When I started this website and called it Behind The Scenes, there was a reason for that. When I was younger and saw Star Wars for the first time, I was very interested in how they made the movie. We had a Betamax in the house and I bought a copy of The Making of Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back, I still have that copy.
What I realized then is that it made me appreciate movies on a totally different level seeing how they are made, and the years it takes to get a picture done.
Through the years I have watched Behind The Scenes documentaries on films I don't even like just to see the footage from the films.
There is a brief story as to why I named my website this.
Going forward when I am sent a physical copy of a movie to review, I am going to feature the Behind The Scenes portion(s) of the discs first.
It's one of the joys of collecting movies and is something that you can't find on a streaming channel.
There are over 60 minutes of Bonus Content on the disc, including on both the 4K & Blu-Ray discs, however, they are not in 4K, and only the film is on the 4K disc.
Making Wicked-- 45:45
To know the movie we have to know that this is based on the stage play of the same name that would be first performed back in June 10, 2003 on Broadway.
Since that time, both the film director, Jon M. Chu & one of the stars Arianna Grande would be interested in seeing this made into a film.
This film is just the first chapter of the story, Wicked: For Good arriving in theaters
November 21, 2025.
Casting
Here we see how they chose the actors for their roles and show the video call with
Cynthia Erivo & Arianna Grande are told that they have been chosen for their roles in the film.
Camera test 3+ hours
Cynthia Erivo sings "Defying Gravity"
Cynthia Erivo has been acting and singing, she learned her acting and singing skills at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)
She has been nominated for an Oscar at this year's awards for Best Actress
Many different shots of Arianna Grande singing a few notes of different songs.
Arianna Grande has been singing since 2008 when she first was in the Broadway musical 13.
She has been nominated for an Oscar at this year's awards for Best Supporting Actress
The film overall is nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture.
Jeff Goldblum shares his thoughts on the film and the songs.
Jeff Goldblum has been singing and playing the piano since he was a child and formed his jazz band The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, in 2014.
Costumes & Chorography
A great little piece on the dresses & all the work it took to make them, fit them on the actresses, etc. Not a lot of special features on costumes anymore.
Many dancers and so much choreography for such a large group of people, I'm not quite sure how they were able to keep it all aligned and everyone in time with each other, there were just a lot of rehearsals I guess.
Songs
All of the songs were sung live on set, there was no overdubbing or lipsynching.
Several films have been doing that, I remember seeing the making of
Les Misérables(2012) and they were all singing live on set.
In the remake of West Side Story(2021), only a few were sung live.
Wire Work
In what has to be one of the most challenging parts for someone to move around on wires, while also singing would be extremely difficult.
Cynthia Erivo mentions that she had to find a different way to breathe when she was in the harness and on the wires.
Also included in the 4K/Blu-Ray is the Sing A Long version that came out in theaters a few weeks after the original version had come out. It was showing in theaters starting on Christmas Day.
I played a few of the songs from the movie this was and it was interesting to see the film that way. You can, of course, always turn on the subtitles on any film and see the words that way as well as any other musicals you may own or want to watch.
Not being a big fan of musicals myself, I will admit I went in a little hesitant when I started watching this film. The production is off the charts and to see and hear that the sets were all built, all three massive sets and very little green screen was involved, that impressed me.
The songs are well delivered and if you didn't read my notes above, they were all sung live on set.
It was a very well-delivered story and the actors all worked well with each other.
The number of awards the film is nominated for has me scratching my head, I don't think anyone involved has an award-winning performance here, nor is the film a Best Picture-worthy film.
Cynthia Erivo should have won for her performance in Harriet, her portrayal of Harriet Tubman, and when she helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad.
The story takes place many, many years before The Wizard of Oz when the two witches,
Gilinda(Arianna Grande) & Elphaba(Cynthia Erivo) are younger and become close friends.
I am guessing that part 2 will show us what happened to that friendship, as we all know what happens in the original story between the two & Dorothy.
There is a dance number in a library that really works, lots of energy in the scene with some pretty amazing acrobatics with some ladders that are spinning like the hands of a clock.
I think even Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire would be impressed.
Jeff Goldblum is fun in his role as The Wizard, he seems to have a lot of fun playing this character, but Mr Goldblum always seems to be enjoying himself when he is in a film.
Watching the film I had thought this was a CGI effect but was surprised that this was actually a set piece on location. Wow, that is quite impressive!
Overall it is a very high-energy production with some great costumes, the songs don't do much for me, personally, but I know a lot of people love this and the overall film.
I am quite fine with the one viewing that I had, maybe I will revisit it sometime in the future. Possibly before part 2 comes out.
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