The Wiz
(1978, U.S.) color 134 minutes (released October 24)
With: Diana Ross (Dorothy), Michael Jackson (Scarecrow), Nipsey Russell Tinman), Ted Ross (Lion) , Mabel King (Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West), Theresa Merritt (Aunt Em), Thelma Carpenter (Miss One, the Good Witch of the North), Lena Horne (Glinda the Good), Richard Pryor (The Wiz), Stanley Greene (Uncle Henry), Clyde J. Barret (Subway Peddler), Derrick Bell, Roderick-Spencer Sibert, Kashka Banjoko, Ronald Stevens (The Four Crows)
***
THE WIZ is an excellent, albeit much maligned musical fantasy, one of the high watermarks in high-concept cinema of the 1970's, a decade which curiously boasted a plethora of both low- and high-concept films. THE WIZ is much derided for its failure to maintain the essence of the Broadway play from whence it came, and even moreseo for the alleged sacrilege it did to both Baum's original texts, and the unstoppable Oz juggernaut, the 1939 MGM production of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
These comparisons are not only untrue, but unfair. The film is not the book, nor the previous movie, nor even the play. The film is the film, and should be judged, for better or worse, on its own merits.
As such, THE WIZ has much going for it, a magnificent musical score to begin with. Although we might have enjoyed a few less ballads and slow pieces, overall the score is bouncy, catchy, and right in keeping with the generally surreal, whimsical air of the film. Especially grand are "Ease on Down the Road" and Evvillene's "(Don't Give Me No) Bad News", a wonderful inversion of gospel song tradition.
The film's setting, a bizarre, amusing amalgam between Baum's fictional fairyland, and the real-life urban icon New York City, is a grand gesture and genius stroke which elevates the film from mere "fantasy musical" to lofty "postmodern fairy tale", making for a marvelous meditation on the world's premiere metropolis as an idea bigger than life, a true living legend.
The special effects by Albert Whitlock, make-up by Stan Winston, and production design and costuming by Philip Rosenberg & Tony Walton dazzle the eye and warm the heart with their unreality and ingenuity. Styles range from baroque to expressionist to neo-realist, to great effect.
And the acting is terrific. Much has been said about Diana Ross being all wrong for the part of Dorothy, but we think she is sensational. Dorothy is not supposed to be so much a child, as an innocent, in Baum's moralistic fables, and Ross' Dorothy, a frustrated member of an unappreciative family (indeed, a slave?), desperately seeks emancipation, a desired and deserved freedom which she earns through her most amazing journey. And Ross' undisputed genius with song adds so much to the finished product, one cannot bear to imagine the film without her.
As the Scarecrow, Michael Jackson is magnificent in a most difficult role. Jackson's Scarecrow is bursting with wisdom but lacking the self-esteem to own it, a perfect sketch of wasted youthful talent. With his miraculous physical agility and artistry in verbal nuance, Jackson draws a unique and indelible character here, which makes one sad he didn't pursue more film roles of the day.
Ted Ross' Cowardly Lion is a cuddly, accessible portrait of false bravado. Nipsey Russell's Tin Man is a haunting portrayal of repressed emotions creating personal paralysis, outlined with care by Stan Winston's great makeup. Mabel King's Evilline is a wonderful "Big Diva", a lovable "Black Church" archetype.
Again, much has been said about the "miscasting" of mega-comedian Richard Pryor as the titular "Wiz", and indeed, Pryor does seem lost and deflated here. Yet his lackluster, sad sack portrayal of Herbert Smith is actually perfect for the role he plays, a scared and little man who hides behind a huge ego in an attempt to avoid reality. Were he any more flamboyant or self-confident, his grandiose alter ego would make no sense. Our heroes, and we as well, see Smith as a very small man who never wished to be exposed; we are seeing him in his smallest self, and Pryor here comes across quite effectively. In fact, his underplaying of the part may be the deciding factor in our acceptance of his duplicitous charade. Audiences may have been expecting a reprisal of Frank Herbert's charismatic bullshit artist from the MGM musical version, but Pryor's Wiz makes more sense, psychologically at least. Perhaps he just wasn't "large" enough for audiences of the day used to the hilarious excesses in Pryor's comedy work.
THE WIZ' rambling structure makes it more like an adventure than a drama, and that is part of its charm. There are a hundred memorable moments and images to recall: the Gotham skyscape with a huge "Big Apple' as the sun; the Brooklyn Bridge as the "Yellow Brick Road" gone industrial; a musical extravaganza performed in the very shadow of the unforgettable WTO "Twin Towers"; Evvilline's immense sweatshop labor force in full dance mode; the winged monkeys on motorcycles; mysterious cartoonish cabs which glide away before they can be of any human service; grinning red balloon monsters which haunt the subway stations; hungry trash cans (!); walking TV cameras and microphones (replete with a CBS eye!) following our celebrities around.
THE WIZ is a children's fairy tale brought to life and modernized, it is true. But it is so much more. It is a time capsule of moments and memories of the 20th century, given artistic rendering in unique ways. It is a comment on some of the excesses and trends of popular culture of the day. It is a broadly-drawn distillation of contemporary African-American experience. It is a science-fiction melodrama worthy of Heinlein or Asimov. Finally, THE WIZ is a groundbreaking fantasy which combines literary and artistic elements in a genre-bashing stew that is exotic, delicious and satisfying.
Video/DVD availability:VHS, DVD (MCA Home Video)
Motown / Universal Pictures
Screenplay: Joel Schumacher
Story: from the stage musical by William Brown (book) and Charlie Smalls (music & lyrics), based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Music: Charlie Smalls
Music Arranged and Supervised by Quincy Jones
Costumes: Tony Walton
Art Directors: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton
Makeup design: Stan Winston
Special Effects: Albert Whitlock
Produced by Rob Cohen
Directed by Sidney Lumet
