2025 | Restoration Screening

“Innumerable blessings, countless felicitations. Thank you beyond number and additional good stuff!”

Thursday, December 4
Parkway Theatre | 7:00pm

Restoration Screening
THE WIZ

Nearly five decades since its original release, The Wiz remains a defining moment in cinematic history, celebrated for its bold, revolutionary vision of Oz. Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, The Wiz tells the story of Dorothy (Diana Ross), a Harlem schoolteacher who is transported to the magical land of Oz during a snowstorm.

There, she embarks on a journey to meet the all-powerful ruler of Oz, The Wiz (Richard Pryor), and find a way back home. Along the way, she is joined by the legendary trio of Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), Tinman (Nipsey Russell) and Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross), alongside a stellar cast that includes  Theresa Merritt as Aunt Em, Mabel King as Evillene, and Lena Horne as Glinda the Good.

The film’s music, a vibrant fusion of soul, R&B, rock, and gospel, remains an unforgettable part of its cultural legacy. Legendary music titan Quincy Jones, the film’s music supervisor and producer, reimagined Charlie Smalls’ Broadway compositions, infusing them with cinematic grandeur that brought the music to life on the big screen.

Universal Pictures has restored The Wiz in stunning 4K, from the 35mm Original Picture Negative and featuring a new mix from the Original 1” 8 Track Stereo Music Masters, 2” 24 Track Original Music Recordings and the 35mm Mag Stems held in the Universal Pictures Vault. Restored and mixed at NBCUniversal StudioPost.

As part of the project, Universal’s team of restoration experts conducted extensive research into the original music produced by Quincy Jones, remixing the original recordings in Dolby Atmos. The new mix will be presented in select theaters, offering an immersive sonic experience that honors the brilliance of Jones’s original work while enhancing it for today’s theatrical environment.

Released in October 1978, The Wiz received four Academy Award nominations: Best Cinematography for Oswald Morris; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration for Tony Walton, Philip Rosenberg, Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller; Best Costume Design for Walton; and Best Music Adaptation Score for Jones.