For those of us who enjoyed the Broadway show and had high hopes for this film adaptation, this was a huge disappointment. Talented as she is, Diana Ross was terribly miscast and the result was truly disastrous. Despite some immensely talented cast members, some catchy tunes, good costuming and set decoration, it just doesn't work. One of the few redeeming qualities of this film is the presence of the legendary Lena Horne. Alas, even she can't save it. This movie is an unfortunate misfire.

The Wiz is a 1978 Africa American adaptation of the 1939 classic film, the Wizard of Oz. It stars Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Richard Pryor. The musical numbers are very catchy and well choreographed. I really liked Diana Ross, she has a beautiful voice and was really suited for the role, my one and only complaint about Diana Ross was that a few times I felt like she was a little too wimpy, I just felt like a few times she went a little overboard with that persona. Michael Jackson was perfect as the Scarecrow! No complaints at all for him. I also loved the sets and style the movie possessed! Everything seemed so colorful and unique. The urban/modern setting was also neat to see. I think this movie would be a good choice for family movie night, there's really just one scene that might be objectionable to families, and that's when the people are freed and they emerge from their ugly rags and are in white cloths resembling underwear. Other then that, I would definitely recommend this to a family audience. My only other complaint, is I feel like the musical number in the city of Oz was a little too long and drug on a bit longer than it should have. 7/10

I watched "The Wiz" again, nearly forty years after my first exposure to it in 1978. I didn't hate it, as many posters on this title claim to, but I didn't like it either at the time. It just sat there on the screen, oozing diffidence in every frame. I use the word diffidence since that seems to best describe the entire movie (def: hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence 2 archaic : distrustful 3 : reserved, unassertive). I noticed this same feeling watching the movie again after so long. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the movie lacks any tension at all. It simply moves along at a snail's pace to an ending that's suddenly rushed beyond belief. The use of Diana Ross to play Dorothy never bothered me. Anyone paying attention to the screenplay knew even in 1978 that the story had been reimagined in nearly every aspect except for the basic plot line. It seems that the real reason Miss Ross isn't regarded very highly by many is not that she's "too old", but rather, not very good. She's alternately whiny or frightened, which doesn't make for much of a performance. Only when she sings "Home" do we get to see her range; those very real tears are worth waiting for. Director Sidney Lumet treated her cruelly, sweaty armpits in "Brand New Day" and the unflattering closeup of her feet in the Silver Slippers. Given great direction, Miss Ross could have been brilliant. We cannot blame her for working with someone who seemed to have no interest in her. So, that's that. Everyone, all major characters. suffer from being underwritten. That's the fault of screenwriter Joel Schumacher. There's so little information about anyone that we can't care very much. It's as if Schumacher thought we all know the basic story and players so well that it wasn't necessary to flesh them out while throwing them into new territory. The actors do the best they can here but cannot overcome the poor screenplay. For instance, why does Glinda send the "snowclone" that brings Dorothy to Oz? We're never told. Has she been watching Dorothy from afar or something? This simple scene is crucial to the plot, yet we're given nothing to base the activity on. Here is what I feel is the biggest mistake made by Shumacher: since the source material for "The Wiz" came from a children's story, a great villain is necessary to move the protagonists along in whatever quest they're on. "The Wiz" throws away it's greatest asset, Evillene. The director Victor Fleming (for the 1939 "Oz") understood that the threat of the Wicked Witch was very important to the story. He used the incomparable Margret Hamilton exactly right, allowing her to underscore the lighter parts of the story until her denouement brought the story to a great climax. "The Wiz" hides Evillene until the last third of the movie, making her show stopping "...Bad News" number less potent than it should have been. There's no sense of relief as she goes down. She's been dispatched with with no real sense of urgency, so let's all dance around. Mabel King was pretty much robbed of what should have been the juiciest role in the whole production, but it's a testament to her talent that what we do have is so memorable. Evillene's wickedness is handed off to that weird peddler and his puppets, and never explained at all. It's supposed to be frightening, but is so random there's no real fear. Everyone screams and runs around until the bad trash cans are defeated. The ending of this whole unfortunate film is a shouting match between all the characters. Richard Pryor is simply dropped once he's discovered and screamed at by everyone. The elegant Lena Horne is saddled under a gigantic glitter-covered shower cap surrounded by babies hung on wires. "Believe in Yourself" is belted out for people in the cheap seats, a real misfire on what should have been a great ballad. Again, very poor direction. Miss Ross says bye-bye to all her pals, belts out "Home" and hey presto, she's back. She runs in the house. The End. That's all folks. No tying up loose ends with the family, or resolution. It all feels empty. The visuals set up by designer Tony Walton look better than you remember. His vision of Oz as NYC is memorable in many ways; it's always great to remember the Twin Towers as they were. Enough years have gone by for the patina of time to soften the hard edges of the mistakes made. So, for what it's worth, "The Wiz" is still a viable watch. The blame for this misfire can be laid on the shoulders of Lumet and Shumacher. They took out the magic and wonder, which is the lifeblood of such tales.

I had to vote it a 1, but if I could've, I would've given it a zero or negative rating. I just watched it on HBO and I was intrigued to see a Michael Jackson and Diana Ross version of the Wizard of Oz, since I'm a fan of their music. The original movie is one I grew up with and have seen many times, and is a timeless classic, even though it is ancient. I had also seen the latest movie Oz, in the movie theaters, and while nowhere near as good as the original movie, it was at least interesting. This one? Horrific. Terrible acting. Terrible costumes. Terrible music. There was not one single redeeming quality about this movie it was so bad. I think the only possible way this movie could have gotten any positive reviews was black people simply liking it because it was all black. The downgrade in acting by every single character, relative to the original, was mind boggling. Save yourself the time and if you bothered to DVR it, delete it.