“The Wiz” Appreciation Thread

ScreenOrigami

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The Wiz is an underappreciated gem in MJ’s body of work, in my opinion. 19 years old, for the first time away from home on his own, Michael had the time of his life in the Big Apple, playing the Scarecrow in this Black adaptation of the Wizard of Oz at the side of Diana Ross, starring as Dorothy.

Just like in the classic movie, Dorothy gets lost in a snowstorm and finds herself in the surreal world of Oz where she befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. They set out to meet the Wizard, hoping he might be able to get them a brain, a heart, and courage, respectively, and help Dorothy get back home.

Here are a few clips from Dorothy’s first encounter with the Scarecrow. It’s not the complete scene, but it gives you a first impression of Michael’s acting. Notice the deep notes he hits at the end of the first song, and check out the control over his movements while the Scarecrow learns to walk and dance. Also, the spins in those shoes!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3r1ssg1LIt4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dk3BfcWrx8c" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oGxBx8RzzrM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Following the Yellow Brick Road, they make their way through the land of Oz, which is in large parts shot on location in New York. The production notes from the original brochure reveal where each scene was filmed.

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The surreal sightseeing tour also makes a stop at the subway station where a couple of years later the short film for “Bad” was shot, and as you can see, the friends run into trouble here.

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I don’t want to give away too much, just watch it for yourself. As you follow the friends on their adventure, notice how MJ alternates between confidence and self-consciousness, and how he expresses this through his movement.

The Wiz is available on many streaming platforms, and of course on DVD/Blu-Ray.

If you have watched it, tell us what you think! :)
 
The Wiz is an excellent film. The musical numbers are outstanding. Michael did a awesome acting job and the Wiz showcased his NATURAL acting ability. There was a thread trending recently on Twitter about this film and people were raving about Michael&#8217;s acting skills. I love it!!

Anyone who hasn&#8217;t seen this film should do so, it is a classic.
 
The production design is huge and beautiful. The film doesn't hold my interest though nor does the original. MJ sadly missed the golden age of Hollywood musicals.
Even in his limited film career MJ worked with some iconic directors. Lumet, Scorsese, Landis, Fincher, Lynch and probably some more I forgot about
 
If it wasn’t for MJ I would say the Wiz is awful. His main scenes are great, the rest of the movie is boring and poorly acted. I’m sure most wont agree with my opinion. When I was young and first saw the movie I didn’t like it at all. The older I got I did change my mind in regards to MJs parts. He is great as the scarecrow.
 
The only good thing about the Wiz was Michael's performance as the scarecrow. The rest of the movie was bland and boring. While I don't necessary believe that Michael was a great actor, I do believe his acting was great in the Wiz and it is a shame that he didn't do more similar roles in his life.
 
somewhereinthedark;4300393 said:
The Wiz is an excellent film. The musical numbers are outstanding. Michael did a awesome acting job and the Wiz showcased his NATURAL acting ability. There was a thread trending recently on Twitter about this film and people were raving about Michael&#8217;s acting skills. I love it!!

Anyone who hasn&#8217;t seen this film should do so, it is a classic.

Yep, it got a lot of love on Twitter that day. I&#8217;m not sure who started it, but at some point we suddenly had a Wiz hashtag mini-rally going on. :D

I had a blast when I first watched it a few weeks ago. The film is so surreal and visually rich &#8211; I can&#8217;t even think of any other movie like that. Mabel King was stunning. And that mass dance number in Emerald City &#8211; wow. :)

I think, Michael&#8217;s natural acting talent came from his ability to empathize with the character he plays. He literally turned into the Scarecrow. That&#8217;s quite an achievement at that age.

On my journey to becoming a new MJ fan, The Wiz was one of the big surprises. I had never heard of it before.

I know I&#8217;m going to watch it every year over the holidays from now on. :)
 
What about the newer version with Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, & Queen Latifah?
 
DuranDuran;4300419 said:
What about the newer version with Mary J. Blige, Ne-Yo, & Queen Latifah?

Haven&#8217;t seen it. I&#8217;m currently still busy exploring MJ&#8217;s work. ;)
 
ScreenOrigami;4300420 said:
Haven’t seen it. I’m currently still busy exploring MJ’s work. ;)
There's a DVD that has both versions on it. I think they should have kept Stephanie Mills for the 1978 movie instead of letting Diana Ross talk her way into it. Both Ted Ross & Mabel King were from the original stage play.
 
DuranDuran;4300421 said:
There's a DVD that has both versions on it. I think they should have kept Stephanie Mills for the 1978 movie instead of letting Diana Ross talk her way into it. Both Ted Ross & Mabel King were from the original stage play.

Would we have seen Michael in the film, if Diana hadn&#8217;t been in it? My impression is that one thing kind of led to the other because he only heard of the project when Diana told him she was going to be in it. If this is true, I prefer the film the way it is. ;)
 
ScreenOrigami;4300422 said:
Would we have seen Michael in the film, if Diana hadn’t been in it? My impression is that one thing kind of led to the other because he only heard of the project when Diana told him she was going to be in it. If this is true, I prefer the film the way it is. ;)
Never heard of this. Even so, Mike knew Stephanie and she could have him about it and Jermaine was still on Motown and working as an A&R guy on the side, so he might have known about it as well. Stephanie was signed to Motown at the time too.

Berry Gordy didn't want Diana, and told her she was too old. Berry also had a bad experience with Diana filming the Mahogany movie, another reason he did not want to work with her again on The Wiz. So Diana went over Berry's head and talked to someone at Universal Studios who were going to finance the movie. The studio guy got her in it.
 
DuranDuran;4300429 said:
Never heard of this. Even so, Mike knew Stephanie and she could have him about it and Jermaine was still on Motown and working as an A&R guy on the side, so he might have known about it as well. Stephanie was signed to Motown at the time too.

Berry Gordy didn't want Diana, and told her she was too old. Berry also had a bad experience with Diana filming the Mahogany movie, another reason he did not want to work with her again on The Wiz. So Diana went over Berry's head and talked to someone at Universal Studios who were going to finance the movie. The studio guy got her in it.

I think, the interview I had in mind was the one with Molly Meldrum, where he said this:

===

Molly Meldrum: It's almost ironical that you are starring in "The Wiz", the film of the Wiz and playing opposite or with a lady that really discovered you, Diana Ross, and... how did you feel when you heard you got the part in "The Wiz", and especially playing with Diana Ross?

Michael Jackson: I was very happy because, well, I love the play so much, I've seen it six times before I've even known I was gonna be in it, and I would talk to Diana on the phone and I say: "You gonna film the Wiz next week, huh?", or next month, she would say "yes", next thing I noticed I was in it, and... they called me ask me did I wanna do it, I said yeah, so they sent the script I came up, met everybody and...

===

I read that as him getting the role due to his connection to Diana. But of course that&#8217;s only one interpretation. Others are possible.

As for Diana instead of Stephanie playing Dorothy, I really don&#8217;t know enough about her and her story to comment on that. Is yours the official version of events? Or where does that come from? I&#8217;m not doubting you, I&#8217;m just very reluctant to believe stories about people I don&#8217;t personally know. Diana Ross obviously being one of them. ;)

Either way, I love Diana as Dorothy, and the energy between her and MJ is great. :)
 
The only time I tried to watch it, I fell asleep. Never tried to watch it again
 
Jackson Rules;4300479 said:
The only time I tried to watch it, I fell asleep. Never tried to watch it again

What motivates you to comment on an appreciation thread if you don&#8217;t appreciate the movie? Just wondering. Don&#8217;t you feel like this is a waste of your time? ;)
 
ScreenOrigami;4300481 said:
What motivates you to comment on an appreciation thread if you don&#8217;t appreciate the movie? Just wondering. Don&#8217;t you feel like this is a waste of your time? ;)

My bad, I didn't notice the "appreciation" part in the title. I thought it was about giving a personal opinion.
Pardon!
 
somewhereinthedark;4300393 said:
The Wiz is an excellent film. The musical numbers are outstanding. Michael did a awesome acting job and the Wiz showcased his NATURAL acting ability. There was a thread trending recently on Twitter about this film and people were raving about Michael’s acting skills. I love it!!

Anyone who hasn’t seen this film should do so, it is a classic.

Excellent assessment and one I entirely agree with. The musical numbers are wonderful. Truly excellent. I am so surprised the movie didn't do better at the box office than it did. The only criticism I have, is that I never liked the casting of Diana Ross as Dorothy. I think she was too old for the part at the time and her acting was not good at all, in comparison to the others. Stephanie Mills would have been a much better choice.
 
Jackson Rules;4300512 said:
My bad, I didn't notice the "appreciation" part in the title. I thought it was about giving a personal opinion.
Pardon!

No problem. I&#8217;m just trying to maintain a few feel-good positive threads, that&#8217;s all. :)
 
The production design is huge and beautiful. The film doesn't hold my interest though nor does the original. MJ sadly missed the golden age of Hollywood musicals.
Even in his limited film career MJ worked with some iconic directors. Lumet, Scorsese, Landis, Fincher, Lynch and probably some more I forgot about

Stan Winston....Nick Brandt
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Count your blessings, cut your losses and follow The Yellow Brick Road.&quot; - From &quot;The Wiz.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ONRBsMV8Fy">pic.twitter.com/ONRBsMV8Fy</a></p>&mdash; MJ Rock Forever On (@MJRock4everOn) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJRock4everOn/status/1292753554449600512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Michael knew he loved some Diana. he liked Stephanie too. i haven't seen the whole movie only clips and i'll say both Michael and Diana were great actors in my opinion. those ease on down the road scenes are great. so is can you feel a brand new day and you can't win. i haven't seen the live play with Stephanie Mills i guess that will be on my watchlist as well.
 
Mikky Dee;4300601 said:
Stan Winston....Nick Brandt

Stan Winston did the special make-up design for The Wiz, and then decades later worked on Ghosts. It&#8217;s interesting to see how long some of those early connections lasted. :)
 
The city of Beacon, over an hour outside New York City is offering a free cinema in the park and their first movie of selection is “The Wiz” staring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

The even is FREE (you just need to register online here) and the screening will take place on August 20, 2020 at 8.15pm at:

Riverfront Park
2 Red Flynn Drive
Beacon, NY 12508

This is a bring your own blanket and/or chairs event. Be in your socially distanced space by 8:15 pm.
Enjoy!

https://beaconny.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29851
 
NatureCriminal7896;4301116 said:
The city of Beacon, over an hour outside New York City is offering a free cinema in the park and their first movie of selection is “The Wiz” staring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

The even is FREE (you just need to register online here) and the screening will take place on August 20, 2020 at 8.15pm at:

Riverfront Park
2 Red Flynn Drive
Beacon, NY 12508

This is a bring your own blanket and/or chairs event. Be in your socially distanced space by 8:15 pm.
Enjoy!

https://beaconny.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29851

Love this! Thanks for posting.
 
NatureCriminal7896;4302064 said:
This is my first time seeing theses so their rare and new to me. nice.

Cool, i didn&#8217;t even know these were rare. :)
 
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