The Wiz Live Coming on DVD

[jobeterob]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/just-in-time-for-the-holidays-universal-sets-dec-22-dvd-package-release-for-the-wiz-live-20151205

[Mark Desjardines]

I have a DVD recorder which I used to tape the original broadcast, but this DVD with extras is mostly likely well worth getting. I see that theres is also a cast soundtrack available as well. Very savy marketing. I'd say a classic in the making. Remember - the original The Wizard of Oz 1939 film and the 1978 Lumet directed The Wiz got panned by critics. Fans seem to have much better taste than "critics" and both are now considered classics in heir own right. So will The Wiz Live in time.

[marv2]

I have a DVD recorder which I used to tape the original broadcast, but this DVD with extras is mostly likely well worth getting. I see that theres is also a cast soundtrack available as well. Very savy marketing. I'd say a classic in the making. Remember - the original The Wizard of Oz 1939 film and the 1978 Lumet directed The Wiz got panned by critics. Fans seem to have much better taste than "critics" and both are now considered classics in heir own right. So will The Wiz Live in time.


This show was better than both of them.

[SupremeBoy]

This show was better than both of them.

I agree that this show was better than the 1978 film. The 1978 film lacked any sens of joy. It was just way too dark. The only infectiously joyous number in the whole fiasco was Vandross' "Everybody Rejoice".

I own DVD's of the two previous LIVE! broadcasts done by NBC and for the most part what is released is a combination of a previous dress rehearsal and the best of what was shown on the live broadcast.

I'm looking forward to the DVD release because although I thought the production to be a very, very good one it suffered from lousy camerawork.

I just wished they would have kept Glinda's song, "A Rested Body is a Rested Mind" and the Wiz's "Who Do You Think You Are?". Also they trimmed the length of the "Tornado" sequence and the "Emerald City" and "Khalida" sequences as well, but I'll take this version over the film version.

[marv2]

I agree that this show was better than the 1978 film. The 1978 film lacked any sens of joy. It was just way too dark. The only infectiously joyous number in the whole fiasco was Vandross' "Everybody Rejoice".

I own DVD's of the two previous LIVE! broadcasts done by NBC and for the most part what is released is a combination of a previous dress rehearsal and the best of what was shown on the live broadcast.

I'm looking forward to the DVD release because although I thought the production to be a very, very good one it suffered from lousy camerawork.

I just wished they would have kept Glinda's song, "A Rested Body is a Rested Mind" and the Wiz's "Who Do You Think You Are?". Also they trimmed the length of the "Tornado" sequence and the "Emerald City" and "Khalida" sequences as well, but I'll take this version over the film version.

Supremeboy, I watched the entire show and the special makings of... segment on my Cable system's On Demand service. It was great! I notice that they were selling the DVD on ebay already. It is bootleg copies from television I am sure. Hulu has the entire show up for viewing as well. The 1978 movie was greatly anticipated. I have the magazine that contained hundreds of pictures about the making of the movie. I was pretty disappointed when I saw the film in the theater though.

[Jerry Oz]

I forgot the show was coming on and missed the first 15 minutes of it. :mad: With that said, I truly enjoyed it and I agree with SupremeBoy that the camera work was slipshod. It would have been better served with three stationary widescreen cameras, one on each side and one in the front. Closeups don't serve a purpose for a Broadway play and jumping to multiple views was a vanity move by the director.

I remember being disappointed by the film. Without going into detail, they put a lot of money into it but between casting and overall production, there was a lot of room for improvement.

[calvin]

Remember - the original The Wizard of Oz 1939 film and the 1978 Lumet directed The Wiz got panned by critics.

The original 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" was considered at the time to be one of the best films of the year, in what was a very good year for films. It was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture*. It was voted 7th-best film of the year [[out of 448 films considered) in a poll of 542 film critics by Film Daily. It was popular and widely viewed, though it didn't make a profit on its initial release due its high costs [[it was not expected to). True, it gained stature in later years with television broadcasts, but it was always generally considered to be a good film.

[[*The 1939 winner for Best Picture was "Gone With The Wind", which was released in December 1939. It's not included in the Film Daily list because it didn't open in most parts of the US until the next year. It opened in Detroit on 25 January, 1940.)

https://archive.org/stream/filmdaily77wids#page/n79/mode/2up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_[[1939_film)#Reception

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/11/entertainment/la-et-mn-original-wizard-reaction-20130311

The 1978 film was, in my opinion, rightly panned by critics. I watched it for my first [[and only) time a few years ago. It has some moments, but for the most part I found it dreary and I had to force myself to watch it until the end.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the recent live broadcast. I may try this on DVD.

[REDHOT]

The Wiz Live,i loved it,from start to finish,a great cast,Shanice Williams is the best Dorothy ever,as far as The Wiz goes,i can't wait to buy the dvd,The Wiz Live.loved it.

[TheMotownManiac]

How refreshing to see The Wiz as it was intended instead of the hideous, ugly mess the 1978 film was. I wish they had included all of the Broadway songs, but anything is better than what was out there already. I won't be buying the DVD as I've made one already and don't care about the extras, I just feel sorry that the surviving cast members of the film have to live to see it done correctly.

[jobeterob]

I see this outdid Peter Pan but didn't match The Sound of Music.

I guess there has been criticism but all The Wiz's have in the end been huge successes.

[SupremeBoy]

I see this outdid Peter Pan but didn't match The Sound of Music.

I guess there has been criticism but all The Wiz's have in the end been huge successes.


It received uniformly good reviews, many going on record to say that out of the three live musicals NBC has broadcast, "The Wiz" is by far the best one so far.

This production, or a version of it will be going to Broadway in the Fall of 2016 for the 2016-2017 Broadway season. Cirque De Soleil will be involved and Kenny Leon will direct the stage revival as well.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the executive producers have all offered everyone involved in this broadcast the opportunity to reprise their respective roles on Broadway.

Who knows, maybe they will restore some material that was cut like Glinda's other song, "A Rested Body is A Rested Mind" as well as The Wiz's "Who Do You Think You Are".

I do hope they decide to restore the "Tornado", "Emerald City" and "Khalida" sequences to their original lengths. They were shortened for the TV broadcast.

10846

[REDHOT]

Supremeboy i agree with you,and Thanks for sharing this great news,The WIZ back on Broadway,i love it.

[midnightman]

William F. Brown's musical lives on 40 years later! :D

[marv2]

William F. Brown's musical lives on 40 years later! :D

Yes it does and this latest production was the absolute BEST!

[SupremeBoy]

Supremeboy i agree with you,and Thanks for sharing this great news,The WIZ back on Broadway,i love it.

You're welcome!

Oh and here is a bit of news that will excite many:


An announcement is expected shortly that Mills will return to Broadway in the upcoming Leon-helmed revival of 'The Wiz' next year. But she's mum on that. Well sort of.


"I'm just so happy about 2016 because they are taking it to Broadway and they start rehearsals in August and people get to enjoy the journey and the yellow brick role all over again

Source:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/stephanie-mills-forty-years-wiz-n471651

[SupremeBoy]

Here's another interview where she mentions the possibility of playing "Aunt Em" in the upcoming Broadway revival:

The singer, who recently released her latest single, “Afraid to Love" featuring Jodeci singer K-Ci Haley on Apple music on November 27, expressed her interest in reprising her role as Aunt Em for the 2016-2017 Broadway revival of “The Wiz.”


“Kenny Leon has asked me about it. I hope that I’m asked to do the Broadway show. I would love to go back to Broadway with the Wiz as Aunt Em,” she said. “Kenny told me that I’m making history again. He said, ‘You made history playing Dorothy, now you’re going to be the only actress that has come back to a revival in a different role.’ So I’m pretty jazzed about that.”

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stephanie-mills-returning-to-the-wiz_5660ae01e4b079b2818ddccb

[SupremeBoy]

Here's another interview where it is mentioned:

"The Wiz" is set to go Broadway after the TV one-off. Would Mills reprise Aunt Em on the Great White Way? "Yes," she says, "in a heartbeat."

Source:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/broadway-star-stephanie-mills-starstruck-wiz-live-article-1.2385243

[sansradio]

Thanks, SupremeBoy! I had no idea K-Ci Hailey and Stephanie were cousins.