Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Spoonixel Amateur movie with Big budget

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Benjamin Black I remember talking with people about this movie and watching it with others as a kid, and all of them loved it. As I got older, I read the reviews and criticisms of the film, and...people seem to hate this movie. Even as I scroll through the reviews on this website, I see a lot of posts that really pan the film. "This is a horrible, terrible movie," people say. Really? Is it really all that bad? I really enjoy it, and can't understand why a lot of people are so hard it. Does my enjoyment come from sheer nostalgia, or is there something here I'm seeing that other people don't?Well, what's bad about the movie? Well, I guess it's some of the changes to the story the filmmakers made. Like I began saying earlier, a lot of them just don't make sense. Why doesn't Dorothy live in Kansas? Why is she a kindergarten teacher? Why is the Wiz reduced to a scaredy cat? For those of you thinking that they wanted to change it to move away from the original "Wizard of Oz" story, or they wanted the film to appeal to Black people, keep in mind two problems with that: 1) Why would you try to appeal to Black people by changing the content from the original? The original already became timeless by focusing on the characters and story. When you try to make something appeal to a specific demographic of people by changing the location, characteristics, and type of dialogue, it doesn't become appealing, but patronizing. "What? Black people don't live in Kansas?" The audience will be with you so long as you treat them like human beings, not a different species of people. 2) This movie is also based on the Broadway musical, "The Wiz," which had a younger Dorothy set in Kansas, and a lot of other changes from the movie that came from the original story.Also, I mentioned earlier that Dorothy is a teacher. The reason is because Diana Ross begged the makers of the film to cast her in the movie, and she would ensure that Michael Jackson would also be in the film...Oh, and there's another flaw, I suppose: Michael Jackson, for as much as I love him, isn't a great actor. He has his moments, but overall he's not that great. To be fair, though, he's much better than Diana Ross. Again, I like her, but she just doesn't phase me as an actress. I don't think she's engaged in her character, and she often looks lost. The biggest problem I think this movie has is its changes and adaptations. It's not that they exist themselves - if you're going to make a movie based on a book, story, play, whatever, there are going to be changes. But the changes that are made just don't make sense, and they don't pay off well for the movie.With that being said, are there no good things to be said about the movie? On the contrary, I think there are a lot of good things about it! First of all, there are the songs! These songs will definitely have you singing and dancing along! They're written great, they're performed great, and they're memorable! I also like the performers in this film! I know I said Diana Ross and Michael Jackson were underwhelming, but there are moments their acting is fine. Plus, their songs are great. I also enjoy Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Mabel King, Thelma Carpenter, and Theresa Merritt. Maybe it wasn't easy for them trying to act through bad writing, but their performances are enjoyable...It's hard to watch this film and not feel sad, though; all the main performers have passed away except for Diana Ross.For the most part, the costumes looks real. Michael Jackson doesn't look like he's dressed as a scarecrow - he looks like a scarecrow! Nipsey Russell doesn't look like he put on a tinman costume - he is a tinman! Ted Ross...looks like he's in a lion costume - I said "for the most part!" Also, I like how the message is delivered in this version of "The Wizard of Oz." I'll admit, I have seen the 1939 film adaptation in a long time, and I've never read the original book by L. Frank Baum. However, I love the way the message is conveyed in this adaptation out of all the versions I have seen. When you watch this movie, you get that the message is look inside yourself, you'll have what you've been searching for all along. This message isn't as clear, obvious, or memorable in the original movie adaptation. I know I'll have to watch it again, but I remember the message in this movie a lot more.Maybe I can't defend this as a good movie since there are some major problems with this adaptation, but if it is bad I think it's due to the different changes that were made in the writing, producing, and directing. However, the other aspects are so entertaining that they'll keep you coming back. I love the performers, I love the songs, I love the message, I love the quotable lines. In all honesty, this one is a favorite of mine. Hopefully you can take what I said and see if you agree; check it out. God bless you, and much love! BOOYIKA!

Lee Eisenberg I understand that Sidney Lumet's Motown-themed adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" is one of those movies that people usually either love or hate. I suspect that a lot of people found it odd that he went from "Network" to a musical. As for me, I found "The Wiz" an OK movie. It's a fun movie, more than anything. I should say that it's a little harder to like the movie once you learn that it basically espouses Werner Erhard's shadowy EST movement by talking about understanding one's true self. On its own "The Wiz" is a good time. Diana Ross (as Dorothy) and Michael Jackson (as the scarecrow) get top billing, but I liked Richard Pryor's performance as the wizard the most.So that's it. I liked the movie. It does exactly what it intends to do.

JasparLamarCrabb An overstuffed movie musical and a major blunder by the great Sidney Lumet. This urbanized version of THE WIZARD OF OZ stars a far too old Diana Ross as Dorothy, an inner city school teacher whisked off to a very late 1970s fantasy land (which looks like a disco-fied Manhattan)...she encounters a scarecrow (Michael Jackson), a lion (Ted Ross) and a tin man (Nipsey Russell). There's very little fantasy in this monstrosity and what should have been an enjoyable experience is in fact a lumbering bore. Ross, who proved her acting mettle with LADY SINGS THE BLUES is miscast to the point of distraction. This pretty much ended her movie career. The usually enjoyable Richard Pryor plays "the Wiz" as a bumbling fool. Nevertheless, the film is not without merit. A big plus is a couple of the musical numbers. Michael Jackson is dynamite as the scarecrow and as "Evillene", Mabel King performs the show-stopping "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News." The stunning cinematography by Oswald Morris earned an Oscar nomination.

austinlovesjapan This is one heck of an underrated movie. It has sadly been raped by critics, anime fans, and racists. I love this movie and is not as bad as you may think. It has one of the best music scores of all time. It ending is very emotional. When You Believe is one of the most emotional songs ever. Michael Jackson's performance is one of the best. This "Diana Ross was too old to play Dorothy" is totally false. This was the way it was intended. It was intended for Dorothy to be a 24 year old teacher. This movie is just as good as the Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz and the Broadway play and It was not a commercial flop, that is just false information from your mind. This movie is not a flop and will be remembered and acclaimed in the future. I highly recomendded it