The Corner Penthouse

The Criterion Collection recently released the The Wiz (1978) 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Let's take a look at it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

L. Frank Baum's timeless story "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" gets a funky reimagining in this lavish adaptation of a landmark Broadway show based on the book. Dorothy (Diana Ross) is a Harlem schoolteacher who is magically transported to a surreal fantasyland that resembles New York City, complete with man-eating trash cans and a disco paradise. There, she meets a scarecrow (Michael Jackson), a tin man (Nipsey Russell), a cowardly lion (Ted Ross), and a wizard (Richard Pryor),

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 2:14:19 (the first 13 seconds is the Criterion logo). The movie has been rated G. Audio languages include English. Subtitle languages English SDH.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the Blu-ray disc. The 4K UHD disc only contains the movie and the commentary.

• Audio Commentary - with scholars Michael B. Gillespie and Alfred L. Martin.
• Diana Ross (7:57) - In this interview, conducted in October 1978 for the film's theatrical premiere, actor Diana Ross recounts her experience making The Wiz and discusses her artistic legacy.
• Sidney Lumet (11:59) - In this interview, conducted in 2001 as part of the American Masters episode "Quincy Jones: In the Pocket", director Sidney Lumet recounts his longtime collaboration with Jones, who served as the music supervisor on The Wiz.
• Trailer (3:23) - The soundtrack ad at end has been cut out. The original can be found on the Universal releases, as well as on Universal's YouTube.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

Included inside the thick clear plastic case is a fold-out booklet containing the essay "A Soulful Oz" by Aisha Harris (along with credits and transfer information).

[ NOTES ]

The Wiz (1978) is available on 4K UHD + Blu-ray and individual Blu-ray from Criterion; and Blu-ray and DVD from Universal. The Universal Blu-ray and DVD both include the complete Trailer, as well as the vintage (and unfortunately titled) "Wiz on Down the Road" featurette. (Both 4:3 videos are 720x480 Pillarbox on the Blu-ray, and proper 720x480 Fullscreen on the DVD.) Why the trailer was edited, and the featurette not included, on the Criterion releases is beyond me. It means that if you want everything, you have to buy Criterion's 4K and Universal's Blu-ray (or DVD). Either way, it's a fun movie that is only hampered by the horrible casting of a "too old" Diana Ross as 24-year-old Dorothy instead of the more appropriate Stephanie Mills. I do love the New York spin on Oz. The look of the film is both dingy and colorful; just like New York City!

The Wiz Live! (2015) is only available on DVD. Of course, the original 1939 film starring Judy Garland is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack (reviewed here), 3D Blu-ray, Three-Disc Emerald Edition Blu-ray, and 3-Disc Collector's Edition DVD. (I did not include any of the releases with pack-in physical collectibles or any of the myriad of other releases. I'm only listing the best releases, in terms of on-disc content, for each format.)

This item has been provided by the Criterion Collection for review on this site.


Here's a bit of a bonus feature... I wrote about The Wiz back in my freshman year in college 30 years ago! If memory serves, I think I originally wrote about it in high school, because I remember my high school media teacher renting the movie for me from Blockbuster. I guess I just recycled my work once I got to college :-) Since I'm a bit of a digital (and physical) hoarder, I still have digital copies of my report. On October 30, 1995, I proposed my report with the following synopsis.

For my research paper, I am comparing the films "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Wiz." I will compare them based on their settings, plots, meanings, characters, performances, dance sequences, songs, scenes, and what academy awards they were nominated for and won. By comparing the two films based on these elements, I hope to find out why "The Wizard of Oz" is more appreciated then "The Wiz," eventhough they are essentially the same story.

That was followed by this "Outline of the Research Paper" written on November 17, 1995.

1.  Magical tornadoes can strike down anywhere ...
     A.  Could the remake be just as good as the original?
     B.  A stroll down the yellow brick road ...
2.  "The Wizard Of Oz"
     A.  Set in Kansas
     B.  Sepia tone & technicolor
     C.  The plot: an escape from reality
     D.  Was it all a dream ... ?
3.  "The Wiz"
     A.  Dorothy: a twenty-four year old school teacher
     B.  She's never been "south of 125th street"
     C.  New York City twist
     D.  She has to break free from her boundaries
4.  The characters and performances
     A.  Dorothy in "Wizard Of Oz" & "The Wiz"
     B.  "Best Juvenile Performer of the Year" award
     C.  Scarecrow in "Wizard Of Oz" & "The Wiz"
     D.  Tin man in "Wizard Of Oz" & "The Wiz"
     E.  Haley's make-up caused eye infection
     F.  Buddy Ebsen, original tin man, nearly died
     G.  Cowardly lion in "Wizard Of Oz" & "The Wiz"
     H.  Frank Morgan played five parts in "Wizard of Oz"
     I.  L. Frank Baum's name in Morgan's jacket
5.  Dance sequences
     A.  "The Jitterbug" & "If I Only Had A Brain" from "Wizard Of Oz"
     B.  "The Wiz" - "He's The Wiz," "Ease On Down," etc.
6.  Songs
     A.  "Wizard Of Oz" - "Follow The Yellow Brick Road," "Over The
       Rainbow," etc.
     B.  "The Wiz" - "Ease On Down"
     a.  Similar to "We're Off To See The Wizard"
7.  Scene comparisons
     A.  The tornado
     B.  Dorothy's given the ruby/silver shoes
     C.  The poisonous poppies
     D.  The flying monkeys capture Dorothy
     E.  The witch melts away
8.  The academy awards - "Oscar"
     A.  "Wizard Of Oz" - seven nominations, won three of them
     a.  Best original score
     b.  Best song "Over the Rainbow"
     c.  Honorary award "Best Juvenile Performer of the Year" to
         Judy Garland
     B.  "The Wiz" - four nominations, didn't win any of them
     a.  Best art decoration
     b.  Best cinematography
     c.  Best costume design
     d.  Best adaptation score
9.  As we complete our stroll ...
     A.  Why doesn't "The Wiz" involve us as deeply as "Wizard Of Oz?"
     B.  Roger Ebert's response

Finally, here is the entire report that was written/submitted on December 11, 1995 for Dr. E. Rosen's class at Hofstra University.


Magical tornadoes can strike down anywhere and spin you off to the land of Oz. On that wonderfully logical premise, the L. Frank Baum classic, "The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz," was transformed into "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939 and "The Wiz" in 1978. "The Wizard Of Oz" is perhaps the most watched, most loved movie in the entire world. It has been seen in every country, in every language (see video, section 01). Could the 1978 remake be just as good and just as heartwarming as the 1939 original? Perhaps a stroll down the yellow brick road will an answer.

"The Wizard Of Oz" is set in Kansas. The Kansas scenes were filmed in sepia tone (a browner version of black and white) to give them a warm, home-like feeling (Fricke, 43). The Oz scenes were filmed in Technicolor to give them a bright,colorful, dream-like feeling. "Large amount of lights and energy were required to film the Technicolor sequences" (Fricke 84).

The plot of "The Wizard Of Oz is simple. It is about Dorothy, an eleven year old farm girl from Kansas who dreams of a place where she could escape from reality. Her wish is granted (via a tornado) and she lands in Oz, a "dream world" that parallels her Kansas reality. After going through several obstacles and encounters with the wicked witch, she realizes that the "real world" isn't as bad as it seems and desperately wants to go back. Dorothy eventually goes back to Kansas where she sees the people who were, in another form, in Oz. This poses a question, "Was it all a dream or did she really go to a far off place called Oz?"

The plot of "The Wiz" is similar, but not quite the same. This time, Dorothy is a twenty-four year old kindergarten teacher who lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in New York City, and has never been "south of 125th street" (The Wiz, 1978). She gets swept up in a terrible snowstorm/tornado and is taken to the land of Oz. This Dorothy goes through the same hassles as the previous Dorothy, except everything has a New York City twist to it. The people she meets in Oz have no resemblance to anyone or anything from the "real world," New York City. By the end of the film, she learns that there is a great, big world out there and that she has to break free from her boundaries and explore it (The Wiz, 1978).

In "The Wizard Of Oz," Dorothy, played by sixteen year old Judy Garland, has a bright, wonderous appearance. "Thank goodness George Cukor scrapped the blonde wig and heavy doll-like make-up Garland had been wearing" (Nash, 1994). Garland's performance as Dorothy was so great, that she won the academy award for "Best Juvenile Performer Of The Year" (see video, section 02). Dorothy in "The Wiz," portrayed by Diana Ross, has a "plain Jane" appearance, with no "real" screen presence (The Wiz, 1978).

Dorothy's first traveling companion, the scarecrow, is portrayed in "The Wizard Of Oz" by vaudvillian actor Ray Bolger. His limber-legged dancing ability really brought out the brainlessness of the scarecrow. Michael Jackson lacked this ability in his performance as the scarecrow in "The Wiz," though he does provide some humor and warmth to the character.

Dorothy's next companion down the yellow brick road is the tin man. In "The Wizard Of Oz" Jack Haley portrayed the tin man with such finesse that he makes Nipsey Russell's tin man look like the forgettable Tik Tok from "Return To Oz" (The Wiz, 1978). "Make-up artist Adrian did an astounding job on Haley's make-up, but unfortunately it later caused the actor to have a severe eye infection" (Fricke ix). "This isn't half as bad as what happened to Buddy Ebsen, who was originally scheduled to play the tin man (see video, section 03). He was so allergic to his make-up, that he nearly died" (Fricke 63).

Dorothy's final traveling companion on her journey to the Emerald city is the cowardly lion. Convincingly played by Burt Lahr in "The Wizard Of Oz," the cowardly lion is so scared and such a sissy that he even gets a permanent and a red bow in his mane. Ted Ross' portrayal of the cowardly lion has too much heart for the cowardly lion to be really be cowardly and you could hardly see his face under the heavy make-up (The Wiz, 1978).

Frank Morgan played five different roles in "The Wizard Of Oz." "He played the wizard, the Emerald City doorman, the horse of a different color cabby, the wizard's guard, and Professor Marvel" (Fricke 51). He played each role so differently, that you hardly realize that they're all the same guy. This is why he was hired for the part. "Coincidentally, when he turned out the pocket of the coat he wore as Professor Marvel, he found the name L. Frank Baum sewn into the lining. It was later verified as being Baum's jacket" (Fricke, 107).

The two "real" dance sequences from "The Wizard Of Oz," "The Jitterbug" (see video, section 04) and Ray Bolger's extended "If I Only Had A Brain" (see video, section 05), were cut after preview showings. The dance sequences from "The Wiz" are some of the best created in the last twenty years, thanks to the choreography by Louis Johnson. The best of these are: "He's The Wiz" (see video, section 06), "Ease On Down," "You Got To Be Seen Green, and "Everybody Rejoice." Most of the dance sequences in "The Wiz" are performed by professional dance troupes and chorus lines (Ebert, 1994).

"The Wizard Of Oz" features an oscar winning score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. This includes such unforgettable songs as "Follow The Yellow Brick Road," "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" and the oscar winning "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (Maltin, 1462) (see video, section 07). The score for "The Wiz" is mostly forgettable with the exception of "Ease On Down," which is used everytime anyone travels down the yellow brick road, similar to "We're Off To See The Wizard" in the original (The Wiz, 1978 & The Wizard Of Oz, 1939).

There are many memorable scenes from "The Wizard Of Oz" that were handled differently in "The Wiz." One of these scenes is the famous "It's a twister" tornado scene. In "The Wizard Of Oz," a tornado picked Dorothy's house up in the air and dropped it down in Oz, right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. In "The Wiz," a snowstorm/tornado picked up Dorothy and Toto, in the middle of the street, and dropped them through a giant "Oz" sign, right into Oz. Part of the giant "Oz" sign fell on the Wicked Witch of the East and killed her (The Wiz, 1978) (see video, section 08).

Another memorable scene is when Dorothy receives the footwear of the Wicked Witch of the East. In "The Wizard Of Oz," Dorothy is given the witch's ruby slippers by Glinda, the good witch of the north. In "The Wiz," Dorothy is given the witch's silver shoes by Miss One, the good witch of the north. In Baum's book, the shoes were silver and there were two good witches, Glinda the good witch of the south and Miss One the good witch of the north. As far as the shoes and the witches are concerned, "The Wiz" is true to the book. The shoes were ruby in "The Wizard Of Oz" because it better utilized the Technicolor (Fricke, 28) (see video, section 09).

A third scene is the poisonous sleep-inducing poppies. In "The Wizard Of Oz," the poppy field was a trap set by the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy and the lion fell for this trap and fell asleep. Glinda sent some snow to revitalize the two of them and they continued on their way. In "The Wiz," Dorothy and her friends came upon a group of people known as "The Poppies." They ran the "Poppy Love Perfume Company," which produced sleep-inducing perfume. "The Poppies" sprayed Dorothy and the lion with this perfume and they fell asleep. The tin man's tears woke the two of them up and they continued on their way (The Wiz, 1978) (see video, section 10).

One of the most terrifying scenes is when the flying monkeys capture Dorothy. In "The Wizard Of Oz," the wicked witch sends her flying monkeys to the haunted forest to capture Dorothy and bring her back to her castle. They succeed and Dorothy is taken captive. In "The Wiz," Evillene, the wicked witch of the west, sends her flying monkeys (part monkey, part motorcycle) to capture Dorothy and her three traveling companions. They drive around, yes drive, they dont fly, chasing Dorothy and her friends until they get cornered by the "flying" monkeys and taken to Evillene's sweat shop (The Wiz, 1978) (see video, section 11).

One of the most memorable scenes in movie history is when water is thrown on the wicked witch and she melts away. In "The Wizard Of Oz," the wicked witch puts the scarecrow's arm on fire. Dorothy grabs a pail of water and tosses it onto him, dousing the witch in the process. The witch melts away because the water is her ancient enemy. "What a world, what a world!" In "The Wiz," the scarecrow suggests that Dorothy pull the fire box which would set the sprinkler system off. She does so, the sprinklers go off and the witch melts away again because the water is her enemy (see video, section 12).

"The Wizard Of Oz" had a total of seven academy award nominations, and won three of them: best original score, best song "Over the Rainbow," and Judy Garland won an honorary award "Best Juvenile Performer of the Year" (Nash, 1994). "The Wiz" was nominated for four academy awards: best art decoration, best cinematography, best costume design, and best adaptation score. It didn't win any of these (Cinemania 95, 1994).

So as we complete our stroll down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to see the wizard, we are faced with the question: Why doesn't "The Wiz" involve us as deeply as "The Wizard Of Oz?" The wiz of movie critics, Roger Ebert, said it best, "Because it wants to be sophisticated and universal, childlike and knowing, appealing to both a mass audience and to media insiders. "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" (Ebert, 1994).

Bibliography - Paper
• Cinemania 95. "The Wiz." Microsoft Corporation, 1994.
• Ebert, Roger. "The Wiz." Roger Ebert's Video Companion. New York: Ebert Company Ltd., 1993. (Found in the CD ROM, "Cinemania 95," 1994, topic "The Wiz.")
• Fricke, John, Jay Scarfone, and William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50TH Anniversary Pictorial History. New York: Warner, 1989.
• Maltin, Leonard. "The Wizard of Oz." Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1995. New York: Signet Books, 1994: 1462.
• Nash, Jay R., and Stanley R. Ross. "The Wizard Of Oz." The Motion Picture Guide. New York: Baseline Inc., 1993. (Found in the CD ROM, "Cinemania 95," 1994, topic "The Wizard Of Oz.")
• Wiz, The. Dir. Sidney Lumet. With Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor. Universal, 1978.
• Wizard of Oz, The. Dir. Victor Fleming. With Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, and Margaret Hamilton. MGM, 1939.

Biography - Video
** Sources from which footage was taken to make the video.
• Wiz, The. Dir. Sidney Lumet. With Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor. Universal, 1978.
• Wizard of Oz, The. Dir. Victor Fleming. With Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, and Margaret Hamilton. MGM, 1939.
• Wonderful Wizard Of Oz: The Making Of A Movie Classic. Dir. Jack Haley Jr. Hosted by Angela Lansbury. Turner Entertainment, 1990.

The reason for the "Video Bibliography" is because I had edited together a companion video for the written report. I do not believe that I still have the VHS copy of that.