THE WIZ RETRO MOVIE REVIEW | Double Toasted
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- Опубликовано: 21 фев 2023
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THE WIZ RETRO MOVIE REVIEW | Double Toasted - Today at Double Toasted we have another Black History month retro review for you to enjoy with our The Wiz movie review. What did you think of The Wiz movie? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Diana Ross’s song Home is even more sad when you realize she is pretty much the last living cast member
Damn☹️☹️☹️
Yeah because she poisoned everyone
Jeez. No easing down the road on that one.
Technically not. Quincy Jones is still around. If you pay attention to the emerald city scene you can see him play piano in a cameo.
@@isaidwhatIsaid86 *** last living main cast member.
Because a lot of the dancers are still alive.
I get that Dianna’s age throws off the movie; but considering that now it is normal for 20-30 y/o to live with their parents, I think the character being an adult who is afraid to move forward is more relevant an nuanced.
Yeah, I think a 20 something year old would really work in a remake too considering today’s society.
I will always enjoy the fact that Michael Jackson's nose was the wrapper for a Reese's peanut butter cup.
Was it really tho
This movie is still unintentionally scary to me but I have to watch it at least once every year
Same I literally had nightmares about the Lion and Toto back then my mother had bought me a Wiz themed blanket when we saw it in the theater back when it came out and I was terrified of the Lion especially😂
I mean even the source material was kinda scary!
Return to Oz used to scare the shit out of me when I was little!
This movie has a very surreal dream-like quality to it. I actually like some of the art direction in the film but man did it scare the shit out of me when I was younger.
@@sellina4life "Can't sleep. Lion will eat me. Can't sleep. Lion will eat me..."
Thank god for Martin being a history buff on this movie
Right! I did not recognize Auntie Em from “That’s My Mama”
@@HopeAndrea_HFG That is my MAMA!
The subway scene is absolute nightmare fuel!
Agreed! My childhood nightmare
That Train Station Scene Could've Been Saved For A Horror Movie. They Didn't Need It In A Wizard Of Odd Movie 💯
Ikr, seeing it again is really bringing back some old traumatic childhood memories lol. Reminds me a lot of the "backrooms" creepypasta.
It is but ngl how quickly Lion is out of there had me laughing some as a kid and makes me laugh now even during that creepiness lol
Same here. 😂😂
I agree with Korey, Diana Ross was miscast. Stephanie Mills would've been perfect for the movie version.
I'm so glad Martin is here to let ppl know what was happening during those times
Berry Gordy was behind the casting choices so..
@@EdgeO419true and Diana had him wrapped around her finger! 😆
@@EdgeO419 he was behind Diana also
Agreed. Same with Judy Garland. She was also too old to play Dorothy. It's like a young adult pretending to be a little kid and it's disturbing.
@@dominiquejones3805 lol
Yay! This is definitely a black classic!🖤
I grew up with this movie and it made my family so proud to have it. We were so proud of this movie. I know it could have been better, but it exists and we were so happy.
It’s a classic!
You family is really sad dude
That 'Jim Crow' harmonica throughout this movie was wild, even when I was a kid.
Yessss
Out of all the versions, this has the best friendship with the main four.
Fun fact: In the subway scene Michael Jackson has done filming at Hoyt Schermerhorn Street subway station twice in his career. One being that scene in the movie and when he also filmed music video BAD in 1986.
I love the weird, grainy cinematography and it all adds a creepy yet fun quality to the film. Any time you have dilapidated urban structures it will always be creepy, but the whimsical production design made it fun too.
I loved this movie as a kid.
I liked the Wizard of Oz also.
Both good.
Just two different feelings
As a kid this movie was scary as hell to me in a wtf is going on type of way 😂
Same
I love the music in this movie so much. I still play the soundtrack at least a few times a month-“You Can’t Win”, “Be a Lion”👌I even had the record way back when. The subway scene and Evilene’s sweat shop were scary af to me as a kid.
Plus “No Bad News” is a classic!
Ease on Down the Road 😁
@@latishabuckner8231 That too!
I have performed “Home” more times than I can count!
Me too. I listen to this soundtrack regularly even now.
The creepy man, the scarecrows, and the poppies ladies all were working for the evil witch. She was upset that none of them was able to get dorothy and decided to send out her flying monkeys
What’s sad is that most of the cast and crew are dead.
You dont seem careful
Ikr
Heard there was also a sequel to this.
Sight unseen.
Remember they did a new one on NBC?
Michael Jackson gone
The guy who played the lion gone
Richard Pryor gone
The list goes on.
I kinda want yall to review this again with Billy. Its always fun hearing what people think of The Wiz.
I'll correct you about Black Panther being the next high- profile film with a mostly black cast A- list. You overlooked "HARLEM NIGHTS" (1989). Its got Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, Della Reese, Arsenio Hall, Jasmine Guy, Stan Shaw, and even the legendary Howard "Sandman" Sims.
I think he referred to movies with a budget of that size.
Ol Garbage Guts Coleman always acts like Black Panther is black cinema's Lord and Savior.
The subway scene when the marionettes come alive scared the SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT out of me when I was a kid. Bruh. 🤣😂
Man I just had a thought that it would be awesome for some indie game developer to turn that whole scene into a little horror game 😃! But yeah the subway scene is my favorite right next to Evilene's "No Bad News" ❤.
As much as this version is appreciated and became available to the world, The Wiz Live on NBC is still the best iteration I've seen to date. it doesn't feel as heavy or as tragic as this iteration. That said, it's always fun to hear Michael Jackson and Diana Ross sing Ease On Down.
Yes! And Neyo's version of "If I could feel" is so good!
The wide shots of Emerald City was meant to show the Plaza of the World Trade Center. The Red Green and Gold was Black National Symbolism.
The Wiz was actually a horror movie musical in disguise! But then you would hear about the horrific things happening on the set of the original Wizard of Oz.
I Didn't View It As Scary But That Train Station Scene 😨💯
@@J2WICESOLIDMOVEMENT Yes!!! I was horrified when those trash cans turned into monsters and tried to eat Michael Jackson's Scarecrow lol!
Every kids' fantasy film is called a horror movie. 😒
@@Yachirobi I mean... Let's look at what happened to the tin man at the Witch's. That's terrifying
I saw the subway scene out of context in my mid-20s and even as an adult it feels creepy. As a kid I think I would have been terrified!
I'm glad Martin brought up Stephanie Mills. She would have been perfect in that film.
Definitely and she’s five feet tall…
I love Nipsey Russell’s “What Would I do” song because it had the feeling of pain and also Nas sampled it for his song “Surviving the Times”. The beat is just amazing
I already already know this is going to be a timeless DT classic.
44:30. Ten years later mike went back to that same spot and tore it up in the bad video
“He’s a WIZ and HE LIVES IN OZ Dadadadadaaa🎶🎶” CLASSIC
Best song followed by you can't win.
The songs are motivational and inspirational. I love this movie. The 2015 play was amazing.
Ease on down the road is a banger I dont care what anyone says.
@@EdgeO419 Both the movie and especially the Consumer Rapport version (the one that was the true disco hit of the two)
I'm amazed they never mentioned the
Gorillas on the motorcycles.
They would have laughed so hard.
One thing I notice watching this as an adult that I didn't notice as a child... Aunt Em was subtly trying to kick Dorothy out. That's why she was trying to get her to take a job teaching in high school lol
That impression of Diana crying at 18:02 killed me.
I still love The Wiz, but seeing some of the cinematography errors y'all point out, it's hard to unnotice it.
Favorite song from this has to be Don't Nobody Bring me No Bad News.
At 55:56 what Chris said about doing a remake where it explores different parts of Black culture, I think that can work.
Also they did an NBC special where they has Mary J Blige as the Witch, that was pretty good.
It's weird considering Sidney Lumet was a Master Director. But I guess out of his depth with musicals.
Even as a kid, the first thing I thought when I seen those people in that sweat shop peeling out of those costumes was how sweaty and funky that place became. It probably already was with Raspu- I mean Evilene who can't touch water.
a damn near 40 year old diana ross playing dorothy always took me out of this movie, But yeah you could not escape this movie growing up black, plus it was on my local tv station all the time.
I never saw this movie until was a grown man 😂 but growing up, I heard of it. I always like the real version better lol
@@SuperShinobi95 yeah the play amd newer version are both objectively better than this movie.
That subway scene always scared me when I was young because that's how the subways looked back then. There was always someone down there trying to sell toys, batteries, or candy.
Yeah That Subway Station Alone Looked Creepy. They Could've Done A Spin-Off Film About That Scene. 😨💯
The sister was just used to show Dorothy was stuck at home and not progressing. They didn’t need to go back to the sister after Dorothy comes back home from the Wiz dimension.
I never realized, until recently that actually the scene in emerald city chose colors to represent Africa.
I'm 33, and I saw this as a kid every year on vhs. It was one of those yearly Christmas classics growing up to catch while the family was in town and you were out from school break.
The Wiz, Hook, Rudolph, and Scrooged would come on TV programs during that time. So it's a nostalgic thing about this movie.
I watched this VHS constantly!
At the time, Lena Horne was an in-law of Lumet. Mabel King (Evillene) was brought over form the Broadway play too.
This movie was a commentary on life for color folks at the time period. Like the original Oz series was a commentary on industrialization for farm country folks.
So many people completely miss this point. There’s a lot of symbolic subtleties in this film.
The lil star babies in the sky when Lena starts singing 😭😭
Between the subway scene in the Wiz and the woman being turned into a robot in Superman 3, they just wanted to give all the 80s kids nightmares.
Can we please get a Players Club review! This hood classic must be remembered 😂😂😂
This movie and return to oz are nightmare fuel.
I miss little Michael 😢
lovely, LOVELY, nightmare fuel....❤🥰❤
I was too young but I saw this on TV and had nightmares from the Subway scene where the pillars came alive.
I agree with Martin Thomas it's going to be very difficult to remake The Wiz because classic 90's New York unfortunately doesn't exist no more, so your only option is to animate the movie upon remaking it not to mention find someone to stand in for the late great Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.
Shanice Williams played Dorothy in 2015 for The Wiz Live on NBC and I think she played the role better than Diana Ross.
As a now 50 year old man I still recall our school having a field trip as a kid to see this in the theatre and I recall sitting in the theatre terrified watching this movie lol! As a grown man I still feel residual fear wow
Same! Our school went on a field trip to the Cinerama Dome to see it.
I was bout to say THE WIZ better not be a bad movie roast. THE WIZ is one of the only musicals I’m ever liked
The Wiz is more accurate to the original book, even with some of the liberties taken (i.e. Dorothy’s age). All 4 witches of Oz were represented unlike the Wizard of Oz: Ms. One - Good Witch of the North, Evermene - Wicked Witch of the East, Evilene - Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda - Good Witch of the South.
I’m not at all surprised Chris Herman didn’t like this lmao
I swear, the Doll-Puppet Man's scenes and the Munchkins peeling themselves off of the playground walls terrified me as a kid!!!
Serioulsy tho, Classic; my family still loves The Wiz (the film, the play, soundtrack in the car). Cool to see you guys reviewing it!
I thought I was only one scared of the puppet dolls getting bigger in the train
💯
There's just something about those things getting bigger and their manic grins as they wobble towards you. It's indescribably creepy.
I don’t even know why they even asked Chris to watch this movie because it has black cultural references and impact that he will never understand.
Thànk you!!!!!
Bro shut up
This dude asked why MJ was underutilized……this was before MJ joined Quincy Jones, did Off The Wall, and became the King of Pop. But he doesn’t know MJs time line and is judging MJs portrayal on his perspective on Thriller MJ. Its a crippled critique. And Martin should know its cultural significance….. and didn’t defend it well enough….IMO.
@@chrisdragnet722 Even before Off the Wall, Michael was established as a great singer and dancer.
Exactly!!
I still would love to see the Broadway version
FINALLY!!!! FINALLY !!!! Been waiting on this Review
Also Mabel King played Evillene on Broadway and Theresa Merrit who played Aunt Em was her understudy
And to Chris' remake statement there is a "remake" by NBC even tho it isn't actually a remake but a live version of the Play.
Interesting, I didn’t know that.
The scene where Quincy Jones is playing the piano was filmed at The Twin Towers Plaza
This movie had some nice soulful music. And Diane Ross running up and down stairs steps- over taxi cabs- out running motor bikes- and dancing and prancing and git'en all down that road! In high heels- is a feat all by itself.
My dad loved this movie and showed it to me when I was a kid. He showed me Blacula, Night of the Living Dead, all the horror classics and exploitation films, but the subway scene in the Wiz is the one I had nightmares about.
This is one of the First Black Fantasy films and existed for decades before Black folk were highlighted in Sci/Fi Fantasy genre.
I'm A Mean Ole Lion, Ted Ross 🔥🔥🔥!! Nobody can sing it like he could..
"No Bad News" is one of my all-time favorites: a villain's song sung with Gospel fervor! Rest In Peace to the great Mabel King (of 'What's Happening!!') who played Evillene (in the play and movie)...
Fun Fact: a young Luther Vandross wrote Brand New Day for the play, not just the movie
This movie scared the heck out of me as a kid.
Theresa Merritt did play the witch on Broadway, as did Mabel King.
Aah yes, the film people remember as the one Michael Jackson was in lol.
On the one hand, this film is weird, at times crazy, has some static cinematography, and may not truly capture the spirit of the original Wizard of OZ or the original broadway show.
On the other hand, the music is memorable, the dancing scenes are well-done, the cast is great, and the costumes are stellar. Although, I do agree that Diana Ross seems too old for the part. Moreover, Michael Jackson's voice is just so unique and he is good in this, it's a shame he didn't do more films.
Regardless, I think this was a great film for the DT crew to do as retro review as Korey and Martin have the generational perspective of growing up with this film, and so much of Chris's perspective resembles how the NC and Todd in the shadows felt about this movie when they reviewed it a long time ago.
Ergo, I can see the perspective of those who don't like this film, but I also get those who do and have fond memories of it. For me personally the movie does have a unique charm in some parts and is kind of a time capsule of black 70s pop-culture. A remake of this is definitely warranted 😎.
I mean the original Wizard of Oz is THE BOOK. And there are elements they used in the Wiz that were omitted from the Judy Garland Wizard of OZ. It’s fun to think of them as two different musical interpretations of the same source material.
@@TheDawnofVanlife Agreed 😎.
I can't count how many times my family watched this when I was a kid.
And I can't count how many things I learned about this movie from this review.
That song is “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock. It's a dope song 43:00, my girlfriend always said it's the scariest part of the movie too lol and we tracked down the vinyl with the full-length song 😂. A horror remake with a strong script and cast would be dope.
I always thought the last scene was then peeling of the stereotypes and ugliness of oppression put on the people. Then they are showing their true beautiful selves.
I wanted to be one of the dancers in Oz turning green, red, and gold! They were always beautiful and could dance their a$$es off!
It’s always blown my mind that Sidney Lumet directed this. It would be like Martin Scorsese directing Cats.
Let's not forget that Joel Schumacher wrote the script. It's a big reason why the movie ended up being such a turkey.
Or The Daniels directing Starlight Express
Sidney Lumet was married to Lena Horne’s daughter so that may explain her role as The Good Witch
I remember growing up and watching this for the first time at my grandmother's house. Also this is the same grandmother that showed me the version with Judy Garland as well but as I got older, I'd always see the different worlds of people I'd step in with The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz
Quick observation: Anyone else notice that Oz seems to have influenced MJ's robot from Moonwalker?
This is a classic, I watched this a couple a weeks ago. I wanted to hear and see Mike do his thing...#RIPMikeJack
And Richard Pryor.
And that guy who played the lion as
Well.
Kory is having a ball with this.😂
@@nehemiahpouncey3607 Nipsey Russell you mean. He was a great poet.
EDIT: I thought you said Tin Man, but he's still great
@@rommix0 thanks.
Hey I ain't playing with you Korey you better be respectful in this review! lol
Toto left like a wind and crys out: "FREEDOM!"
"Help me, she's crazy! She's poisoning everyone!" "Staying up crying with her, no thank you!" 13:59
I loved MJ in this
“It’s ugly”, the movie took place in the slums of NY that was kind of the point.
Why do I get mad when they review Black films? I feel like they're way more critical when it's a Black led movie. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel.
I didn't finish the Baby Boy review. Yes that movie is flawed and packed with stereotypes but it inspired me to be a better person when I first saw it and I think even tho the movie is a mess that message is still there. Tbh Primm's Hood Cinema had a better take on Baby Boy because he brought up the fact that Jody is supposed to be 20 yrs old according to the movie.
I understand and appreciate some of their critiques tho, I'm adding this cause I don't wanna come across as negative cause I think they do have interesting things to say especially Martin
When he said that was Chris at 38:00 I had a mouth full of Chips and I almost spit all them shits out🤣🤣🤣
I love that Nipsey Russell song in the movie, Tell me what what would I do if I could feel 🎶🤖
Im lowkèy madd how they just skipped over that masterpieçe of a song.classic
@@meta4dagr8t22 yeah that's one of my favorite songs in the whole movie
It took me years to watch this! The scene with the “munchkins” scared the living hell out of me!
That’s really cool with the offer where you can buy the movie for about seven bucks. However, I’ve owned this movie since it was available and I have had a vinyl copy of the soundtrack compact disc copy of the soundtrack and now I have a digital copy of the soundtrack as well as the movie……. I saw the actual musical with Ted Ross and Stephanie Mills as a child so let me say first of all the scarecrow was truly supposed to have two songs that they actually did when the musical first opened, but it ended up being almost a four hour musical, because all the characters had anywhere between two and three songs……. so the song that was used on Broadway for the scarecrow it was “I was born the day before yesterday” and that is the song that is actually the one that they decided to put on the soundtrack for the musical……
When they filmed the wiz, they decided to use “you can’t win”
But I also have some other tidbits and historical facts about this movie for you …….
When we first see the subway peddler, he’s not at that point under the control of the wicked witch when they meet in the subway and everything goes crazy HE is……
But the subway peddler…. The Taxicabs…The poppy’s…. Even the flying monkeys on their motorbikes where under her spell to stop Dorothy and the gang…. and that’s where this movie failed because they in no way explained that this was the case.
The lady that played the wicked witch of the west evil Aleene is Mabel King …. she played the part of the wicked witch of the west on Broadway with Ted Ross and Stephanie Mills. Also she was in the Gong Show movie and she is the mother on the show what’s happening….
I’m going to wrap this up because I’ve gone on long enough but let me just say the one thing you guys missed in this review was the story of the human spirit which is on full display in this movie…. The wiz is a story about truly finding yourself
this April 4 on the anniversary of Dr. King’s anniversary I will be 50 years old and this musical has always been a part of my life ❤️
YEEESSSS! Loved this movie since I first saw it on TV as a kid
And as a record geek own the soundtrack on vinyl
Same
I saw this as a child and loved it. I also saw the The Wiz musical and Stephanie Mills was Dorothy.
I always thought Aunt Em and the Wicked Witch were the same person, too!!!😂😂
Was listening to the Wiz soundtrack just the other day. I remember this being my favorite movie when I was in kindergarten in 1986-1987.
Me too!
44:27 I learned a while ago. In that scene, he was hired by evil Lynn to capture the gang and get Dorothy’s shoes
Stephanie Mills's version of "Home" is soooooooo much better than Diana's....I still love this wacky movie, though.
Diana Ross was cast for her star power. As for her character, she was depressed and introverted due to not feeling like she fit in. Each character has more mature issues than in the original Wizard of Oz .. and the settings and challenges were more streetwise issues.. addiction, for example.. homelessness, domestic abuse, and materialism and social media.
Social media in 1978? I think I get what you're saying tho
@@asanitheafrofuturist I has had to double take to make sure I wasn’t seeing things😂
@@asanitheafrofuturist not social media In it’s current form.. but if you think about.. the scene at the Emerald City depicted the media being used to promote the WHIZ’s agenda.. in the form of fashion, ideas, which served as distraction and dictated the citizen’s social interactions… not in the networking form, but definitely in the way they interacted.. so perhaps, media used in a social context
@@asanitheafrofuturist the cameras ignore Dorothy and the gang.. until she displays something of value to the WHIZ.. once the media acknowledges her value.. she is immediately embraced and followed by their society… social media is the use of technology to promote ideas, interact, and network..etc…back then it was more exclusive, but it did exist
Not sure if you mentioned it but the OZ scene with Quincy Jones and the pagent was shot outside on location at the base of THE WORLD TRADE CENTER!
When I was a kid some of the things in this film was scary to me...😂 I still have fond memories of it til this day though
I remember this movie me and my classmates at one of my many elementary schools we watch The Wiz featuring Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, it was okay I give it a 9 out of 10.
Something nice to watch with uncles and aunties, if you are a black man or black woman.
I LOVED this movie from my childhood, being 7 when it came out. Two years ago, I showed it to my daughters when they were 10 and 13. They LOVED it too and said it was weird, sort of like a musical H.R. Pufnstuff. Thanks for this retro review.
The nbc did live stage boardcast of the wiz a few years back. It was good. Animated movie of The Wiz would be great.
The Wiz stage musical is way better than the movie.
Love The Wiz! My favorite childhood movie, it def has a soft spot in my heart! ❤️❤️❤️ Nice review 👍🏾
Martin knows who gingi ito is.
Loved this movie growing up. My dad somehow ended up getting some of the yellow brick road they used in the film when they were cleaning up the sets. They were just going to throw it out so he asked if he could take some. He used it for the stairs in my house.
I saw this movie briefly airing on TV. Only bits and pieces as I lived in a white household at the time, and anything that looked remotely like a blaxploitation movie the channel was immediately flipped. That's just how it was. Very weird movie.
Frightened the hell out of me as a kid in 1979....BUT, ive grown to love it.