One of the greatest disappointments of Sidney Lumet’s career was The Wiz, an all-black musical that transposed to contemporary Manhattan the Judy Garland classic MGM, The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Grade: C
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Theatrical release poster
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The movie’s cast includes the most popular singers and actors at the time: Diana Ross in the lead, and Lena Horne, Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor in supporting roles.
The long-gestating project turned out to be a critical and box-office failure. It was the one time in Lumet’s career that he went over schedule and over budget.
But The Wiz is credited with launching the recently refurbished Astoria movie studios, in Queens, which had been shut down for years.
Undamaged and undeterred, Lumet followed with two of the best films in his career: Prince of the City and The Verdict.
Credits:
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Screenplay by Joel Schumacher, based on The Wiz by William F. Brown, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Produced by Rob Cohen
Cinematography Oswald Morris
Edited by Dede Allen
Music by Charlie Smalls
Production company: Motown Productions
Distributed by Universal
Release date: October 24, 1978
Running time: 133 minutes[
Budget $24 million
Box office $21 million
