It's all sitting on the surface of the film. How these two characters differ is that where Aunt Em is a very simple and down-to-earth woman with a hot-temper, Glinda is an extravagant and theatrical witch with boundless patience. The Wiz is indeed a New York movie, featuring the most fantastical representations of the citys landmarks since the 1933 King Kong. It's set to return to Broadway in spring 2024. I remember having fever dreams that someone was going to steam press me. Alla Nipsey Russell! Its also the musical number youre all most familiarwith. 1. I imagine it'll be exactly like the "A Brand New Day" scene in The Wiz: After Dorothy melts Evilene (Mabel King), the Wicked Witch of the West, all the workers she imprisoned in her sweat shop (they make sweat) transform from misshapen ogres into lithe, well-moisturized ballet dancers, leaping and prancing in their underwear. Fitzstephens, Jack Music Editor & Guru. And the subway scene is creepy as hell. After Dorothy meets the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson) in one of the less distinguishable set pieces, the two (plus Toto) Ease on Down the Road following the yellow bricks over an unidentified bridge probably nonexistent and built in the studio towards way too many Chrysler Buildings (if there were that many the architectural masterpiece wouldnt be so exceptional) and what turns out to be the Cyclone in the way background. In his book "Making Movies," Sidney Lumet admits that filming the Emerald City sequence on the plaza at the World Trade Center had to be cut short because of wind and scheduling. I was a lil tyke at a cousins house and it just happened to be on TV. (It cut from RIchard Pryor peeking out to the time clock at the sweat shop). 35 years ago this week, two very different movies had their theatrical premieres. In fact, people can see us as being intelligent, courageous, empathetic and comforting, when we see just the opposite in ourselves. Where did the purse shoes come from? They do end up in whats clearly Coney Island, complete with a major cameo appearance from the actual Cyclone. Lastly, Dorothy is taken from her home and must find her way back with the help of some new friends. The rest of the club took notice whenever Michael Jackson danced. Up until then the going has been a little awkward. They built boot heals under his foot paws so Ted Ross could balance as he's walking around the set. If the metaphor for our present collective journey is a little heavy-handed, I hope you'll forgive me. One of two mid-1970s rock music/musical pictures inspired by 'The Wizard of Oz'. Warder decided KING 5's Angela Poe Russell would perform in the first act of the. And Diana Ross wears the same simple white frock for the entire film and projects a wide-eyed innocence that kind of grows on you. NYCs Film Forum didnt even include the musical in its otherwise exhaustive retrospective of his work a few years back. The gay side of the dance floor would stop, Cohen says, and the hetero side would stop., During lunch on The Wiz set, Lumet, the director, told an oblivious Michael that women around him were like ricocheting bullets all over the place.. Join me below as I highlight some of the best of these location-transforming scenes. Dorothy is extremely reluctant to leave Aunt Em's home and branch out by herself in the 1978 film. He was a great fan of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, says Johnson, who is in his early eighties, by phone from his New York home. Peter Stone adapted the screenplay from the 1973 novel of the same name written by Morton Freedgood under the pen name John . With Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross. The movie has great moments and a lot of life, sensational special effects and costumes, and Ross, Jackson, and Russell. Magazines, Digital It's quite unnerving as a first impression of Oz. The Wicked Witch of the East. All dogs. This was the first film shot at Kaufman Astoria Studios when it was reopened in the 1970s. Now, let's look at how they did it. How this guy isnt a steampunk icon, I dont know. Motown Productions bought the rights to the stage show, intending to cast Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. I guess I should make a joke about the baseball team, but I cant think of a good one. Train Scene 1: In the beginning of the movie, Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is in a subway and while travelling he keeps looking at a very attractive woman and the woman also responds to him with smile and all of a sudden her smile turns into a serious expression and tries . The show premiered on Broadway in 1975 and won seven Tony Awards. Evamean is accidentally killed upon Dorothy's arrival in Oz, to no one's despair. 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. Some of the dancing and the Poms sequence with the Munchkins (it cut from them going down the stairs to some of them doing acrobatics). 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. No matter how strict or conservative one's family was, nobody's parents seemed to mind the random scene midway through the film when a bunch of half-naked (well, really, three-quarters naked) dancers body roll for freedom. Best remembered for its role in Ghostbusters, this building is known for its stone lions adorning the front steps. Also, the trash cans and support column walls attack,too. She also said she would be able to guarantee Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow if she was cast. Woody Allen? Asking for help and seeking advice shows strength, and displays to others the idea that we see their opinions and thoughts as worthy of listening to, and following. This movie was so iconic . If you can hear it, I can write it down. The exchange, which MJ recorded, ends with Quincy requesting his number. In the original Oz novels, L. Frank Baum, they were unnamed. The chase sequence in the subway platform omits how the Scarecrow and the Tin Man are rescued by the Lion. However, it also helps the audience to realize that even though his title makes him seem superior to other characters in the show, showing signs of weakness are simply part of the journey to Oz. If youre going to create a work inspired by L. FRANK BAUMs THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ chances are you are going to end up with something kindertraumatic. White films were for white audiences. Michael Jackson was in this movie. When Harlem schoolteacher Dorothy (Diana Ross) tries to save her dog from a storm, she's miraculously whisked away to an urban fantasy land called Oz. This is not a black film, Gordy corrected him. Gonna have to get some coffee and check this out! Strange eh? 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. Joel Schumacher's script for The Wiz was influenced by Werner Erhard's teachings and his Erhard Seminars Training ("est") movement, as both Schumacher and Diana Ross were proponents. Im thinking MANIAC, AMER. There, she makes new friends, battles evil witches, and seeks the aid of the all-powerful and mysterious Wiz. He wanted Jimmie J. The dramatic score further increases the scare factor, especially when an unseen lady vocalizes a scream. It was a spectacular, flawed experiment. Harry Madsen (Cheetah) and Willie C. Carpenter (Guest at Aunt Em's Party) are the only actors to appear in other films directed by Sidney Lumet: Madsen in Prince of the City (1981), Daniel (1983), Garbo Talks (1984), and Q&A (1990), and Carpenter in Family Business (1989). After Dorothy gets swept up in a tornado, she finds herself in the fantastical world of Oz. The speech delivered by Glinda the Good Witch at the end of the film, and the song "Believe in Yourself", are particularly laden with est-ian concepts. In 2003, Entertainment Weekly Magazine named the film #28 of the 50 Top Cult Movies. The cultural/racial differences are telling, the modern 70s stylings, the sympathetically cool casting of Ross (my late-to-the-party new crush), & the change to make Dorothy afraid to leave her home. She likes to be in charge and loves to boss me around. It had a great concept (an African-American take on The Wizard of Oz in which the characters dont follow the yellow brick road, they ease on down it), a strong director (Sidney Lumet, whod just done Dog Day Afternoon and Network) and a solid cast (Diana Ross as Dorothy, Richard Pryor as the Wiz, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man). He is also the author of Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America, a memoir-in-essays. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Here they recruit the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), a mechanical man carnival barker. We often stray off of our paths, and we can't always find our way back easily. ", Press J to jump to the feed. 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. UNK SEZ: Subway scene, YOU are truly insane but lest we forget, there are many freaky images to withstand in THE WIZ. I felt I owed him more than one, Jones said of Lumet. 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. I have to admit that The WIZ is waaaaaay too long for me & is a bit of a chore but the visuals are cool in that wonked out seventies way & that subway scene is truly nuts. It's full of big swings, wild interpretations, and deranged set pieces (still having nightmares about the subway scene). The original New York City production of "The Wiz" opened at the Majestic Theater on January 5, 1975, starring Stephanie Mills, ran for 1,672 performances and won the 1975 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Score and was nominated for Best Book. He, too, began to pay attention to Jackson. They just sit there beside you when you have had a rough day and lean over to give you a little lick on the hand just to let you know they are there. In the film, Michaels most impressive steps are with Diana Ross, as he clumsily learns to walk after being imprisoned by crows on his scarecrow pole. The Tornado Ballet has a frightened Dorothy get flung through the air while storm clouds, lightning, and funnels appear in the background. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (also known as The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Joseph Sargent, produced by Gabriel Katzka and Edgar J. Scherick, and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, and Hctor Elizondo. just stay with me a little while and talk. 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? According to her unauthorized biography, "Call Her Ms. Ross", Diana Ross was hospitalized and nearly blinded by a lighting effect used in the movie. At the time of production, director Sidney Lumet was the son-in-law of Lena Horne (Glinda, the Good Witch). 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 simple, cheap special effects used in it actually make it eerier to me. Her reluctance to grow up in the musical; she neglects responsibilities in favor of running after Toto and. In the Emerald City sequence, Quincy Jones is shown as the pianist, but the actual piano player on the soundtrack is Richard Tee. This is based on opinion. He's been sleeping even though it's the middle of the day, and he has a desperate, frantic energy about him: sad to be discovered but clearly grateful for human contact. 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