For some, Wicked shows from its trailers a photography lacking colors compared to the Wizard of Oz. Director Jon M. Chu explains his choice.
Wicked is well on its way to becoming the expected phenomenon. With a start on American soil at 114 million dollars, the adaptation of the famous musical comedy with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande has far exceeded Gladiator 2 over its first weekend (56 million). If the Broadway show – reinvention of the universe of Wizard of Oz – is not necessarily the most identified in France, its incredible success for more than 20 years in the United States and the United Kingdom made it a more than logical film project, and Universal obviously did well to invest in it.
Furthermore, the feature film by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Where We Come From) has so far received very enthusiastic first reviews around the world (and it is possible that we will join the round very soon). That being said, not everything is necessarily wonderful in the world of Oz, since the director returned to one of the major criticisms made to the film even before its release.
Wicked : Over the colors ?
Indeed, in an interview with the Canadian media The Globe and Mail, Jon M. Chu detailed his thinking and process regarding photography of Wickedand more specifically its calibration. Since the release of the trailers, many Internet users have complained about the desaturated appearance of the image, rather pastel in its colors.
It is true that the universe of Wizard of Oz evokes strong color contrasts, especially with the 1939 film, which still remains one of the showcases of Technicolor today, with its famous transition from black and white to color during Dorothy's arrival in the imaginary world . But precisely, Jon M. Chu wanted a different aesthetic approachconsistent with the fact that the story is told from the point of view of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
“Still, there is color everywhere. What we wanted to do was immerse viewers in the world of Oz, to make it a real place. If it sounded fake, if it was a dream in someone's mind, then the relationship and the very real issues these two girls are going through wouldn't seem real.
We present this world in a way that Oz has never been experienced before. We were used to matte paintings, then to a digital video game universe [en référence au Monde fantastique d’Oz de Sam Raimi, ndlr]. But I wanted us to smell the dust. I wanted us to feel the wear and tear of things, not to feel plastic. »
It is true that Wicked has for him a maximum of practical effects and truly constructed sets, but we can nevertheless question the binary of Jon M. Chu's words, especially since his film relies on a lot of digital visual effects. However, his speech clearly reveals the overall approach of the feature film. Wicked is not just the adaptation of the Broadway musical (itself based on the book by Gregory Maguire). It must encapsulate the entire heritage of the Wizard of Oz – starting with Victor Fleming’s film – and finding a balance to tell its story through a different perspective.
After all, Wicked speaks implicitly of the hypocrisy of the world of Oz, and the emerging political consciousness of its main character, who is transformed at the same time into a scapegoat. For Mr. Chu, it was important to mark this differenceand above all to mark an evolution in colorimetry as the story progresses, as he explains in the interview.
“We have the environment on our side. The sun remains the main source of light. You see the vast landscapes. You smell the air, and you see the creatures that live in this place. For these two characters that we will follow through two films [Wicked adapte la comédie musicale en deux parties, ndlr]their relationship with the land of Oz is very important, this relationship with nature on which the Magician imposes his vision. The color contrasts increase over time because that's what Elphaba brings to this world. »
In this case, it is clear that the film gains in contrast in its last part towards the Emerald City, a fundamental passage of the musical. There is no doubt that the second half of Wickedscheduled to be released in theaters on November 26, 2025, will accentuate this choice. In the meantime, to discover part 1 in France, you will have to go to the cinema from December 4, 2024.
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