The Wizard of Oz
is an odd movie. It's a classic, one every kid grows up watching. It also has a certain mythos about it – the “Dark Side of the Moon” thing for instance, in which the classic Pink Floyd album supposedly provides a perfect soundtrack for the film. (It's generally considered to be bogus, but one has to admit, there are some interesting parallels, both lyrically and musically, especially the period from the songs “Time” through to “Money.”) There's also that whole rumor about how one of the actors who played a Munchkin hung himself and that you can see it way off in the background in one scene if you look closely enough. Also untrue, and if you look, it's obviously not somebody hanging himself.
The film is based on the book by Frank L. Baum, which has been adapted many times (there are several film versions before the one we now know and love) into many different mediums. We are going to talk about the '70s, though. In 1975 the film was reimagined on Broadway with an all-African-American cast, and in 1978 this was adapted into a film, and this film is called:
.
Diana Ross plays Dorothy, the girl who gets whisked away to the magical land of Oz for a series of musical adventures, accompanied by the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion (Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross, respectively) as they set out to get a brain, a heart, and courage, as well as return Dorothy to her home in Harlem.
Baxter Avenue Theaters presents
The Wiz
tomorrow, Saturday, for a special midnight screening. Baxter Avenue Theater is located at 1250 Bardstown Road. Further theater information and advance ticket sales can be found at the Baxter Avenue Theater website.
(For Further consideration: check out John Boorman's cult classic
Zardoz
. You'll see. Also, you're welcome.)
Image: Internet Movie Database
