Diana Ross

Michael Jackson

Nipsey Russell

Ted Ross

Mabel King

Theresa Merritt

Thelma Carpenter

Lena Horne

Richard Pryor

Stanley Greene

Clyde J. Barrett

Derrick Bell

Roderick-Spencer Sibert

Kashka Banjoko

Ronald "Smokey" Stevens

Toney Brealond

Joe Lynn

Clinton Jackson

Charles Rodriguez

Carlton Johnson

Ted Williams

Mabel Robinson

Damon Pearce

Donna Patrice Ingram

Harry Madsen

Glory Van Scott

Vicki Baltimore

Carles Cleveland

Mariann Aalda

Aaron Boddie

Gay Faulkner

Ted Butler

T.B. Skinner

Jamie Perry

Daphne McWilliams

H. Douglas Berring

James Shaw

Johnny Brown

Gyle Waddy

Dorothi Fox

Frances Salisbury

Beatrice Dunmore

Traci Core

Donald King

Claude Brooks

Billie Allen

Willie C. Carpenter

Denice De Jon Nortez

Kevin Stockton

Alvin Alexis

Iman

Quincy Jones

Duke Thorbs

Sidney Lumet

Joel Schumacher

Kenneth Harper

Rob Cohen

Berry Gordy

Charlie Smalls

Dede Allen

Anna Hill Johnstone

Oswald Morris

Edward Garzero

Gloria Gresham

Norman Leigh

Robert N. Tucker Jr.

Conrad 'Connie' F. Brink

Carl Fullerton

James A. Contner

Scott Cunningham

Marilyn Putnam

Eugene Powell

Robert Laden

Al Nahmias

Lynne Twentyman

Jack Fitzstephens

Stan Bochner

Kenneth Goss

Ted Long

George Newman

Marlayna Franklin

Grace Blake

Jack Priestley

Marc Laub

Ronald Roose

Angelo Corrao

Al Griswold

Michael R. Thomas

Allen Weisinger

William A. Farley

Hal Levinsohn

Alan Hopkins

Burtt Harris

Hank Muller

Tony Walton

Louis Johnson

Kenneth Utt

John Jay Moore

Robert Drumheller

Albert Whitlock

Stan Winston

Edward Stewart

James Sabat

Dona Granata

Everett Creach

Philip Rosenberg

Dick Vorisek

L. Frank Baum

William F. Brown

Music

Fantasy

Adventure

The Wiz

Motown Productions

United States of America

CinemaSerf

Whilst I think this really does work on stage, I really didn't much rate this African-American take on the timeless "Wizard of Oz" tale. It seems much more intent on making a political statement than it does on entertaining anyone, and given I'm not from the community it was made by and for, I felt a bit like I was not really invited to the party. The story itself sees a slightly older "Dorothy" (Diana Ross) chasing her dog through a heavy snowfall. She gets hopelessly lost and next thing she is in a mysterious land ("Oz") and must find the legendary wizard if she is ever to sing her way back to Harlem. The snag with this plot here is that her life in New York was none too enjoyable, so after a while here making new friends - including Michael Jackson's "Scarecrow", and singing and dancing her way through life, I did wonder what she actually wanted to get back for. The remainder of the story largely follows the gist of the original Baum novel, peppered with some of Quincy Jones best efforts, and so no there's not a jot of jeopardy as she plods along the yellow brick road towards a typically theatrical, power ballad, denouement. There's no question Ross can sing, but somehow nobody here ever imbues thire songs with much personality or character. They are just repetitions of the vinyl versions with little to personalise them for the big screen. It's not a bad film, and it does try to take some risks with the creativity, but for me I just didn't feel at all engaged.