West Side Story (2020)

[OnePlusOne]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

And if those same people blame Maria for the Jets assaulting Anita because she asked her to go to Doc’s to tell Tony she was going to be late, WOW.

I don't blame Maria for anything, but I was always amused that she thought Tony wouldn't wait for her while she got rid of that jackass Lt. Schrank. Like Tony was already naming their imaginary kids in Doc's basement. It's not like he wouldn't wait 20 minutes for her.

But yeah...the Jets (and the cops) were the ones really to blame for everything that happened.

The original movie is one of my favorites of all time since my mom showed it to me when I was 12. It got me interested in old movies and musicals. It's beautifully shot and directed, and I love all the performances. I know it's fashionable to crap on Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as Maria and Tony, but I love them. I'm half Latina (my Mexican-American mom loves WSS, too, and introduced me to the movie). It's good that the new version has cast more Latino actors, but I'll always love Natalie and George Chakiris' performances. (And, while I'm on the subject, it's not like the new version cast a Puerto Rican actress as Maria, either.)

I'll most likely see the new version at some point, since Spielberg is a great director and I love the source material. But I'm not going to insult the classic version just to prop up this new version. And I'm really not looking forward to seeing creepy Ansel Elgort as Tony.

[AngieBee1]

I have never been a big Spielberg fan and feel that he has coasted due to his early works but his adaptation of WSS is fantastic. The casting, the production and costume design and cinematography were excellent. And that score!!! There are people who love the original film so much that they refuse to see this one but it takes nothing from WSS's history. It just adds to the greatness of what Sondheim, Bernstein, Laurents and Robbins did.

[MissAlmond]

On 5/12/2021 at 9:20 PM, methodwriter85 said:

The fact that during the Puerto Rico hurricanes in 2018 or 2019 that people didn't realize that Puerto Rico is an American territory and therefore our responsibility was both sad and hilarious at the same time.

🎵Nobody knows in America, Puerto Rico’s in America!🎵

Edited December 10, 2021 by MissAlmond

[SeanC]

 

[SeanC]

Never bet against Señor Spielbergo.

While most of the attention will (for obvious reasons) be paid to the meatier ways that Kushner has reworked the whole book (honestly, 'reworked' is maybe not the correct term, he basically just wrote a whole new one) I was greatly amused that he bothered to incorporate a response/acknowledgement of the longstanding joke people made about Tony running through a Puerto Rican neighborhood crying out "Maria!" and only having one woman answer. 

They also revise a few of the soliloquy numbers (both of Tony's solos) to have more stuff actually happen during them, which greatly improves the cinematic quality. I especially liked "I just kissed a girl named Maria!" being directed at a passing janitor.

I'd say this is an improvement on previous versions of this in pretty much all areas. Spielberg does so much more with the camera than Robert Wise ever could (or, in fairness to him, had at his disposal given the technologies of the time), the acting is more to modern tastes and I would say is just stronger across the board, and the extensive revisions Kushner made to the book of the musical add way more to the characters.

There was a teenage girl in the screening I was at who delightedly exclaimed "Maddie!" when Ms. Ziegler came into focus during the big gathering at Doc's (I guess she must not have noticed her during the "Dance at the Gym" sequence).

[Browncoat]

Oh, man, this was so great!  I loved this adaptation.  Who knew Ansel Elgort could sing?  But he knocked it out of the park.  In fact, all the leads were great.  I loved what they kept from the original, and I loved the changes/updates they made.  It all worked really well for me.

The absolute standouts, though, were Maria and Anita.  Those women are fierce, and the actors (and Spielberg) did them justice.  Their voices are fabulous.  

Happy Birthday today to Rita Moreno, who brought me to tears this afternoon in the movie theater as Valentina, Doc's widow.  She solos with "Somewhere", and that song always gets me, but it extra got to me with Rita singing it.

I might have more thoughts later, but my main thought was, "Damn, this was good!"

ETA: the scenes where the Jets were purchasing the gun, and later playing with it were a little unnerving, given the recent on-set accidental shooting.  

ETA again:  I absolutely adored Maria's dress at the end.  That intense sapphire blue is one of my favorite colors, and I loved the cut and style as well.  Anita's yellow dress is pretty fabulous, too.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Browncoat

[GaT]

Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Flops, Fans Blame Ansel Elgort's Casting

Quote

The numbers are in for the film, and it doesn't look like people were flocking to catch it on the big screen -- with the movie only raking in around $4.1 million on opening day (Friday), and a projected $10 to $11 million haul for the whole weekend. That's ... quite bad.

 

[Raja]

I would think that the last minute stories that maybe a third of the dialogue was in Spanish without subtitles did more than the gossip columns to cause a last minute change of minds

[Brn2bwild]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Flops, Fans Blame Ansel Elgort's Casting

 

Not really -- I read they were hoping for $13M.

[pancake bacon]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Flops, Fans Blame Ansel Elgort's Casting

 

Hahahahaha, like Ansel Elgort could ever be that consequential. 

But real talk though: largely audiences are not aware/not keeping track of Ansel's personal controversies. If audiences are staying away because just because Ansel is awful in the movie… boy I wish other movies would've flopped for that reason!

[Luckylyn]

Here's why Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' reimagined a key character as transgender

[Browncoat]

But I didn't think Ansel was awful in the movie!  Or maybe I had low expectations?  I thought he did quite well as the somewhat bland white boy.  As I said above, I was impressed with his singing -- especially his ability to hold his own with Maria, whose voice is truly impressive.  I honestly wasn't aware of his past misdeeds.

I can, however, see where not subtitling the Spanish could be problematic for some people.  I knew about that going in, but it didn't bother me.  Sure, maybe I didn't understand every single word, but it was easy enough to get the gist.  

When I went, the crowd in the theater was about average based on the other movies I've seen recently.  Only "Encanto" had a larger crowd.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Browncoat

[Slade347]

The target audience for West Side Story isn't really going to see movies now and the vast majority of them couldn't identify who Ansel Elgort was even if he was standing in front of them holding an "I'm Ansel Elgort" sign.

[GaT]

5 hours ago, Browncoat said:

But I didn't think Ansel was awful in the movie!

I don't know about his acting, but that's not the problem. He has some nasty sexual assault accusations against him. 

[RedElf]

Am I the only one who thought that Chino had a crush on Bernardo?  Otherwise, why was he the one to take it on himself to avenge Bernardo, when he wasn't even a gang member?

Bernardo should have taken several seats when it came to his trying to tell Maria what to do.  Like she told him, she had been taking care of her father all by herself for several years.

Mike Faist is excellent in everything.  I loved how the Ohio boy had the best New York accent.

I didn't like that the show didn't bother to name the other gang members.  We got Diesel mentioned a couple of times, but that was it, as far as I can remember.

The actor who played Anybodies is trans in real life.  Interestingly, though, although the character is f to m, the actor is m to f.

Why did they give "Cool" to Tony?

For those who are interested, Ansel Elgort has had several music videos on Youtube for several years.

 

2 minutes ago, RedElf said:

Am I the only one who thought that Chino had a crush on Bernardo?  Otherwise, why was he the one to take it on himself to avenge Bernardo, when he wasn't even a gang member?

Bernardo should have taken several seats when it came to his trying to tell Maria what to do.  Like she told him, she had been taking care of her father all by herself for several years.

Mike Faist is excellent in everything.  I loved how the Ohio boy had the best New York accent.

I didn't like that the show didn't bother to name the other gang members.  We got Diesel mentioned a couple of times, but that was it, as far as I can remember.

The actor who played Anybodies is trans in real life.  Interestingly, though, although the character is f to m, the actor is m to f.

Why did they give "Cool" to Tony?

For those who are interested, Ansel Elgort has had several music videos on Youtube for several years.

 

Rotten Tomatoes gave this version of West Side Story the second best adaptation of Romeo and Juliet of all time, above the original.

https://screenrant.com/best-romeo-juliet-movie-adaptations-ranked-by-rotten-tomatoes-score/

 

[ShadowHunter]

29 minutes ago, GaT said:

I don't know about his acting, but that's not the problem. He has some nasty sexual assault accusations against him. 

Exactly. The allegations against him trended on Twitter a few times this week. If that hurt the movies box office will never really know but he is getting bad press. Plus older audiences are still not really going to the movies as so that didn't help. Spiderman will slaughter all the competition for the next few weeks.

[nilyank]

Tony when you get your hands on the Chekhov's gun, you should have tossed into the river when you had the chance.

Seriously, I really thought this was wonderful with all the singing, acting and dancing plus I thought Tony and Maria had serious chemistry. The set design was wonderful and score was beautiful I will have to rewatch to see the small details in the background. I appreciated seeing the protestors with signs against Robert Moses.

Love Rita as Valentina and I was weepy as she sang Somewhere. 

I also thought it was excellent choice to have Graziella and the other Jets Girls trying to stop and screaming at the Jets to stop from attacking/trying to rape Anita.

 

[Lady Whistleup]

I just saw this and was amazed. It was beautiful. Both a re-imagining and a homage to the original film. I thought the entire cast was great, especially David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler. The songs sounded great. Justin Pecks choreography isn't as great as Jerome Robbins' but there's less emphasis on dancing in this film. Go see it.

[Sharpie66]

3 hours ago, Slade347 said:

The target audience for West Side Story isn't really going to see movies now and the vast majority of them couldn't identify who Ansel Elgort was even if he was standing in front of them holding an "I'm Ansel Elgort" sign.

Me, and me. Although I am tempted to venture to the theater for the first time since early 2020 just to see this.

[Lady Whistleup]

Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler have way more chemistry than Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Sharpie66 said:

Me, and me. Although I am tempted to venture to the theater for the first time since early 2020 just to see this.

It's worth it to see on the big screen.  The cinematography is really quite good as well.

[Dr.OO7]

I literally just finished seeing this.

WOW.

I fell so much in love with Tony that I found myself wishing that they'd change the ending.

EXCELLENT. Darker, edgier, grittier, and even more impactful than the original.

[Brn2bwild]

34 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

It's worth it to see on the big screen.  The cinematography is really quite good as well.

I saw it during a late morning showing and there was hardly anyone there, so no worry about no masks, etc.

I enjoyed the movie a lot, and that the performances were great, including Ansel Elgort's.  Rachel Zegler was fabulous.  Where the love story faltered for me was that they made this Maria feistier, with her own goals.  Whereas Elgort's Tony seemed to regard Maria as his salvation, Zegler's Maria seemed initially drawn to him for being a sensitive bad boy, but then more hesitant to return his sudden extreme devotion.  I couldn't imagine this Maria being happy with ex-con Tony in the long run.  

Otherwise, though some of the dialogue was too on-the-nose, I liked the reimagining of certain scenes, like "Cool."  On the other hand, I think "Somewhere" should have stayed with Tony and Maria, and nothing can top the final scene of the original movie, where Maria plaintively sings the notes to a dying Tony.

[nilyank]

I just reminded how much I wished Anita smacked the living crap out of Maria during A Boy Like That/I Have a Love. That Maria would dare to compare her 2 day romance with Tony with the life that Anita had built with Bernardo after five years just hours after Anita went to identify him at the morgue and knowing that Tony was his killer.

And then to send Anita to Doc's to tell Tony that she will be late? Ugh.

 

[Brn2bwild]

13 minutes ago, nilyank said:

I just reminded how much I wished Anita smacked the living crap out of Maria during A Boy Like That/I Have a Love. That Maria would dare to compare her 2 day romance with Tony with the life that Anita had built with Bernardo after five years just hours after Anita went to identify him at the morgue and knowing that Tony was his killer.

And then to send Anita to Doc's to tell Tony that she will be late? Ugh.

 

It rings false to me, in both versions, that Maria would be so quick to overlook that Tony murdered her brother. Especially THIS Tony, who almost murdered someone before.  The 1964 Tony I can almost buy because he is otherwise so gullible and kind. But this Tony? It's more like run, Maria.

And Anita showed tremendous restraint in not pushing Tony off of the fire escape.

[Lady Whistleup]

32 minutes ago, Brn2bwild said:

It rings false to me, in both versions, that Maria would be so quick to overlook that Tony murdered her brother. Especially THIS Tony, who almost murdered someone before.  The 1964 Tony I can almost buy because he is otherwise so gullible and kind. But this Tony? It's more like run, Maria.

And Anita showed tremendous restraint in not pushing Tony off of the fire escape.

Well that's following Shakespeare;s R&J. Juliet is fiercely loyal to Romeo even after Romeo kills Tybalt.

I actually loved how much Spielberg and Kushner let WSS be WSS. All the iconic moments were there -- Tony and Maria locking eyes in the gym, Tony singing "Maria," then "Tonight" in the fire escape. It's like they trusted the material enough and let it breathe. They did rewrite and re-imagine some of it but overall this WSS is for people who adore the musical.

I actually wrote a longer review on my blog:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2021/12/west-side-story.html

Edited December 12, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Brn2bwild]

13 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Well that's following Shakespeare;s R&J. Juliet is fiercely loyal to Romeo even after Romeo kills Tybalt.

Tybalt was Juliet's cousin, though, and there were no signs that they were particularly close.

[Lady Whistleup]

18 minutes ago, Brn2bwild said:

Tybalt was Juliet's cousin, though, and there were no signs that they were particularly close.

Well in this movie it was clear that Maria had only recently moved to NY from Puerto Rico and that she and Bernardo were close, but she resented how domineering he was. 

[Brn2bwild]

48 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Well in this movie it was clear that Maria had only recently moved to NY from Puerto Rico and that she and Bernardo were close, but she resented how domineering he was. 

Wasn't it the opposite: she and her father had been in the U.S. for five years and then Bernardo joined them?

Even so, a cousin you may not even like (I don't think they interact in the play) is one thing; your bossy but loving brother is another.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Brn2bwild

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, Brn2bwild said:

Wasn't it the opposite: she and her father had been in the U.S. for five years and then Bernardo joined them?

Even so, a cousin you may not even like (I don't think they interact in the play) is one thing; your bossy but loving brother is another.

Yeah you're right. I know that Bernardo and Maria had just recently moved in together. I think Rachel Zegler's acting was strong enough to almost gloss over the cheesiness of the Tony/Maria relationship.

[OnePlusOne]

Variety: "How ‘West Side Story’ Tried to Contain Its Ansel Elgort Problem"

Quote

Disney’s decision to push the December 2020 release a year due to COVID-19 bought the movie some time, at least, but it didn’t change the fact that the leading man of one of cinema’s most beloved and iconic love stories had been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

I'm not saying this was the main factor in the movie's under-performance at the box office, but it was a factor for me not being excited about this remake. It's not like Elgort is playing some random member of the Jets: he's playing the romantic lead opposite a young actress. It grosses me out.

[Lady Whistleup]

6 hours ago, OnePlusOne said:

Variety: "How ‘West Side Story’ Tried to Contain Its Ansel Elgort Problem"

I'm not saying this was the main factor in the movie's under-performance at the box office, but it was a factor for me not being excited about this remake. It's not like Elgort is playing some random member of the Jets: he's playing the romantic lead opposite a young actress. It grosses me out.

I had never heard of Ansel Elgort before this movie. I also think one should see tge movie before judging it.

[Rickster]

I think the main reason for the underperformance of the movie is that the appeal is targeted to an age group audience that is, at least partially, still reluctant to return to the theater (at least in my part of the country) And I think a remake like this, except for big Broadway/movie musical fans, falls into the "interesting to see", not "must see" type of movie that might get them into the theater.

[Dr.OO7]

I love the new choreography.

It's interesting how they stuck with the original movie's decision to switch "Officer Krupke" and "Cool" (though they now BOTH take place before the rumble), but kept with the musical's placement of "I Feel Pretty" as afterwards (the movie moved it to before also).

Edited December 13, 2021 by Dr.OO7

[tv echo]

West Side Story, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, and Steven Spielberg got nominations for 2022 Golden Globes (winners will be announced on Jan. 9, 2022 (but there will be no TV broadcast)...

Golden Globes 2022: Nominations for the 79th Golden Globes Have Been Announced
HFPA    December 13, 2021
https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/golden-globes-2022-nominations-79th-golden-globes-were-announced 

Quote

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
CYRANO (MGM)
DON'T LOOK UP (Netflix)
LICORICE PIZZA (MGM)
TICK, TICK...BOOM! (Netflix)
WEST SIDE STORY (20th Century Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
MARION COTILLARD    ANNETTE
ALANA HAIM    LICORICE PIZZA
JENNIFER LAWRENCE    DON'T LOOK UP
EMMA STONE    CRUELLA
RACHEL ZEGLER    WEST SIDE STORY
*  *  *
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
CAITRIONA BALFE    BELFAST
ARIANA DEBOSE    WEST SIDE STORY
KIRSTEN DUNST    THE POWER OF THE DOG
AUNJANUE ELLIS    KING RICHARD
RUTH NEGGA    PASSING
*  *  *
BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
KENNETH BRANAGH    BELFAST
JANE CAMPION    THE POWER OF THE DOG
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL    THE LOST DAUGHTER
STEVEN SPIELBERG    WEST SIDE STORY
DENIS VILLENEUVE    DUNE

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by tv echo

[tv echo]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: West Side Story Slow-Dances to Mild $10.5M Over Quiet Weekend
News & Analysis • Chris Eggertsen • December 12 2021
https://www.boxofficepro.com/box-office-west-side-story/ 

Edited December 13, 2021 by tv echo

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

On 12/11/2021 at 10:21 PM, GaT said:

Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Flops, Fans Blame Ansel Elgort's Casting

 

Wow!

 

[Spartan Girl]

We’re still in a pandemic and even if we weren’t musicals aren’t known to bring in big openings like Marvel movies. It could make more money in the next couple of weeks.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

It could_ make some money in bluray,4K sales. 

[Luckylyn]

I think word of mouth will be excellent for this film.  It might get a Greatest Showman type growth where the first weekend appeared to be a flop but the following weekends lead it to be a success.   

[Tom Holmberg]

7 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I think word of mouth will be excellent for this film.  It might get a Greatest Showman type growth where the first weekend appeared to be a flop but the following weekends lead it to be a success.   

I have to wonder if younger moviegoers have any attachment to "West Side Story" and if they really want to see it.

[Sarah 103]

On 12/12/2021 at 1:49 PM, RedElf said:

Am I the only one who thought that Chino had a crush on Bernardo?  Otherwise, why was he the one to take it on himself to avenge Bernardo, when he wasn't even a gang member?

In this version, Chino wants to be part of the gang, and he saw this as a way to do it. If he avanged Bernardo's death, he thought the other Sharks would welcome him into the gang, despite what Bernardo wanted. 

On 12/12/2021 at 5:31 PM, Brn2bwild said:

I think "Somewhere" should have stayed with Tony and Maria, and nothing can top the final scene of the original movie, where Maria plaintively sings the notes to a dying Tony.

I agree that "Somewhere" works better as a duet between Tony and Maria. Rita Moreno is amazing and a national treasure. If they wanted to give her a song, let her sing "Somewhere" or something else over the end credits. If they wanted her to sing "Somewhere," it would have worked better if Doc's death had been due to prejudice.

I liked the way they placed the movie within a specific historical context. The Jets' desire to hold onto turf takes on more meaning when the neighborhood is being destroyed due to slum clearance and new immigrant groups moving in. I thought Schrank's comment about the Jets being the dregs of society and that it was thier parents' fault for not being able to do better and move out of the slums, especially since many other people white ethnics had moved out of the city slums and into the suburbs was a great addition. It also helped set up "Gee Officer Krupke" later in the movie.

They made yellow a Shark color, which I am okay with because they were consistant with it. They set up the color scheme in "Prologue" and continued it throughout the movie, so especially in the dance at the gym, you could take one look at someone and know which group they belonged to. 

The cinematography was wonderful. They understood that you have to shoot the songs/dances in full frame or close to full frame and that rapid/modern/MTV editing does not work for this movie. 

Cutting Anybodys introduction after "Prologue" before "Jet Song" was a mistake. (I am going to try to refer to the character without using pronouns, because it makes sense to use female pronouns when talking about the character in original play or movie but male pronouns when talking about the 2021 movie). The short scene (it's really just a few lines of dialogue) establishes that Anybody wants to be a Jet, but the gang will not acccept Anybodys and rejects Anybodys. This sets up the scene later when they call Anybodys "buddy-boy" after the rumble and Anybodys has brought the gang valuable information. Calling Anybodys "buddy-boy" establishes that they have accepted Anybodys. Without demonstrating earlier in the movie that Anybodys wanted to bet a Jet but was not allowed to means the later acceptance doesn't have the emotional impact it should. 

Did anyone else think that Anybodys was in the police station unrelated to gang activity but for cross-dressing? I think there was a New York law against cross dressing. I can't remember the specifics now, but the law had something to do with requiring people wearing a certain number of clothes associated with thier biological sex. 

Who was the woman on the bench next to Anybodys at the police station supposed to be? 

Like any remake, there were changes I liked and changes I disliked. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. 

[Constant Viewer]

On 12/13/2021 at 9:55 AM, Dr.OO7 said:

t's interesting how they stuck with the original movie's decision to switch "Officer Krupke" and "Cool" (though they now BOTH take place before the rumble), but kept with the musical's placement of "I Feel Pretty" as afterwards (the movie moved it to before also).

I'm glad to hear Officer Krupke takes place before the rumble. I was worried they would go with the play's original song order, and I prefer the one in the movie because it makes more sense. Hoping to see this once final exams are over!

[Dr.OO7]

17 minutes ago, Constant Viewer said:

I'm glad to hear Officer Krupke takes place before the rumble. I was worried they would go with the play's original song order, and I prefer the one in the movie because it makes more sense.

Absolutely. I saw the 2009 revival and I thought it was incredibly tasteless for the Jets to be dancing and singing a happy song just after the death of their leader. 

[SeanC]

10 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I have to wonder if younger moviegoers have any attachment to "West Side Story" and if they really want to see it.

It's a famous musical.  Obviously it's not hot new IP or anything (though most of what's hot at the box office right now is IP dating from about the same period as the musical).  Ultimately all you can do is try to make a great product.

18 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I think word of mouth will be excellent for this film.  It might get a Greatest Showman type growth where the first weekend appeared to be a flop but the following weekends lead it to be a success.   

I'm not sure a run like that is really possible in the current pandemic box office, because so far it's been brutally difficult for anything other than action/horror to do big numbers. That was a trend that predated the pandemic, but it's only increased as older audiences have been much slower to return (in the nightmare scenario, of course, they don't, which would be extremely bad for the future of cinema).

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, Constant Viewer said:

I'm glad to hear Officer Krupke takes place before the rumble. I was worried they would go with the play's original song order, and I prefer the one in the movie because it makes more sense. Hoping to see this once final exams are over!

"Cool" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" are about how the Jets deal with incredibly tense emotional moments. Personally, I think the songs work equally well in either act ("Cool" works both pre-rumble and post-rumble, and "Gee, Officer Krupke" works both pre-rumble and post-rumble,) but each song takes on a different meaning depending on which act it is in.

 When "Cool" is placed in Act 1, it  illustrates Anita's line in the play/original movie (I can't remember the exact dialogue) but it's about the boys having energy and needing to get rid of it quickly. When "Cool" is placed in Act 2, it's about how to deal with all of the stress and anxiety post rumble.  

When "Gee, Officer Krupke" is in Act 1, it is about killing time before the war council and goofing off. It's how they deal with pre-rumble tension. When "Gee, Officer Krupke" is in Act 2, it is the Jets attempting to use humor to deal with thier anger. They are mad at society and the world, that anger is expressed in "Gee, Officer Krupke." 

[Luckylyn]

Comparing the different versions 

This was well researched.  

 

[Fool to cry]

Whoa I love this take:

 

 

[Spartan Girl]

Finally saw it tonight, and I’ll just say it: it was better than the original. Spielberg knew what he was doing. If it hadn’t been for Elgort, it would have been perfection—not just saying that because of the allegations, his singing was mediocre at best and he just had the same smirky expression for 80 percent of the movie. He didn’t even really act until the last 10 minutes.

But Rachel and Ariana were fantastic. Hope this is their breakthrough film because I want to see more of them.

Love Rita Moreno, and I knew exactly how the gang rape scene affected her. I loved that Valentina, unlike Doc in the original, ripped the Jets a new one by calling them out as rapists. And while it was good that the Jets girls tried to stop them, part of me just thought, “Oh you can excuse racism, but you draw the line at sexual assault?”🙄

On that note, I get why Anita did what she did. Doesn’t make it right, and she was way out of line calling Valentina a traitor, but I get it.

And we can give Maria crap for forgiving Tony too easily, but what happens to her at the end was punishment enough. She had nothing left: Bernardo and Tony dead, no other family, Anita had screwed her over and was going back to Puerto Rico, and she was probably going to wind up shunned by most of the community when word got out about her and Tony. And to top it all of, the novelization of the original film implied she might be pregnant. Maybe Valentina or one of her coworkers could take her in, but it still sucks.

Giving Anybodys and Chino depth was something I didn’t know I needed. It really drove the point home that toxic masculinity isn’t limited to white cisgender men. But my sympathy for Chino was limited: he told the Sharks that Bernardo’s gang mentality was stupid and pointless and got him killed, but that didn’t stop him from killing Tony. And for what? To avenge Bernardo—who didn’t even want him getting involved for his own good? Spite because Maria picked Tony over him? Congratulations, dipshit, you threw away your own life for nothing.

My one nitpick in the whole movie is they should have kept the “Somewhere” reprise at the end. That’s the defining moment of the whole show, the one that packs the big punch. It didn’t feel the same without it.

Other than that, I loved it. 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[luvthepros]

On 9/17/2021 at 8:45 AM, tv echo said:

It will be very difficult to replace Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn.

I saw Rita Moreno interviewed and she said that DuBose is a better dancer than she ever was. After watching Dubose' performance, Rita Moreno knew what she was talking about. Actually, Dubose is on a completely other level with the dancing than Rita Moreno who I think is a national treasure. DuBose is one heck of an actress and she chewed up her scenes in this film.

George Chakiris was a pretty boy who did an excellent job as Bernardo. After watching David Alvarez up on that big screen, I knew right away this guy was going to blow Chakiris out of the water with his performance. He did it in spades. Alvarez was an original Billy Elliot on Broadway and can dance rings around Chakiris. As an actor, Alvarez is awesome and is much more convincing in the role of Bernardo. Maybe because his accent was done better than Chakiris' as he slipped from Spanish to English. He is sexy as hell too.

Russ Tamblyn was the only actor who could play Riff or so I thought. Mike Faist, again, another performance which was more realistic and had much more depth to the character. Just WOW.

As an aside.....went today to see the movie again. As with the first time I saw it (yesterday), I cried through the entire movie. Walked out with a headache.....again.