Story of movie The Wiz Film :
The Wiz is a 1978 American musical adventure fantasy film produced by Universal Pictures and Motown Productions, and released by Universal Pictures on October 24, 1978. A reimagining of L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an entirely African-American cast, the film was loosely adapted from the 1974 Broadway musical of the same name. It follows the adventures of Dorothy, a shy, twenty-four-year-old Harlem schoolteacher who finds herself magically transported to the urban fantasy Land of Oz, which resembles an alternative fantasy version of New York City. Befriended by a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion, she travels through the city to seek an audience with the mysterious Wiz, who they say is the only one powerful enough to send her home.
| The Wiz | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Produced by | Rob Cohen |
| Screenplay by | Joel Schumacher |
| Based on |
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| Starring |
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| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Oswald Morris |
| Edited by | Dede Allen |
Production company | Motown Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $24 million |
| Box office | $21 million |
Produced by Rob Cohen and directed by Sidney Lumet, the film stars Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Theresa Merritt, Thelma Carpenter, Lena Horne and Richard Pryor. Its story was reworked from William F. Brown's Broadway libretto by Joel Schumacher, and Quincy Jones supervised the adaptation of Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross' songs for it. A handful of new songs, written by Jones and the songwriting team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, were added for it.
Upon its original theatrical release, the film was a critical and commercial failure, and marked the end of the resurgence of African-American films that began with the blaxploitation movement of the early 1970s. Despite its initial failure, it became a cult classic, particularly among African-American audiences, Oz enthusiasts, and fans of Michael Jackson. Certain aspects influenced The Wiz Live!, a live television adaptation of the musical, aired on NBC in 2015.
Screenplay
A crowded Thanksgiving dinner brings a host of family together in a small Harlem apartment, where a shy, twenty-four-year-old schoolteacher named Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Extremely introverted, she is teased by Aunt Em for never having been south of 125th Street, as she has delayed moving out to start her own, independent life as an adult.
While Dorothy cleans up after the meal, her dog, Toto, runs out the open kitchen door into a violent snowstorm. She succeeds in retrieving him but finds herself trapped in the storm. A magical whirlwind made of snow – the work of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South – materializes and transports them to the realm of Oz. Released by the snowstorm, Dorothy smashes through an electric "Oz" sky sign as she descends from the atmosphere, and which falls upon and kills Evermean, the Wicked Witch of the East who rules Munchkinland. As a result, she frees the Munchkins who populate the playground into which she lands; they had been transformed into graffiti by Evermean for painting the playground walls.
Dorothy soon meets the Munchkins' main benefactress, Miss One, the Good Witch of the North, a magical "numbers runner" who gives Evermean's pretty charmed silver slippers to her by teleporting them onto Dorothy's feet. However, Dorothy declares she doesn't want the shoes and desperately just wants to get home to Aunt Em. Miss One urges her to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and seek the help of the mysterious "Wizard" who she believes holds the power to send Dorothy back to Harlem. After telling her to never take the silver shoes off, Miss One and the Munchkins disappear and Dorothy is left to search for the road on her own.
The next morning, Dorothy happens upon a Scarecrow made of garbage and rags, and befriends him after saving him from being viciously teased and picked on by a group of humanoid crows. They discover the yellow brick road and happily begin to follow it together ("Ease on Down the Road"). The Scarecrow hopes the Wizard might be able to give him the one thing he feels that he lacks – a brain. Along the way to the Emerald City, Dorothy, Toto and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Man in an abandoned early 20th-century amusement park and the Cowardly Lion named Fleetwood Coup DeVille, a vain dandy who hid inside one of the stone lions in front of the New York Public Library after being banished from the jungle. The Tin Man and Lion join them on their quest to find the Wizard, hoping to gain a heart and courage, respectively. En route to the Emerald City, the four adventurers must pass through a subway populated by deadly monsters (trash cans which try to eat the Scarecrow, pillars which try to crush Dorothy, a fusebox which tries to electrocute the Tin Man) controlled by a crazy peddler (a homeless man) who controls evil puppets. They narrowly escape the subway, only to encounter flamboyant prostitutes known as the "Poppy" Girls (a reference to the poppy field from the original story). They attempt to put Dorothy, Toto and the Lion into an eternal sleep with magic poppy perfume.
Finally reaching the Emerald City (an analogue of the real-life World Trade Center plaza), the quintet gains passage into the city because of Dorothy's ownership of the silver slippers. They marvel at the spectacle of the city and its sophisticated, fashion-forward dancers. They are granted an audience with the Wiz, who lives at the very top of the Towers. He appears to them as a giant fire-breathing metallic head. He will only grant their wishes if they kill the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, who runs a sweatshop in the underground sewers of Oz. Before they can reach her domain, Evillene learns of their quest to kill her and sends out the Flying Monkeys (a motorcycle gang) to keep them at bay.
After a long chase, the Flying Monkeys succeed in capturing their targets and bring them back to Evillene. Vengeful for Dorothy having killed her sister, she dismembers the Scarecrow, flattens the Tin Man, and tortures the Lion in hopes of making Dorothy give her the silver shoes. When she threatens to throw Toto into a fiery cauldron, Dorothy nearly gives in until the Scarecrow hints to her to activate a fire sprinkler switch, which she does. The sprinklers put out the fire but also melt Evillene. She is flushed down into her throne, the lid of which slams shut like a toilet. With Evillene finally gone, her spells lose their power: the Winkies are freed from their permanent costumes (revealing attractive humans underneath) and their sweatshop tools disappear. They break into song-and-dance ("Everybody Rejoice") and praise Dorothy as their emancipator. The Flying Monkeys give her and her friends a triumphant ride back to the Emerald City.
Upon arriving, the quartet takes a back door into the Wizard's quarters and discovers that he is a "phony". The "great and powerful Oz" is actually Herman Smith, a failed politician from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who was transported to Oz when a balloon he was flying to promote his campaign to become the city dogcatcher was lost in a storm. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion are distraught that they will never receive their respective brain, heart, and courage, but Dorothy makes them realize that they already have had these things all along. Just as it seems as if she will never be able to get home, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, appears and implores her to find her way home by searching within and using the magic of the silver slippers. After thanking Glinda and saying goodbye to her friends, she clicks her heels together three times. She is then back near home with Toto in her arms and walks into the apartment.
- Diana Ross as Dorothy Gale
- Michael Jackson as Scarecrow
- Nipsey Russell as Tin Man
- Ted Ross as Cowardly Lion
- Richard Pryor as Herman Smith/The Wiz
- Lena Horne as Glinda the Good Witch of the South
- Mabel King as Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West
- Thelma Carpenter as Miss One the Good Witch of the North
- Theresa Merritt as Shelby Gale/Aunt Em
- Stanley Greene as Uncle Henry
- Clinton Jackson as Green Footman #1
- Johnny Brown as Aunt Em's Party
- Robin Givens (uncredited) as Guest at Aunt Em's Party
- Cissy Houston (uncredited) as The Wiz Singers Adult Choir (voice)
- Quincy Jones (uncredited) as Emerald City the Pianist
- Luther Vandross (uncredited) as The Wiz Singers Adult Choir (voice)
All songs written by Charlie Smalls, unless otherwise noted.
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