| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - MockingbirdGirl 01:00 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| "The Wiz" would be better (We already have a great film of "The Music Man" with Robert Preston and a real disaster film of "The Music Man" (starring Mathew Broderick) To date we only have a disaster film of "The Wiz" with a mid 30 year old Diana Ross as Dorothy | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Scott6263 10:00 am EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I saw the original Broadway production of "The Wiz" back in '75 or '76. Loved it! I went to see the movie version when it was released in '78.....what a catastrophe. A 30 year old whiny Dorothy? What were they thinking? All of the charm of the original had been destroyed by this over-bloated mess. A total critical and financial failure. Shame. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:42 pm EST 01/18/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Scott6263 10:00 am EST 01/18/15 |
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| i can't remember any of my friends liking the movie even when it first came out and some of them were obsessed with diana ross. i think the tipping point between just not liking the film and responding with something resembling moral outrage was/is influenced by whether or not you saw it on broadway. i remember enjoying THE WIZ on broadway very much but there was nothing earth-moving about it - until stephanie mills sang "home" and that's an experience i will never forget. that odd but wonderful, weirdly childlike and not at the same time voice coming out of that tiny little girl and going places with that song no one, including streisand, would ever take it again. stunning. no way diana ross in what could well be the biggest casting disaster ever was going to compete with that. i think the film of THE WIZ is a big ole mess but i don't hate it the way others do. then, i didn't have the investment in the broadway production others had, either. like i said i enjoyed it. i loved the design and, especially, the score but the magic, for me, was stephanie mills. | |
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| re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical | |
| Posted by: | Scott6263 09:43 am EST 01/19/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - enoch10 03:42 pm EST 01/18/15 |
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| Great points. My mother took me to see it on Broadway. We were mesmerized by the whole thing. Just a completely joyous affair. Then the film came out. Thud city. Diana Ross destroyed that film. Nothing at all like "Dorothy" should be.....way too old, crying, whining. The whole movie was just so "over" everything.....they threw in everything but the kitchen sink. And it sunk. I love "The Wiz"...the story, that score. I wish it was remade....this time into a quality movie musical. | |
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| am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: THE WIZ -- not MUSIC MAN -- might be NBC's next live musical - Greg_M 01:31 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I understand why people don't think it's good, and how it isn't the same as the stage show... but I actually very much buy the justification they establish for why Dorothy is so old... and I think that setting it in NYC and taking advantage of all that is a really smart (smarter than the original version I might even say) way of doing the show. And it's a very fun movie that retains almost the entire score, and all the songs are performed fantastically! What's not to like. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | mermaniac 06:42 pm EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I've always loved it, and always will. Critics don't know anything, gang ! | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | PlazaBoy 11:53 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| I'm with you. I thought Ross nicely played this more mature and repressed version of Dorthy. Her chemistry with Micheal Jackson is so strong and watching them ease on the down the road is thrilling to me. I also like the NYC setting. The only parts of the film I dislike are the lengthy Emerald City sequence where the fashions change colors and every moment of Richard Pryor's performance. I was never a fan of his, and this film did not change my mind. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 12:05 am EST 01/17/15 |
| In reply to: | re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - PlazaBoy 11:53 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| ...the lengthy Emerald City sequence where the fashions change colors... Oh, god yes - that whole "color changing" thing was unbelievably awful, and pointless. The first time I saw that, I kept wondering if all of a sudden it was a different movie, and when the hell we were going to get back to The Wiz. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 06:08 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| You just might be. I remember it being awful. I did not mind Diana Ross's age, but I did mind her weeping through so much of the film. And it was awfully ugly to look at. A rare misfire from Sidney Lumet, who perhaps was not the man to direct a musical, all black or otherwise. | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 05:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chazwaza 05:09 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| And it's a very fun movie that retains almost the entire score, and all the songs are performed fantastically! "So You Wanted To See The Wizard" (one of my favorite songs in the stage score) reduced to one line, as NOT sung by Pryor? ;-) | |
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| re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 07:49 pm EST 01/16/15 |
| In reply to: | re: am I the only one who likes the movie of The Wiz? - Chromolume 05:50 pm EST 01/16/15 |
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| Yeah, I know.. that's one of my favorite songs too and I don't know why they did that. But a LOT of the score was retained. | |
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