1264 The Wiz

[Finch]

L. Frank Baum’s timeless story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz gets a funky reimagining in this lavish adaptation of a landmark Broadway show based on the book. Diana Ross brings her showstopping star power to the role of Dorothy, here a Harlem schoolteacher who is magically transported to a surreal fantasyland that resembles New York City, complete with man-eating trash cans and a disco paradise. Propelled by the musical contributions of Quincy Jones and an all-star cast that includes Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, and Lena Horne, this dazzling soul spectacular from legendary director Sidney Lumet reframes a beloved tale through the Black American experience, creating a powerful celebration of self-determination.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, approved by producer Rob Cohen, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
New audio commentary featuring scholars Michael B. Gillespie and Alfred L. Martin
Archival interviews with director Sidney Lumet and actor Diana Ross
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Aisha Harris

New cover by Komi Olafimihan

[Beloved Aunt]

Pardon me, but...what the fuck? Or at least, I had absolutely no idea this film had been critically reevaluated, or something, since I thought it was generally taken as decidedly one of Lumet's duds. Very out of left field release at any rate!

[tenia]

I thought Universal would release this one themselves. Very surprised at Criterion doing this, especially as it was advertised last year by Cassandra Moore as being quite a big restoration project for them.

[ryannichols7]

Pardon me, but...what the fuck? Or at least, I had absolutely no idea this film had been critically reevaluated, or something, since I thought it was generally taken as decidedly one of Lumet's duds. Very out of left field release at any rate!

I don't think critical reevaluation is the reason this is being released. either way, it's impressive there's a new scholarly commentary on here

[Beloved Aunt]

It just seems like an odd, perhaps uncharacteristic pick for Criterion, based on its overall reception. What do you think the reason for their releasing it is?

[Lowry_Sam]

I'm pleasantly surprised by this, not because I think The Wiz is one of the best films, but because it's influence on music videos and the MTV generation (not to mention Michael Jackson's career) is undeniable. It was also probably also easier to get the rights to than the biggest of the 70s musical revivals, Grease.

[brundlefly]

It's always had its champions. It's been recently revived on Broadway, its songs were song at this year's Oscars, and this release will fall midway between Wicked's halves. I'm not a fan, though the scary parts are scary and there is plenty (too much?) to look at.

[ryannichols7]

It just seems like an odd, perhaps uncharacteristic pick for Criterion, based on its overall reception. What do you think the reason for their releasing it is?

NYT article blowback and it's also directed by Sidney Lumet. it's a perfect storm

[knives]

I absolutely love this film and would rank it as one of Lumet’s best (with the caveat that I think of him as generally poor, but with the further caveat I’ve seen all but six of his features).

Nostalgia plays a big role as my elementary school play was based on it. Still, I like how the style throughout has this grungy fantasy where there’s a lot of beauty to urban spheres.

[dx23]

Watch it as a kid and somewhat liked it but have never revisit it. Funny thing is that after the tribute performance at the Oscars in honor of Quincy Jones, the back of my mind said "I could see Criterion releasing this", and here we are.

[Eric]

There's most definitely a burgeoning revisionism taking shape for this movie, and my surprise that this is getting Criterionized (and, incidentally, my overwhelming joy) is entirely based on that they managed to nail down rights, not that it's in any way unworthy of inclusion.

Here's a great Letterboxd discussion with Black Film Archive's Maya Cade that touches briefly on why The Wiz is actually a key film in the evolution of Black American cinema (for better and, temporarily at least, worse): https://letterboxd.com/journal/black-mi ... m-archive/

It’s a Black retelling of The Wizard of Oz, but it’s just such a joyful film. This whole film is about longing for home and during the pandemic when I was longing for home and figuring out what home really meant to me, I gravitated towards this film.

It’s a film that is both a longing for home in New York City—that’s where the film is set, Dorothy’s home is New York City—but it’s also a film that celebrates Black abundance and Black being in a way that hasn’t been done in this particular way again.

[The Curious Sofa]

Its a really weird Lumet movie to pick, the man made a number of genuine classics and some underrated gems: I love Running on Empty and unlike many long-serving directors, he went out on a high.

I've always found The Wiz to be bizarrely lifeless, from an unflatteringly styled and photographed Diana Ross giving an enervated performance, to the musical numbers which are mostly staged as long static wide shots; there's this endless musical number on the World Trade Center Plaza with hundreds of people parading around which is probably the worst musical number ever, and all the money thrown at it can't save it. I tried to give this another shot not too long ago and this is where I threw in the towel. Nobody loves some glittery '70s disco kitsch more than me, but this thing is just ugly to look at.

If Criterion insists on having a bad Diana Ross movie in their collection, I'd prefer Mahoganny, which is at least entertaining in its hilarious wrongness.

[Tuppence]

I know Criterion have been negligent of preserving original soundtrack mixes for a very long time now, but only presenting a Dolby Atmos soundtrack for this 1978 film is strikingly lazy.

[tenia]

I'm surprised at this too. I wouldn't have been surprised for a studio-handled video release to do that, but that's exactly where I expect a boutique label (especially a premium one) not to just leave it at that.

[DRW.mov]

It just seems like an odd, perhaps uncharacteristic pick for Criterion, based on its overall reception. What do you think the reason for their releasing it is?

NYT article blowback and it's also directed by Sidney Lumet. it's a perfect storm

I'm pretty sick of almost any black film being added to the collection being met, here, on other forums, or on twitter, as cynically just "NYT article blowback." It questions the legitimacy of the film's credentials (an inherently subjective artistic metric anyway) and implies preferential treatment in a way that recalls Republicans decrying DEI practices for "taking jobs belonging to white people".
Its so tired at this point. There is not a single "black" film that's been added to the collection post-2020 that shouldn't have been there to begin with. The implication that they're haphazardly trying to slap C's into the upper left corner of any black film, quality be damned, to pacify a public outcry is more than a little disingenuous, and also, pretty racist.

[Beloved Aunt]

I absolutely love this film and would rank it as one of Lumet’s best (with the caveat that I think of him as generally poor, but with the further caveat I’ve seen all but six of his features).

What an utterly quirky opinion!

Nobody loves some glittery '70s disco kitsch more than me, but this thing is just ugly to look at.

Oswald Morris (who I adore) was nommed for an Oscar for this film--and that's not meant to chastise you, he seems like quite a peculiar choice for a glitzy funky black 70s Broadway musical film, at least based on all of my experience of his other work, and just as in every other category at the Oscars, they've made some to me totally baffling choices for Best Cinematography, like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which looks like muck, let alone Avatar and *ducks* Pan's Labyrinth, both of which film's visuals I thoroughly loathe!

[knives]

Talk about quirky opinions.

[ryannichols7]

It just seems like an odd, perhaps uncharacteristic pick for Criterion, based on its overall reception. What do you think the reason for their releasing it is?

NYT article blowback and it's also directed by Sidney Lumet. it's a perfect storm

I'm pretty sick of almost any black film being added to the collection being met, here, on other forums, or on twitter, as cynically just "NYT article blowback." It questions the legitimacy of the film's credentials (an inherently subjective artistic metric anyway) and implies preferential treatment in a way that recalls Republicans decrying DEI practices for "taking jobs belonging to white people".
Its so tired at this point. There is not a single "black" film that's been added to the collection post-2020 that shouldn't have been there to begin with. The implication that they're haphazardly trying to slap C's into the upper left corner of any black film, quality be damned, to pacify a public outcry is more than a little disingenuous, and also, pretty racist.

just because this company hires you to do art for them (and it would've been better had you done the art, I'm sure you would've actually been respectful to Diana Ross) doesn't mean you have to defend them. I personally don't think Criterion would've released this movie, or had any interest in it at all, prior to that article. there are numerous movies released, regardless of race or any other metric, that I don't think are particularly good that they would've released. just because I have an Asian background doesn't mean I think The Funeral or The Heroic Trio need to be here. I'm not disputing The Wiz being included, I personally don't find it all that shocking. all I'm stating is that Criterion likely wouldn't have had much interest in this title before, and that's genuinely the unfortunate case for a lot of titles they've released in the last few years. for better and worse

[The Curious Sofa]

Spoiler

I absolutely love this film and would rank it as one of Lumet’s best (with the caveat that I think of him as generally poor, but with the further caveat I’ve seen all but six of his features).

What an utterly quirky opinion!

Nobody loves some glittery '70s disco kitsch more than me, but this thing is just ugly to look at.

Oswald Morris (who I adore) was nommed for an Oscar for this film--and that's not meant to chastise you, he seems like quite a peculiar choice for a glitzy funky black 70s Broadway musical film, at least based on all of my experience of his other work, and just as in every other category at the Oscars, they've made some to me totally baffling choices for Best Cinematography, like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which looks like muck, let alone Avatar and *ducks* Pan's Labyrinth, both of which film's visuals I thoroughly loathe!

I think the art direction and costumes are really ugly. Morris had shot quite a few musicals, so he doesn't seem such an odd choice to me. And while none of them are films I particularly like, the musical numbers in those films don't have the remote, static quality of The Wiz, so I'll blame Lumet's inexperience and unsuitability for musicals here. They probably thought he could bring some urban credibilty to the project, as he was good with urban settings and gritty naturalism, but that didn't work out. John Badham was supposed to direct, and he would have been a better fit but I gather he left when Ross was cast.

I assume Criterion sees a money spinner here because of Wicked (a film I can't bring myself to watch because it too looks really ugly from everything I've seen.)

[Beloved Aunt]

I'd imagine Sidney doing a musical is at least somewhat like Sidney doing a comedy (see terrible films like the tonally bizarre Just Tell Me What You Want and even worse The Anderson Tapes), i.e. that he lacks an aptitude for it to a completely preposterous degree.

[ryannichols7]

also want to take a moment and say all the guesses for Dog Day Afternoon landed us with this

[Beloved Aunt]

I don't personally give a rat's ass what Criterion releases all that much, so long as they remember to do the requisite number of noble things like To Sleep with Anger, Carol Reed films etc. etc.

[ryannichols7]

I don't personally give a rat's ass what Criterion releases all that much, so long as they remember to do the requisite number of noble things like To Sleep with Anger, Carol Reed films etc. etc.

Killer of Sheep on 4K being a very cool release, though not unreasonable for us to ask for My Brother's Wedding too

I agree honestly. accepted a long time ago they're going to release plenty of things I don't like, but I still question things sometimes. I have no issue with The Wiz being here even if I don't care for it, but I do wish The Hill or 4Ks of Dog Day Afternoon or Network were in the spot instead. they have done a lot of very cool rescues over the last year or so, and 3 commentaries this month is a feat. my criticism of them has softened a lot, and I've been getting more

[TechnicolorAcid]

also want to take a moment and say all the guesses for Dog Day Afternoon landed us with this

I would be shocked if that’s all those guesses were building up to, especially because 1.) we have been given clues and direct confirmation that it’s been getting prepped for years and 2.) it does seem like prime July/August material this year considering that releasing a film called Dog Day Afternoon in the winter or fall would be horrible timing alongside the fact that it’s the film’s 50th anniversary this year.

[ryannichols7]

also want to take a moment and say all the guesses for Dog Day Afternoon landed us with this

I would be shocked if that’s all those guesses were building up to, especially because 1.) we have been given clues and direct confirmation that it’s been getting prepped for years and 2.) it does seem like prime July/August material this year considering that releasing a film called Dog Day Afternoon in the winter or fall would be horrible timing alongside the fact that it’s the film’s 50th anniversary this year.

if Warner was releasing it, surely they would've already right? feels like a Criterion to me, and we're due to have a Pacino-starring film too, something that still isn't a thing (sure, The Irishman but that's not nearly as starring). definitely feels like July/August, but I guess it most months