The Wiz
Directed by: Sidney Lumet [1978]
Diana Ross and Michael Jackson star in this fantastic, fun-filled spectacular musical based on the smash hit Broadway show which in turn was drawn from L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". In this Motown production, Dorothy [Diana Ross] is a shy Harlem kindergarten teacher who is whisked to a wonderland to follow the yellow brick road. Michael Jackson is the Scarecrow who wants a brain, along with Nipsey Russel as the Tin Man searching for a heart, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, Lena Horne as Glinda the Good Witch and Richard Pryor as the Oz's great wizard. With such a cast, exciting musical numbers and fabulous visual effects, "The Wiz" will reach every generation of movie-goers.
| Credits: |
| Directed by: |
Sidney Lumet |
| Produced by: |
Rob Cohen |
| Screenplay by: |
Joel Schumacher |
| Executive Producer:
|
Ken Harper |
| Editor: |
Dede Allen |
| Original Musical Score
by: |
Charlie Smalls |
| Music Adapted &
Supervised by: |
Quincy Jones |
| Production Desgin
and Customes by: |
Tony Walton |
| Choreography by: |
Louis Johnson |
| Special Visual Effects
by: |
Albert Whitlock |
| Director of Photography: |
Oswald Morris, B.S.C. |
| Matte Photography: |
Bill Taylor &
Dennis Glouner |
| Special Make-Up Designed
by: |
Stan Winston |
| Make-Up Supervision: |
Robert Laden |
| Make-Up Artists: |
Carl Fullerton, Michael
R. Thomas, S. Cunningham & A. Weisinger |
| Art Direction: |
Philip Rosenberg |
| DVD Release Date: |
April 13, 1999 |
| Interesting
Facts: |
|
Michael
Jackson's song "You Can't Win" was originally written for the stage
version, for the Winkies to sing to Dorothy about the futility of
escaping from Evillene. The song was cut from the play during pre-Broadway
tryouts but was included in the film as the Scarecrow's song.
In his book "Making
Movies," Sidney Lumet admitted that a production number that was
supposed to take place at the plaza of the World Trade Center was
cut because the high winds there disrupted filming.
Simultaneously
with the release of the film, Congoleum, the flooring company that
created the Yellow Brick Road for the film, marketed the same design
[called "Yellow Brick Road"] for home use.
This was the first film shot at Kaufman Astoria Studios when it
was reopened in the 1970s.
In the Emerald City sequence, Quincy Jones is shown as the pianist,
but the actual piano player on the soundtrack is Richard Tee.
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