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Mon, Dec 20

THE WIZ

  • Dir. Sidney Lumet
  • USA
  • 1978
  • 134 min.
  • G
  • DCP
  • Assistive Listening
  • Hearing Loop
THE WIZ

Part of Holiday Classics and Music City Mondays.

Ease on down the road with schoolteacher Diana Ross, Richard Pryor in the title role, the Good Witch Lena Horne and all the rest in this adaptation of the all-Black Broadway version of The Wizard of Oz. Produced by Berry Gordy, its original songs by Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross were adapted and arranged by Quincy Jones with an assist from Ashford and Simpson. The release of THE WIZ wasn’t considered a success at the time, but has since become a cult classic.

Lumet and his inspired collaborators have succeeded in fabricating and navigating one majestic, rabble-rousing Mother Ship of a musical, a sublimely happy moviegoing experience.” —Gary Arnold, Washington Post

“Director Sidney Lumet has created what amounts to a love letter to the city of New York, which he equates with Oz.” Variety

The Belcourt Theatre does not provide advisories about subject matter or potential triggering content, as sensitivities vary from person to person.

Beyond the synopses, trailers and review links on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense MediaIMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.