Press Release Criterion Press Release: The Wiz (1978) (4k UHD Combo) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

That's accurate when you look at the entirety of their catalog but I do think that, among film fans, Criterion is best known and most recognized for releasing "great films".

True but I think the current physical media business climate is forcing them to alter that business model to a certain degree.

 

[TravisR]

True but I think the current physical media business climate is forcing them to alter that business model to a certain degree.

Agreed and I'm glad that they release a wide variety of movies. Nothing wrong with putting out The Wiz and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and Female Trouble and Seven Samurai and Citizen Kane.

 

[RichMurphy]

My grandfather, father and I have never laughed so hard together over anything as we did with that film.

I had a similar experience seeing MOTHER theatrically. I went with my beloved aunt (my mother's sister) and we both laughed out loud repeatedly. It was great seeing my late mother portrayed on the screen by Debbie Reynolds.

For this reason, the Criterion MOTHER was a required purchase for me. If only it came with a protective layer of frost. LOL

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

At some point or another since it began in 1984 Criterion has released:

Ghostbusters
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Silverado
The Blob
The Rock
Armageddon
Robocop
And many, MANY other so-called "mainstream" movies.

Don't give me this crap.

How many of those were released on something other than laser disc? Is it just The Blob?

Also, was Criterion the first company to do commentary tracks?

 

[Lord Dalek]

How many of those were released on something other than laser disc? Is it just The Blob?

All but the first three are also on dvd.

And also...

This is Spinal Tap
The Princess Bride
Bull Durham
etc.
etc.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Agreed and I'm glad that they release a wide variety of movies. Nothing wrong with putting out The Wiz and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and Female Trouble and Seven Samurai and Citizen Kane.

Interestingly, I think all of those releases, and the ones in Joel's post, could be justified because they have some sort of "significance" and that significance does not have to be that they were seen as a great film. Sometimes it is about the filmmaker being very unique, or the film itself representing some sort of standard of the genre, or some other aspect that just makes the film standout. I think probably because they released a lot of classic films, foreign films, films on "best" lists people pigeonholed them as being about releasing "great" films when in truth, even in the laser disc/early days they released films that stood out but not necessarily because they were great or classic, or arthouse gems.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

All but the first three are also on dvd.

And also...

This is Spinal Tap
The Princess Bride
Bull Durham
etc.
etc.

I bought the Silverado and Close Encounters laser discs. Back then I don't think people saw Criterion as a company that was doing only great films, I think their standout thing was the special features they were adding. Which grew with DVD and then Blu and now interestingly, I think they have pulled back from a bit.

 

[tenia]

True but I think the current physical media business climate is forcing them to alter that business model to a certain degree.

It all depends on whether one thinks they are adding in a meaningful strctural fashion "not great" or insignificant movies. As TravisR wrote, that's not necessarily the case, so it might be more a matter of Criterion still releasing great or significant movies... just not some one would spontaneously think about.
Personally, I actually prefer a great discovery than a known quantity even if great. Most of my fondest recent Criterion watches were things I didn't know before, and I think one of their best recent releases is their Marlon Riggs set.

 

[JoshZ]

Ghostbusters
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Silverado
The Blob
The Rock
Armageddon
Robocop
How many of those were released on something other than laser disc? Is it just The Blob?

Also, was Criterion the first company to do commentary tracks?

Criterion also released The Rock, Armageddon, and RoboCop on DVD. IIRC, the others were only on Laserdisc.

 

[TravisR]

It all depends on whether one thinks they are adding in a meaningful strctural fashion "not great" or insignificant movies. As TravisR wrote, that's not necessarily the case, so it might be more a matter of Criterion still releasing great or significant movies... just not some one would spontaneously think about.

Yeah, I think there's very few movies released by Criterion that wouldn't qualify as being significant in some form. If those small number of "insignificant" movies helped pay the bills so be it.

 

[JoshZ]

I suppose it is interesting that they seem to be releasing every Wes Anderson film and I wonder how that deal came to be because it seems to say every one of his films is already "Criterion worthy" if that is how people look at it. I love Wes, love getting his films on Criterion but I bet every filmmaker would love that deal.

Criterion has close relationships with certain filmmakers. Criterion likes working with them, and the filmmakers like the cachet that being part of the Criterion Collection brings to their work. It's been rumored that Wes Anderson has it written into his contracts that all of his films must be made available for licensing to Criterion after a set period of time, usually a few years after the main studio's own initial release. (However, it's been a while and we still haven't seen Isle of Dogs or The French Dispatch yet. I have no doubt they'll come eventually, though.)

Terry Gilliam and David Lynch (R.I.P.) also fall into this category. I assume Albert Brooks does too, and the main reason we got Mother and Real Life last year was because he'd already worked with them on Broadcast News, Lost in America and Defending Your Life previously, and both sides wanted to continue that relationship.

As for Mother, I saw it in the theater. It was a cute movie. I enjoyed it. I also hadn't given it so much as a moment's worth of thought in the 28 years after that screening until the Criterion release was announced.

Do I dislike the movie? No. Do I think it merits a $49.95 deluxe Criterion release? Also certainly no.

Broadcast News, on the other hand, yeah I get that one. I can support (and in fact already own) the Criterion release of that.

[Edit: Total brain-fart on my part there. Although Albert Brooks starred in Broadcast News, that movie was of course written and directed by James L. Brooks - no relation.]

 

[jbirdp]

I’m sorry all you The Wiz film fans, but I could never get past a 33 year-old Diana Ross playing what was a young innocent teenage girl. It came across as intellectually disabled and destroyed all the charm of the original character.

 

[HDVizion]

I’m sorry all you The Wiz film fans, but I could never get past a 33 year-old Diana Ross playing what was a young innocent teenage girl. It came across as intellectually disabled and destroyed all the charm of the original character.

Judy Garland didn't exactly look like the little ~11 year old from the book either...

 

[Capt D McMars]

It would be very difficult to get a commentary from the film maker. Sidney Lumet is dead. But perhaps your comment was tongue in cheek.

There's always studio footage and tv interviews to field through...but I get it!!

 

[jbirdp]

Judy Garland didn't exactly look like the little ~11 year old from the book either...

Sure, but at 16 Judy Garland was still able to portray all the wide-eyed innocence of a child unlike Diana Ross, an adult acting childlike.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Judy Garland didn't exactly look like the little ~11 year old from the book either...

Sure, but at 16 Judy Garland was still able to portray all the wide-eyed innocence of a child unlike Diana Ross, an adult acting childlike.

Stephanie Mills from the Baltimore and Broadway productions wasn't 11 either; she was 17, but from all reports conveyed that wide-eyed innocence in the same way as Garland [I was only 3 when the production premiered in 1974, so I wouldn't know]; alas, Miss Ross had to throw her weight around to get the coveted role at the age of "checks notes" 34? This prompted a significant rewrite of the character to an elementary school teacher, which makes absolutely no sense to the story. I like the movie in spite of this, but still wonder how much better it could have been with Mills in the role.

 

[darkrock17]

Stephanie Mills from the Baltimore and Broadway productions wasn't 11 either; she was 17, but from all reports conveyed that wide-eyed innocence in the same way as Garland [I was only 3 when the production premiered in 1974, so I wouldn't know]; alas, Miss Ross had to throw her weight around to get the coveted role at the age of "checks notes" 34? This prompted a significant rewrite of the character to an elementary school teacher, which makes absolutely no sense to the story. I like the movie in spite of this, but still wonder how much better it could have been with Mills in the role.

Diana got to be Dorothy simply because she wanted to and during the the 70's she was a big star with hit singles and hit movies. Stephanie may have been considered initially, but she didn't have star power that Diana had. The same reason why Audrey Hepburn played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady over Julie Andrews.

Also by the time the movie was be filmed in 1977, Stephanie was still in the Broadway show, so she might have not been able to leave and do the movie because of her commitment with the show. I just watched an interview of her talking about playing Dorothy in the original version and she played Dorothy for 5 years.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Diana got to be Dorothy simply because she wanted to and during the the 70's she was a big star with hit singles and hit movies.

This is pretty much what I said. Miss Ross' diva reputation precedes her, especially with Motown being a credited production company.

 

[darkrock17]

This is pretty much what I said. Miss Ross' diva reputation precedes her, especially with Motown being a credited production company.

The Supremes came from Mowtown

 

[DarkVader]

Diana got to be Dorothy simply because she wanted to and during the the 70's she was a big star with hit singles and hit movies. Stephanie may have been considered initially, but she didn't have star power that Diana had. The same reason why Audrey Hepburn played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady over Julie Andrews.

Also by the time the movie was be filmed in 1977, Stephanie was still in the Broadway show, so she might have not been able to leave and do the movie because of her commitment with the show. I just watched an interview of her talking about playing Dorothy in the original version and she played Dorothy for 5 years.

They would have worked that out. Berry Gordy wanted her in the film.

This was when it was a lower-budgeted production that was being produced by Motown Productions.

As many already know Miss Ross got wind of it and she contacted Berry Gordy, who told her she was too old for the part. Since Miss Ross doesn't take no for an answer she got Rob Cohen from Universal involved. Cohen loved the idea and got in contact with Berry Gordy and convinced him to cast Diana and in turn Universal would co-produce the film with Motown.

This afforded them a much bigger budget than intended, financial security, and a big star in the lead to ensure box office success.

We all know how *that* turned out.

According to Mills she and Michael Jackson were "playing house" in NYC while he was filming THE WIZ and she did visit the film set on numerous occasions.