Today we talk all about “The Wiz” (1978), a musical film adaptation of the Wizard of Oz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, among others.
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We’ve all seen The Wizard of Oz (1939), but we think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of people have never seen The Wiz, which was Motown’s stage-to-screen adaptation in 1978. Critically and financially speaking the film wasn’t much of a success, despite a cast that boasted the names of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross and Richard Pryor.
While the two of us agreed on a lot of points concerning the acting, music, sets and overall aesthetic, we came out of the experience with generally opposite feelings. Kyle felt that the performers were under-utilized and the film was just too long to sit through, whereas Peter really enjoyed some of the strengths that it had over the original.
Listen to our review episode in the player above, and watch the official trailer for the film below. It gives a fair impression of what to expect from the full 2-hour extravaganza.
