DVD Review

The Wiz: 30th Anniversary Edition (2008)

Reviewed by David Barbour | Feb 08, 2008

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Details DVD Release Date: Feb 12, 2008; With: Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Diana Ross and Ted Ross

$BOOS AND OZ Director Sidney Lumet called his adaptation of \'70s Broadway hit The Wiz a disaster; the 30th anniversary...$

Image credit: Kobal Collection

BOOS AND OZ Director Sidney Lumet called his adaptation of '70s Broadway hit The Wiz a disaster; the 30th anniversary DVD just proves his point

Director Sidney Lumet called The Wiz a disaster, and he'll get no argument: Whatever fun this funked-up Wizard of Oz had on Broadway is erased by miscasting and a hideous design (Oz as a New York slum). Diana Ross' Dorothy is an emotional basket case; Michael Jackson has none of the Scarecrow's requisite aw-shucks charm. EXTRAS A late-'70s promo (producer Rob Cohen says this modest pic got super-sized when Ross came on); an eight-song CD, which inexcusably excludes ''Believe in Yourself,'' Lena Horne's showstopper as Glinda. D-

Originally posted Feb 08, 2008 Published in issue #978 Feb 15, 2008 Order article reprints

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