The Wiz Review: Amazing Performances & Catchy Musical Numbers Are Let Down By Shaky Direction

Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, The Wiz is a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz told through the lens of contemporary African-American culture. In this version, Dorothy Gale is whisked away from her apartment in Harlem to an urban-fantasy rendition of the Land of Oz. The Wiz was panned by critics and became a box office bomb upon its initial release in 1978, but it’s since been re-evaluated as a beloved cult classic. It’s a movie like no other, but the experiment doesn’t always work.