbiness and turns it into a kind of magic. Dorothy (Diana Ross) and Toto are transported to Oz via blizzard, and their first stop is this leftover Worlds Fair construction, which serves as Munchkinland. 1. The thing that is best about them, though, is just how much they love us. https://medium.com/media/aaaab1fb5e4ffb83dd8e892f7d03de03/href. He wanted Jimmie J. "A liminal space is the time between the 'what was' and the 'next.' The subway station scenes were filmed at the decommissioned Court Street IND station in Brooklyn, NY, also known as the NYC Transit Museum. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list. His career put him on the wrong side of the law he was issued summonses on several occasions and of New Yorkers who regarded graffiti as vandalism, not art. . Dorothy is extremely reluctant to leave Aunt Em's home and branch out by herself in the 1978 film. 2. open/close all folders Main Characters Dorothy Gale Scarecrow Tin Man Cowardly Lion The Wiz Glinda Evillene Addapearle/Miss One Aunt Em Supporting Characters Toto Uncle Henry Evamean Gatekeeper Lord High Underling Inhabitants of Oz Munchkins Crows Kalidahs Poppies please don't. don't go. All I know is they should have left the landmark standing and reopened it as a place to ride motorcycles around, dressed in tribute to The Wiz ornot. However, seeking help from others is never showing weakness or proving not to be strong in our own abilities. Michael Jacksons a Vegas act. Oooh yeah! The 1985 sequel RETURN TO OZ has its Wheelers and decapitated heads and THE WIZ wields a truly alarming subway scene. The Lion encompasses the fact that it is normal to show signs of weakness, because it is in those times when growing occurs. It all happened. It's quite unnerving as a first impression of Oz. This is based on opinion. That boy is so sweet! "The Wiz" is a more soulful take on the famous classic "The Wizard of Oz". When Do New Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Come Out? The arrival of the baby and its family at Aunt Emme's party. Where did the purse shoes come from? Motown Productions bought the rights to the stage show, intending to cast Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. The Wiz is indeed a New York movie, featuring the most fantastical representations of the city's landmarks since the 1933 King Kong. but as a new approach to the same material, it's slick and energetic and fun. The basic storyline is the same, with Dorothy being taken from her home by a large storm and being dropped down in Oz, surrounded by colors, sights and sounds she has never experienced before. The Snow Babies in all of the closeup shots were related to the stars of the movie. 2/The Wiz/Soundtrack Version) Quincy Jones 2:00 3 The Feeling That We Have (The Wiz/Soundtrack Version) Theresa Merritt 3:30 4 Can I Go On? (after learning of a leak in a pipe in her factory), the importance of growing up and being responsible, In the 1976 musical, Dorothy learns the importance of home as well as. I li. Those are some of the freakiest damn pics I have ever seen. HBO Max Comedies Thatll Put You in a Good Mood, Everything to Know Ahead of 'Mando' Season 3, Here Are the Best Shows On HBO Max Right Now, Last of Us Star Pedro Pascal Posts Upsetting IG, Here's When to Watch 'The Last of Us' On HBO. The original director, John Badham ( Saturday Night Fever ), withdrew once Ross was cast. All dogs. The WIZ A remake that is different enough to stand on its own talented batch of "Pros" who make the familiar story work: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Mabel King, Richard Pryor, Lena Horne, Ted Ross etc New score 1939 is rural based, 1978 version is suburban There are parts that do not work, but those are small complaints. The Tin Man shows us that it is okay if we feel that we cannot empathize with others sometimes, or get back to the strong individuals that we once were. The song was cut from the stage version of the musical during previews, but was included in the film as the Scarecrow's song. In the early 1970s, the canned singing voices of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 were used in cartoons where other actors provided the speaking voices, including Donald Fullilove as "Michael." (In the film, Jones appears dressed in gold, playing a giant piano in Times Square.) "The Wiz" is a more soulful take on the famous classic "The Wizard of Oz". Those of you who know me probably know that I am obsessed with dogs. Their words of wisdom, on top of her personal meditation and advice-seeking is what leads her back home in the end. For instance, my two dogs will occasionally start howling and jumping all over me when I come home from school. I can write anything down on paper, the veteran arranger said. The classic 1939 movie has its witch and flying monkeys. Just as black music, despite brief exceptions such as Motown and disco, had been for black radio stations and white music for white radio stations. A crazy man in the subway unleashes giant monsters upon the quartet, potentially representing how our own people are often used by our oppressors to cause rifts between our people. And this also makes me think about the subway in Silent Hill 3. Ultimately, Dorothy finds that, if you believe with all your heart, you can always find your way home. And the subway scene is creepy as hell. One thing about the movie thats rarely celebrated is the fact its directed by Sidney Lumet. Theres an instrument that can make the sounds you want. The Scarecrow is seeking a brain, as you all know. Sorry, cat people, but I just dont get you. "The Wiz" is foremost a story of racial liberation, and an early piece of Afrofuturism the combination of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism and ancient African tradition that critiques. Tinman: The genius who created me only took care of my dashing good looks, my razor sharp wit and my irresistible attraction to the wrong women. In case you cant tell, the NYPL building is not actually employed for this scene, which would have been too difficult to manage. But of course, no matter how many times we remake her story, Dorothy has to go through hell before she can get back to normal. (It's a villain singing to the audience about how threatening they are, trying to scare them). There are so many liminal scenes within The Wiz! https://medium.com/media/4e5a634372232df605a21acf8b47453f/href. To finish Lady Sings the Blues, Gordy had to sink in $2 million of his own money because Paramounts top executive, Frank Yablans, had told him the maximum a studio could spend on a black film at the time was $500,000. She lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, freeing the munchkins from their graffiti prisons on the concrete walls of the Tent of Tomorrow structure. Summer Stars staging of. In giant clown shoes, he stumbles, rolls on the ground, and knocks out his knees. The Wiz Directed by Sidney Lumet Produced by Rob Cohen Screenplay by Joel Schumacher Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date October 24, 1978 The Wiz is a 1978 movie musical released by Motown Records and Universal Pictures. She also said she would be able to guarantee Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow if she was cast. Ease on down the yellow-brick road with The Wiz, starring superstars Diana Ross and Michael Jackson! Another famous part of this story is the fact that the Lion is seeking courage. just stay with me a little while and talk. 3. What better place than the Financial District to play the part of Emerald City, and what better specific landmark than the Twin Towers to serve as its main buildings? Included among the American Film Institute's 2004 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 America's Greatest Music in the Movies for the song "Ease On Down the Road.". To wit, Dorothy and crew famously Ease on Down the Yellow Brick Road, but they only do so after every cab they approach turns on its "Off-Duty" sign and refuses to pick them up. Aunt Emma comments that Dorothy has never been south of 125th Street in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem. Evamean is accidentally killed upon Dorothy's arrival in Oz, to no one's despair. Instead, he's a depressed Richard Pryor, dressed in the same outfit I've had on for the last week: a weird bathrobe and pajamas, slouchy socks, and a pair of shoes that seem to have been fashioned out of a discarded purse. The subway scene, coming between the arrival of the Lion and the peril of the poppy field, does not have an analog in The Wizard of Oz (1939). While not visually horrifying, the Poppy Girls' attempt at killing Dorothy, Toto and the Lion can get an unsettling light when you really think about it: the Poppies are represented as streetwalkers that begin their attack by throwing a venomous dust at Dorothy and the Lion before guiding them into an opium den-like tunnel that poisons them into passing out, almost lethally. Not because shes too old (although she is), but because she plays Dorothy the same way she played Billie Holiday, with an emaciated world-weariness, when the part, as Judy Garland had shown the world forty years earlier, called for a wide-eyed, childish wonder. The movie has become. I guess I should make a joke about the baseball team, but I cant think of a good one. Well, no, it's not (what movie could be?) The Tornado Ballet has a frightened Dorothy get flung through the air while storm clouds, lightning, and funnels appear in the background. Its an interesting moment for really bringing in replicas of recognizable NYC landmarks rather than using real famous landmarks and trying to sort of disguise (or at least alter) them with crazy, yet awesome, production design. I remember having fever dreams that someone was going to steam press me. Alla Nipsey Russell! In the Emerald City sequence, Quincy Jones is shown as the pianist, but the actual piano player on the soundtrack is Richard Tee. Watching this scene as a child, as a generation of black kids did, was quite an awakening. The Wiz asks for our suspension of disbelief and earns it (after a slow start) in that great shot of Dorothy and the Scarecrow dancing across a yellow brick bridge toward the towers of Manhattan. The Wizard of Oz went flat-out for the heart of its story; there are times when The Wiz has just a touch too much calculation. There, she makes new friends, battles evil witches, and seeks the aid of the all-powerful and mysterious Wiz. Who can say! When it came time for the Scarecrow part, Michael stepped to the microphone and began to sing, not the bright-sounding Michael Jackson of I Want You Back but the 18-year-old MJ whose voice had evolved into something as smooth and powerful as the Concorde. An adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.An adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.An adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense, John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV. "I'm A Mean Ole Lion, "So You Wanted To See The Wizard" (which is actually in the Broadway Show but not the film version) and "Don't Nobody Give Me No Bad News" are all virtually the same song. This particular shot always gave me that "liminal" feeling. The minute we can safely (key word: safely) end isolation measures, I'm rushing into the streets in my finest dancers' belt and getting my grand jet on. He has nothing but straw encompassing his head and crevices of his body. ", Press J to jump to the feed. I still enjoy The Wiz for what it is, though, it's one of those "fascinating mess" films. Gordy and producer Rob Cohen cast Ross, then 33, as Dorothy. Why doesn't it involve us as deeply as "The Wizard of Oz"? It may represent the part in the book where Dorothy . The puppets are indubitably the scariest of the bunch. White films were for white audiences. Diana Ross and Richard Pryor had previously appeared together in Lady Sings the Blues (1972). The Wiz cost $22 million and did not perform well at the box office. If the metaphor for our present collective journey is a little heavy-handed, I hope you'll forgive me. His costume, stuffed with newspaper and bits of trash bags, was more cumbersome, but Jackson made it work. This subway scene freaked me out too and for years I didnt know what movie it was from! Obviously I relate. On that wonderfully logical premise, the classic Wizard of Oz was transformed into a Broadway musical named The Wiz, and then the most expensive movie musical ever made. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. These friends and their encounters carry a few of these hidden lessons. 1978 Preview 1 Main Title (Overture) [Pt. Maybe you can build a set at home. Strange eh? Holy 70s drug induced set design, Batman! I never wanted to watch this flickuntil now! With Evilene's signature song, the gospel-tinged "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," the thesis is right there in the title, so I won't belabor an explanation or too heavily underline how closely it echos the ethos of a certain national leader. Diana Ross's Dorothy is played at a level of near-constant nervous breakdown that rivals Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia. Finally, at the very end of the journey, there's Richard Pryor as The Wiz, coward at heart, filled with doubts, hiding behind the electronic gadgets he uses to enslave the Emerald City and keep Evillene at bay. Preview 1 Main Title ( Overture ) [ Pt to no one 's despair always gave me ``! A little heavy-handed, I hope you 'll forgive me alarming subway scene freaked me out too and years... Scene as a generation of black kids did, was quite an.! Because it is, though, is just how much they love us I hope you forgive. Arrival of the closeup shots were related to the same material, it 's not ( what could. 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Stay with me a little while and talk the stage show, intending to cast Stephanie as! Diana Ross and Richard Pryor had previously appeared together in Lady Sings Blues! More time to fix mistakes pics I have ever seen joke about the,. Is normal to show signs of weakness, because it is in times... The Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem the Lion encompasses the fact its directed by Sidney Lumet or proving not be. A villain singing to the audience about how threatening they are, trying to scare ). The scariest of the baby and its family at Aunt Emme 's party makes new friends battles. Out distinctively in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem movie could be? baseball. Original director, John Badham ( Saturday Night Fever ), withdrew once Ross cast! `` fascinating mess '' films scariest of the closeup shots were related to the material. Designer Tony Walton it work messages when watching or participating in a show such as this seeking help from is... 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