West Side Story (2020)

[tv echo]

Steven Spielberg did not win the top DGA Award, but each nominee was recognized with a DGA medallion ahead of the presentation of the top award...

DGA Awards: Jane Campion and ‘The Power of the Dog’ Take Top Honor
BY KIRSTEN CHUBA, RYAN GAJEWSKI, HILARY LEWIS   MARCH 12, 2022
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dga-awards-2022-winners-list-1235109846/ 

Quote

Rita Moreno, who honored Spielberg with his medallion at the ceremony, told THR before the show that she’s had a month to prepare since Spielberg personally asked her to handle the duties. “I was so flattered and pleased and tickled and delighted, and I really killed myself writing this presentation speech,” the West Side Story performer shared. “I really worked extremely hard on this because I wanted this to be right, but I also wanted it to be humorous, so I think I have a couple of funny lines in there that, if nothing else, they’ll delight him.”

On the stage, Moreno called him “a wizard” and “a fucking genius. I just adore your generous spirit, a rarity in this business.” Upon accepting, Spielberg admitted that helming West Side Story “was really scary taking this on. It was terrifying, and I gave up a bunch of times.” With acknowledgement of his fellow nominees, the director declared, “This is the spot where I am the most understood.”

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

West Side Story won two major Critics Choice Awards - Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose) and Best Film Editing (Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn)...

Critics Choice Awards 2022 Winners: See the Full List Here
BY KATEY RICH    MARCH 13, 2022
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/03/awards-insider-critics-choice-awards-2022-winners 

Quote

Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
WINNER: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Ann Dowd, Mass
Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Rita Moreno, West Side Story
*  *  *
Best Film Editing
WINNER: Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn, West Side Story
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Belfast
Andy Jurgensen, Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras, The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker, Dune

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by tv echo

[tv echo]

West Side Story also won two BAFTA Film Awards - Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose) and Casting (Cindy Tolan)...

BAFTA Film Awards: ‘The Power Of The Dog’ Named Best Film; ‘Dune’ Leads With Five Wins And Dominates Crafts – Full Winners List
By Patrick Hipes    March 13, 2022 
https://deadline.com/2022/03/2022-bafta-film-awards-winners-list-1234977084/ 

Quote

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

ARIANA DEBOSE
West Side Story
*  *  *
CASTING

WEST SIDE STORY
Cindy Tolan

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by tv echo

[Chaos Theory]

Now that it’s appearing in HBO got around to watching this and as a fan of the original I really like how the remake expanded on certain things the original only hinted at.   The girl Jett (whose name I keep forgetting) and her fight scene in the police station.  Plus the whole scene of the Jett’s just kinda shining the cops on and then going into my second favorite song of the show.   I also loved Riff and how he was also expanded on a bit as well.  An angry kid going nowhere who had people he didn’t like approaching on his turf from all sides.  Plus the remake did better to explain why Tony has gotten out in the first place.  He had to after going to jail and being on parole but also kinda decides there is more to life.   Of course the romance is both the driving force of the movie and it’s weakest aspect but still worth watching.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

The girl Jett (whose name I keep forgetting) and her fight scene in the police station. 

If you’re referring to Anybodys, he is transgender in this version.

Upon rewatching, I will revise my earlier opinion and say Elgort’s singing was better than I originally claimed. But I stand by my stance that his acting didn’t get good until the last half.

[Sarah 103]

On 3/14/2022 at 6:51 PM, Chaos Theory said:

 Now that it’s appearing in HBO got around to watching this and as a fan of the original I really like how the remake expanded on certain things the original only hinted at. The girl Jett (whose name I keep forgetting) and her fight scene in the police station. Plus the whole scene of the Jett’s just kinda shining the cops on and then going into my second favorite song of the show.  

You have excellent taste! "Gee Officer Krupke" is my favorite song in the show, so I have to ask if that is your second favorite, what is your absolute/number one favorite song in the show?

I know I asked this question in an earlier post, but I am hoping it's okay to ask it again since more people have seen the movie since it is now on HBOMax and Disney+

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

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Sarah 103 said:

You have excellent taste! "Gee Officer Krupke" is my favorite song in the show, so I have to ask if that is your second favorite, what is your absolute/number one favorite song in the show?

I know I asked this question in an earlier post, but I am hoping it's okay to ask it again since more people have seen the movie since it is now on HBOMax and Disney+

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

My favorite song is “America.”  I really like the way it was choreographed as well.  Instead of being a bunch of people standing on. a roof it was them actually walking through the west side of New York.   

I think the woman sitting next to Anybody was just some random who was just there with the others and watch a bunch of hoodlums tear a police station apart.  

[wingster55]

On 3/12/2022 at 10:15 PM, Empress1 said:

for me, was the bond between Riff and Tony. I bought it more in the older version. They didn't seem as close in this one. 

I think that was intentional. They didn’t have the same bond like before Tony went to jail, but neither were willing to admit it. 

[Conotocarious]

Kind of crazy to read from the beginning of this thread and see the backlash to this movie before anyone had seen it.

I’ve watched it twice already and it’s better than the original. In fact, I just rewatched the original and was wondering how murder results from a game of basketball gone wrong and writing Sharks Stink in chalk. 

[Sweet Tee]

Quote

for me, was the bond between Riff and Tony. I bought it more in the older version. They didn't seem as close in this one. 

I had the opposite impression.  

In the original, they were close and very buddy buddy.  But, in this one they actually felt like brothers and that's why there was such tension because they loved each other and there were hurt feelings on both sides.  Riff feels abandoned by Tony.  And Tony feels like Riff doesn't care to listen or understand that he wants a different kind of life.  

I loved that they changed Cool to make it a duet/fight between Riff and Tony.  It gives the song a weight that it didn't have in the stage play or the '61 movie.

All that to say, I thought the Riff and Tony relationship was a lot deeper in this version.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Sweet Tee

[Conotocarious]

I would add that the 1961 Tony is not the least bit credible as this guy with this reputation for being a punk. In the new version, I can see Tony as a former Jet. In the old version, absolutely not. 

[Sweet Tee]

Definitely.  I know Ansel is singled out as the worst part of the movie and that may be true.  But, I do buy that his Tony is an angry violent guy who is trying to be better.

Richard Beymer was just so happy and love struck and naive and I don't believe he was ever in a gang.

[cpcathy]

2 hours ago, Sweet Tee said:

Definitely.  I know Ansel is singled out as the worst part of the movie and that may be true.  But, I do buy that his Tony is an angry violent guy who is trying to be better.

Richard Beymer was just so happy and love struck and naive and I don't believe he was ever in a gang.

A gang that danced…

Anyway, I love the original WSS. Can we have the best bits of the Oran’s the best bits from this one and smash them together? I enjoyed the characters better, I liked that we spent more time with each of them and know their motivations. 
I actually liked Ansel here. 
However, I do miss the dancing, especially in Cool. Changing Cool seems so wrong! 

[Conotocarious]

1 hour ago, cpcathy said:

A gang that danced…

Anyway, I love the original WSS. Can we have the best bits of the Oran’s the best bits from this one and smash them together? I enjoyed the characters better, I liked that we spent more time with each of them and know their motivations. 
I actually liked Ansel here. 
However, I do miss the dancing, especially in Cool. Changing Cool seems so wrong! 

OMG I thought Cool in the original was so dorky and is a highlight in the new version. 

[Conotocarious]

11 hours ago, cpcathy said:

A gang that danced…

Anyway, I love the original WSS. Can we have the best bits of the Oran’s the best bits from this one and smash them together? I enjoyed the characters better, I liked that we spent more time with each of them and know their motivations. 
I actually liked Ansel here. 
However, I do miss the dancing, especially in Cool. Changing Cool seems so wrong! 

LOL, I didn’t see 1961 Tony dancing either. So I don’t buy him a member of any gang, dancing or otherwise.

Also, Tony had a nice enough family to allow Riff to stay with them in the original. In the new one, Tony has to stay at Doc’s because he has nowhere else to go except prison. I prefer the new additions to the character backstories. They didn’t seem to have any compelling ones in the original and it was a good decision.

[Empress1]

17 hours ago, Conotocarious said:

I would add that the 1961 Tony is not the least bit credible as this guy with this reputation for being a punk. In the new version, I can see Tony as a former Jet. In the old version, absolutely not. 

Agree. In the gang fight 1961 Tony doesn’t look convincing with his fists up. (I guess you could make a case that that’s because he’s left that life behind, but to me he just looks like he’s never fought before.) He doesn’t read “angry violent guy trying to go straight” - he comes across as sweet and dorky and naive. Ansel Elgort plays it kind of brooding, and you can see things simmering under the surface.

[Spartan Girl]

I also liked how Spielberg and Kushner subtly acknowledged some of the more problematic elements that some Puerto Rican and Hispanic people have pointed out in the musical in general. Bernardo calling out Tony projecting romantic fantasies on Maria to prove to himself that he's more open-minded than the Jets. Don't get me wrong, Tony did love Maria and all that, but at the same time, Bernardo wasn't completely unjustified in distrusting Tony.

[tv echo]

Tony Kushner (West Side Story) won the AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Screenwriter...

AARP Movies For Grownups Awards: ‘Belfast’ Named Best Film; ‘King Richard’ Lone Double Winner – Full List
By Erik Pedersen     March 18, 2022
https://deadline.com/2022/03/aarp-movies-for-grownups-awards-2022-winners-will-smith-belfast-1234980867/ 

Quote

... Tony Kushner danced off with the Best Screenwriter prize for West Side Story, and Jared Leto was fitted for the Supporting Actor award for House of Gucci.
*  *  *
Best Screenwriter
Tony Kushner (West Side Story)

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by tv echo

[paramitch]

I loved it. And I say that as someone who adores the original.

But oh, man. This was gorgeous and beautifully conceived, produced, and performed, and is the perfect balance—a remake that honors the original, but that also offers something genuinely new.

The direction and camerawork are sublime. The camera moves, examines, swoops, dances. I've never met Spielberg (sadly!), but I know for certain that he still loves directing with a passion, because this entire movie feels fluid and alive, fresh, excited, and tenuous. Everything precarious and balanced on the edge of a knife. The direction and camerawork in the introduction, the dance, the rumble, are incredible and virtuosic.

I love the song order changes, especially those that hew more closely to the stage version, not the previous film. Especially important with "I Feel Pretty," whose context is richer (and sadder) here than in the original (although I still think it should have been cut). Loved the reordering of "Officer Krupke" and especially the new context for "Cool" and "Somewhere"—it's wonderful and fresh, and adds complexity and subtext galore.

Justin Peck's choreography strikes the perfect balance, honestly. It's evocative of Jerome Robbins but it also feels looser and more casual, almost accidental (in the best way). It's not as immersion-breaking. 

I thought the cast was superb for the most part, and I love that Spielberg chose so many fresh-faced stage performers. Standouts for me were Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist (his Riff is as sharp as a blade, and oh my God, that final sweet smile and "It's all right" to Tony while dying!), and Josh Andres Rivera (a truly lovely, complex Chino). Also great to see Brian d'Arcy James and Corey Stoll, and Rita Moreno was superb (and still so beautiful at NINETY!).

But oh, wow. For me the standout is Ariana DeBose. She's incredible, a force of nature, and "America" is so joyful and witty and timely (and the little sequence where the little children joyfully join in and dance is the most adorable thing ever). In every rewatch, I have still had to rewatch "America" multiple times just because it's so full of joy and passion and light. Beautifully done—the dancing, the dialogue, the back and forth. And the "A Boy Like That/I  Have a Love" sequence with Rachel Zegler is stunning.

Honestly? I thought Anson Elgort was great (for me, Alvarez's Bernardo was much weaker, although his dancing was incredible), and from the advance word of mouth, I was expecting to hate him. But for me he's a solid singer/dancer, and he brought a nice gentleness and innocence to Tony, while still giving a believable underlying simmer. Which is, yes, ironic given some of the icky accusations against him. But I thought he held his own as a performer just fine, although I wish someone else had been cast for obvious reasons.

I also love that the Spanish isn't subtitled, and that the script now gives equal weight to the Sharks and their Catch-22 situation—they can't win on any front, and it's very moving. Kushner's reworking of the book enriches the story, the subtext, the relationships on all fronts. I always think it's so terrible that in the end, there is an implied moment of almost perfect understanding between Riff and Bernardo at the moment of Riff's stabbing; this realization of kinship, of recognition; they are the same. And it's too late.

(On the lighter side, I always have an alt-universe vision of the story in my head where Riff and Bernardo realize they could resolve everything by just making out, but maybe that's just me.😁)

Beyond the perfect "America," other standout numbers for me included the opening number (it feels so loose and real, yet the tension coils beneath, and the choreography is perfect), the blocking of the entire "Tonight" balcony scene. It just feels so purely Shakespearean, and yet so delicate and fresh. And the "One Hand, One Heart" number is especially gorgeous—fragile and beautiful, both aurally and visually. I had literal, physical goosebumps watching it. (I looked it up and the singing was recorded live, and it shows, in the best way.)

And yeah, I sobbed all the way through "Somewhere." It hit me really hard, and the way the movie places and uses the song is really beautiful.

In terms of the negatives, my critiques are pretty mild:

1. I prefer the original staging of "Something's Coming," with Tony singing his yearning to the universe. For me, turning it into a monologue to Valentina removes that instant connection we feel to Tony.
2. I loved the use of "Somewhere" but still wish the duet had been present, even if just as a final echo. It felt incomplete without it (and sort of dilutes a huge plot moment for Tony and Maria).
3. Honestly, I agree with Sondheim and others who have preferred to cut "I Feel Pretty" entirely. It's the weakest song in the show, it doesn't really tell us anything new, and except for the fact that everyone knows the song, it isn't really necessary.
4. I think there's a very strange choice at the end to have zero immediate reaction from Valentina at Tony's death. She is just suddenly there and sort of walks past his dead body and looks vaguely sad, when in reality she should be devastated.

But that stuff is so minor. I adored everything about this, and while I admit to rooting hard for Jane Campion and Kiersten Dunst on Oscar night, I will be just as delighted if Spielberg and Ariana win.

On 12/9/2021 at 8:49 AM, Fool to cry said:

I was just joking around. Any comments I find on Twitter about are also humorous too, they don't really hate Maria. It's just a good natured observation like how the nuns are kind of jerks for singing "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" ar her wedding!  WSS always surprises newbies by how heavy it gets. 

THIS HAS ALWAYS BOTHERED ME! I still remember the WTF face I made as a little girl watching Sound of Music and the nuns are singing THAT at her wedding! Just so, so weird and wrong! Gah.

On 12/10/2021 at 9:20 PM, SeanC said:

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.

I loved this, and everything else you posted throughout this topic, FYI. I also laughed out loud when Tony goes singing "Maria" through the streets and all the different Marias looked out (my favorite was the sweet little girl who looked absolutely thrilled at being serenaded—so precious!).

On 12/12/2021 at 5:11 AM, Luckylyn said:

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

I loved this reimagining of Anybodys as transgender (and was so happy he was played by an NB actor) and was very moved by it. To echo @Spartan Girl, it worked beautifully and added that tragic and ironic subtext on the toxicity of these boys' view of masculinity.

On 12/12/2021 at 11:46 AM, nilyank said:

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.

I loved Graziella and thought it was incredibly moving, tense, and upsetting to see her gradually realize the change in the atmosphere around Anita, and her sudden kinship and terror on Anita's behalf. The Jets shoving Graziella out the door was terrifying because suddenly what they are about to do is deliberate, premeditated. It's even more horrible than the previous staging.

On 12/14/2021 at 12:29 PM, Sarah 103 said:

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. 

I liked this as well. I especially liked the way it intensified the parallels between the two groups, and how the fight for turf is literal but also doomed. These crumbled pavements both gangs are fighting so hard to possess will belong to neither of them soon enough. Neither one of them will have a place.

On 1/10/2022 at 8:23 AM, Simon Boccanegra said:

There was, to me, something not only very touching but inspired in that recontextualization of "Somewhere." This iconic song delivered (delicately but effectively) by the oldest voice, the oldest character, the one who's seen the most, probably seen all the worst. That she still holds out hope for a better tomorrow makes it mean more, and the lyrics have never sounded more like a prayer. 

"Touching" and "inspired" sum up a lot of Kushner and Spielberg's work here. I keep thinking back on the handling of the balcony scene, with that locked fire-escape grate, When Tony's gone as far as he can go, he and Maria are still on different levels and speaking through bars, their faces only inches apart but still separated. He has to hoist himself up and over from the outside, risking a fall for something that is worth it. It's lovely symbolism for the world being in their way.

Beautiful observations on both. I still would have liked to have seen a quiet echo by Tony and Maria to "Somewhere" so that even a small aspect of it as a duet was preserved, but it was beautiful, and I admit that I sobbed so hard through it that the friend who watched it with me laughed out loud because I was crying so hard we had to pause the movie.

On 1/13/2022 at 6:53 PM, Simon Boccanegra said:

This is just something the actors have to make work in "A Boy Like That/I Have A Love." I thought Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler did sell it in the new film (with a little help from Tony Kushner). The soundtrack album, which includes the spoken dialogue at the end, reinforces that impression.

Anita loved Bernardo, but she understood not only him but the world in which he and Tony existed, and so she knows it easily could have happened the other way around. Once she has softened (the duet with Maria shifting from confrontation to close harmony), she says Tony will never be safe there; "they'll" never forgive him. Maria asks if Anita herself will; Anita replies, "You can't ever ask me that." Then Maria asks if Anita will forgive her (for playing a role in these events and for still loving Bernardo's killer), and Anita's response in Spanish is more than forgiveness, it's love ("Te quiero mi niña"). She says Tony and Maria will have to go away together.

I buy it because of the sisterly relationship between these two, their shared experience of loving leaders of violent gangs, and DeBose's magnificent acting.

Gorgeous dissection of "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love." Just beautifully put. I also love the visual echoes within the staging -- the way the multicolored glass before Maria echoes the stained glass in "One Hand, One Heart" -- as do the bright swatches of fabric hanging around her and Anita -- and the fact that the song ends on Anita's bed. The bed on which she will sleep alone now, because of what Tony has done. The fact that Anita can love Maria enough to transcend this, to take the message to Tony absolutely kills me. Because the fucking Jets and their hate and racism of course blow up everything and it's just so damn horrible.

The person who stays with me in the end isn't Maria. It's Anita. Who loved America so much, who was so bright and vibrant, like a flame of hope. But who is in the end broken and embittered, and who has given up; who will no longer dream of her new life in America, but who will return to Puerto Rico filled with hate and loss. 

Edited March 19, 2022 by paramitch
Forgot something

[Spartan Girl]

10 hours ago, paramitch said:

I think there's a very strange choice at the end to have zero immediate reaction from Valentina at Tony's death. She is just suddenly there and sort of walks past his dead body and looks vaguely sad, when in reality she should be devastated.

Valentina made the sign of the cross as Tony’s impromptu funeral procession passed her by. And for me, she seemed sad yet resigned; she had wanted a better ending for Tony and Maria, but was old enough to see the inevitable fallout coming. It was one hell of a night, so she was probably burned out from the ugliness of it all. Yet in spite of all that, she goes to wait with Chino for the cops so he won’t be alone because what else is there to do?

I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: Valentina was way better than Doc.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Sweet Tee]

Quote

The direction and camerawork are sublime. The camera moves, examines, swoops, dances. I've never met Spielberg (sadly!), but I know for certain that he still loves directing with a passion, because this entire movie feels fluid and alive, fresh, excited, and tenuous.

Yes.  I have so much respect for Spielberg on this film because it's clear he really cared.  He wasn't going through the motions or doing it because of name recognition or to mark off 'musical' on his list of films to make.  He was really passionate about this story and it comes through the whole thing.  

Quote

The person who stays with me in the end isn't Maria. It's Anita. Who loved America so much, who was so bright and vibrant, like a flame of hope. But who is in the end broken and embittered, and who has given up; who will no longer dream of her new life in America, but who will return to Puerto Rico filled with hate and loss. 

Absolutely.  The whole story is a tragedy for everyone.  (Riff and the Jets playing with the gun just shows what stupid little boys they were and what a waste the whole thing was) but my heart really breaks for Anita.  To see this strong and vibrant woman beaten down like she was at the end was horrible.  But, I too, loved the addition of having Graziella and the other Jet girls try to stop the attack on her.  Even though Graziella was pissed too, she instantly didn't want that to happen.  That was a great touch.

I like I Feel Pretty.  If I were to cut any song, it would be One Hand One Heart.  I've never liked that song.  It's sooooo dull.  But, I will say, I thought Ansel and Rachel performed it well and I did like it more here than I did in the '61 movie. (I thought Ansel was fine too.  I'm not speaking about him as a person because yikes but I did think his performance was better than Richard Beymer's).

The only changes that bugged me were Maria forgiving Tony.  In the '61 version, Tony at least explains that Bernardo killed Riff and that Riff was family to him.  You can see that information sink in with her and she understands then.  In this one, that explanation isn't there so she just forgives him because???

And I hate that they cut down Maria's speech at the end.  Maybe they thought it was too on the nose but I love that speech.  'You all killed him and my brother and Riff.  Not with bullets and guns but with hate.  Well, I can kill too because now I have hate!'  Maybe it was just now Natalie Wood performed it but it gets me every time.  Wish they would have let Rachel say the whole thing.

Quote

Josh Andres Rivera (a truly lovely, complex Chino).

Oh my gosh, yes!  He's not getting enough attention.  I love the changes they made to Chino.  It just added yet another layer of tragedy to the story.  When he went for it and started dancing at the gym?  How can you not love him in that moment?

[Spartan Girl]

Apparently Josh and Rachel are dating in real life. That’s so cute. Hope this opens some opportunities for him because he was excellent.

[pancake bacon]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:06 AM, Sarah 103 said:

You have excellent taste! "Gee Officer Krupke" is my favorite song in the show, so I have to ask if that is your second favorite, what is your absolute/number one favorite song in the show?

I know I asked this question in an earlier post, but I am hoping it's okay to ask it again since more people have seen the movie since it is now on HBOMax and Disney+

I said in my previous post that "Gee Officer Krupke", while a great Sondheim lyric and has sophisticated musical progression by Bernstein, had the least purpose in the story of the 2021 version. Kushner's script already laid down why the Jets of the neighborhood were so destructive and helpless… so I felt this song was redundant, and wanted the story to move along already. 

I think my favorite song in the context of this adaptation is actually "One Hand, One Heart" — Rachel and Ansel sing it sensationally. And also…

On 3/17/2022 at 10:31 AM, Conotocarious said:

OMG I thought Cool in the original was so dorky and is a highlight in the new version. 

This right here, is why I'm so aghast that Tony Kushner missed out on a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Well, there are a lot of reasons, but this shift was smart, purposeful and beautifully reinforced the themes of the story. Dare I say future stage adaptations will use "Cool" in the same approach? 

11 hours ago, paramitch said:

Honestly? I thought Anson Elgort was great (for me, Alvarez's Bernardo was much weaker, although his dancing was incredible)

Ansel Elgort was asked to do a lot for the film (numerous songs that had complex technique, additional dancing – good thing he was a trained ballet dancer till age 14, and quit because he got too tall, establish a romance that was iffy even in the best versions of the show), so I give him a lot of credit for being great for a lot of it. His singing is fantastic, and final "Maria?" as he passes away was perfectly uttered. 

Overall, West Side Story (2021) will only grow in stature, regard, and affection. It's going to become a classic, and for me, the best Spielberg movie I've seen. 

[tv echo]

Although West Side Story did not win any PGA awards yesterday, Rita Moreno was presented with the Stanley Kramer Award...

Producers Guild Awards: ‘CODA’ Takes Top Film Prize; ‘Encanto’ & ‘Summer Of Soul’ Also Win – Full List
By Erik Pedersen, Antonia Blyth, Anthony D'Alessandro    March 19, 2022 
https://deadline.com/2022/03/producers-guild-awards-2022-winners-list-1234982487/ 

Quote

Newly minted nonagenarian and EGOT-winning actress Rita Moreno received the Stanley Kramer Award, which goes to a production, producer or other individuals “whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.”

She did not disappoint in her acceptance speech.

Moreno began by noting how she was there – at the invitation of Harry Belafonte – when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. “In seasons when prophets fall silent and statesmen wane, thankfully filmmakers keep on preaching,” she said from the stage. “They never stop advocating for matters of equity and justice.”

Moreno added: “We are in the throes of yet another awards season, and some in our tribe have been known to use the spotlight to advocate for issues addressed in their nominated works – climate change, universal health care, voting rights and LQBTQ advocacy and many others. And I know that, for some audiences, they have been known to create, how shall I say, a mild discomfort. For others, heart palpitations. After all, who does these actors, these Hollywood types, think they are – citizens? Well, f*ck ’em.”

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by tv echo

[moonorchid]

Never seen the show before nor the original movie. Decided to give it a shot yesterday…maybe cause I didn’t know what to expect (i know of the story and it’s beats) and I was completely absorbed and was so emotional. Spielberg really outdid himself here. It’s shot so beautifully and cinematically. It gives the feeling like I was seeing in on Broadway. It’s just so beautiful. 
 

I can’t stop thinking about the line in Maria, “say it loud and there’s music playing, say it softly and it sounds like praying”…the way Ansel sings it is like a dream. That line made me believe him. I know about his SA allegations and I feel weird about it but honestly, he was one of my favorite things about this movie. I thought he really sold all the different facets of Tony really well, and I definitely believe he looked at Maria as a salvation for his sins. 

Edited March 21, 2022 by moonorchid

[tv echo]

Oscars Snub: West Side Story Star Rachel Zegler Says She Isn't Invited
By Matt Webb Mitovich / March 20 2022
https://tvline.com/2022/03/20/oscars-rachel-zegler-not-invited-west-side-story-best-picture-nominee/ 

Quote

Rachel Zegler, the lead actress of Best Picture contender West Side Story, says that she did not score an invite to next Sunday’s Academy Awards.

The Steven Spielberg-directed update of the classic musical is vying for seven total Oscars at the March 27, ABC-hosted ceremony, including for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose, who played Anita) and Best Directing (Spielberg).

Zegler on Saturday had shared a batch of photos on Instagram, including of her dressed for last week’s BAFTAs; that prompted one follower to anticipate her look for the Oscars’ red carpet. “I’m not invited, so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel,” Zegler, who is not among the film’s Oscar nominees, replied.

Traditionally, those who are nominated for an Oscar each receive a pair of tickets to the ceremony, as do presenters at the telecast. Movie studios are then allocated blocks that are proportional, in theory, to the number of nominations their movies collect. (TVLine has reached out to both West Side Story‘s production studio and ABC for comment.)

In the wake of Instagram comments expressing much surprise and asking why, Zegler wrote, “idk y’all i have tried it all but it doesn’t seem to be happening :’) i will root for west side story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago. i hope some last minute miracle occurs and i can celebrate our film in person but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, i guess. thanks for all the shock and outrage— i’m disappointed, too. but that’s okay. so proud of our movie. ❤️”

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by tv echo

[Sarah 103]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:43 AM, paramitch said:

I loved Graziella and thought it was incredibly moving, tense, and upsetting to see her gradually realize the change in the atmosphere around Anita, and her sudden kinship and terror on Anita's behalf. The Jets shoving Graziella out the door was terrifying because suddenly what they are about to do is deliberate, premeditated. It's even more horrible than the previous staging.

YES! It's a moment of attempted solidarity by the Jet girls. They realize what is going to happen and they want to stop it, because for a split second they have stopped seeing Anita as a foriegner and one of them, and instead are seeing her as a woman and one of us. 

[paramitch]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:16 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Valentina made the sign of the cross as Tony’s impromptu funeral procession passed her by. And for me, she seemed sad yet resigned; she had wanted a better ending for Tony and Maria, but was old enough to see the inevitable fallout coming. It was one hell of a night, so she was probably burned out from the ugliness of it all. Yet in spite of all that, she goes to wait with Chino for the cops so he won’t be alone because what else is there to do?

I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: Valentina was way better than Doc.

Yes, but she walks past his body, glances at it, makes the sign of the cross, then walks right on. She doesn't pause. For me it reads as "someone's dead," not as "Tony's dead." It's not remotely a big gesture. I just felt it needed a bigger acknowledgment. But that's just me.

On 3/19/2022 at 9:28 AM, Sweet Tee said:

I like I Feel Pretty.  If I were to cut any song, it would be One Hand One Heart.  I've never liked that song.  It's sooooo dull.  But, I will say, I thought Ansel and Rachel performed it well and I did like it more here than I did in the '61 movie. (I thought Ansel was fine too.  I'm not speaking about him as a person because yikes but I did think his performance was better than Richard Beymer's).

The only changes that bugged me were Maria forgiving Tony.  In the '61 version, Tony at least explains that Bernardo killed Riff and that Riff was family to him.  You can see that information sink in with her and she understands then.  In this one, that explanation isn't there so she just forgives him because???

Oh my gosh, yes!  He's not getting enough attention.  I love the changes they made to Chino.  It just added yet another layer of tragedy to the story.  When he went for it and started dancing at the gym?  How can you not love him in that moment?

Thanks for such a lovely quote/reply! I admit though that this made me love "One Hand One Heart," and I admit that it is normally a fast-forward for me (as a song and as a number in the original). But this made me emotionally involved and I thought it was visually gorgeous.

I 100% agree that Maria forgiving Tony with no context or forgiveness is upsetting. It definitely bothered me that Spielberg/Kushner chose it to happen without context. AGHGH. Why not give her what, 30 more seconds to say, "I tried and he attacked me?" I mean, just saying.

On 3/19/2022 at 11:17 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Apparently Josh and Rachel are dating in real life. That’s so cute. Hope this opens some opportunities for him because he was excellent.

This is adorable! I wish them both well regardless.

On 3/19/2022 at 7:55 PM, pancake bacon said:

This right here, is why I'm so aghast that Tony Kushner missed out on a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Well, there are a lot of reasons, but this shift was smart, purposeful and beautifully reinforced the themes of the story. Dare I say future stage adaptations will use "Cool" in the same approach? 

Overall, West Side Story (2021) will only grow in stature, regard, and affection. It's going to become a classic, and for me, the best Spielberg movie I've seen. 

Agreed on all fronts. 

14 hours ago, moonorchid said:

Never seen the show before nor the original movie. Decided to give it a shot yesterday…maybe cause I didn’t know what to expect (i know of the story and it’s beats) and I was completely absorbed and was so emotional. Spielberg really outdid himself here. It’s shot so beautifully and cinematically. It gives the feeling like I was seeing in on Broadway. It’s just so beautiful. 

I have a film degree but felt the same way. I love the original. But Spielberg deserves his voice and what he reimagined was so gorgeous and devastating!

6 hours ago, tv echo said:

Oscars Snub: West Side Story Star Rachel Zegler Says She Isn't Invited
By Matt Webb Mitovich / March 20 2022
https://tvline.com/2022/03/20/oscars-rachel-zegler-not-invited-west-side-story-best-picture-nominee/ 

All I can think as a former media publicist is that this is a massive (embarrassing) oversight. Rachel should be there and this is easy for them to rectify. I mean, sheesh.

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

YES! It's a moment of attempted solidarity by the Jet girls. They realize what is going to happen and they want to stop it, because for a split second they have stopped seeing Anita as a foriegner and one of them, and instead are seeing her as a woman and one of us. 

That's a lovely observation and so true. And devastating! One of Spielberg/Kushner's many improvements to the latest version.

Edited March 21, 2022 by paramitch

[Spartan Girl]

1 minute ago, paramitch said:

I 100% agree that Maria forgiving Tony with no context or forgiveness is upsetting. It definitely bothered me that Spielberg/Kushner chose it to happen without context. AGHGH. Why not give her what, 30 more seconds to say, "I tried and he attacked me?" I mean, just saying.

I think Maria felt guilty because she believed it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t pressured Tony to stop the fight; even when she backtracked later and told him to stay away from it, he still felt obligated to intervene. And with that in mind, as angry and heartbroken as she was, she didn’t want to lose him too.

[moonorchid]

19 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think Maria felt guilty because she believed it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t pressured Tony to stop the fight; even when she backtracked later and told him to stay away from it, he still felt obligated to intervene. And with that in mind, as angry and heartbroken as she was, she didn’t want to lose him too.

Honestly none of that really bugged me cause Maria is for all intents and purposes, still a kid whose experiencing very intense emotions and situations very quickly. 
 

Im more perplexed how Anita didn’t get in another slap or two on Maria when she was going on about loving Tony and how it’s like Anita’s love for bernando and begging for understanding. Anita’s entire life has just been flipped and she’s gotta listen to this? She’s a better person than I. 

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

YES! It's a moment of attempted solidarity by the Jet girls. They realize what is going to happen and they want to stop it, because for a split second they have stopped seeing Anita as a foriegner and one of them, and instead are seeing her as a woman and one of us. 

That part hit really hard. I was glad Valentina called them out for what they were at the end. 

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, paramitch said:

All I can think as a former media publicist is that this is a massive (embarrassing) oversight. Rachel should be there and this is easy for them to rectify. I mean, sheesh.

Yeah, I don't understand this at all. I know she wasn't nominated but the movie of which she is the lead, was. Is she the only one from the cast who wasn't invited? Are they trying to keep numbers down because of COVID?

[moonorchid]

15 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Yeah, I don't understand this at all. I know she wasn't nominated but the movie of which she is the lead, was. Is she the only one from the cast who wasn't invited? Are they trying to keep numbers down because of COVID?

This isn’t acceptable. The ONLY way this even remotely comes close to okay is if only Ariana is there from the cast, Spielberg, and maybe a couple other people. Even then This sucks. The cast should be there.

[Sarah 103]

@Empress1 and @moonorchid-I understand wanting to keep numbers down because of Covid. There is a major flaw with how they are doing it. Each nominee gets one guest, but if one person is nominated multiple times, they get to bring multiple guests. Someone is nominated once gets to bring one guest, but someone who is nominated three times gets to bring three guests, which I think is unfair. Rachel Zegler should be able to be there. 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Sarah 103

[Spartan Girl]

She should have been nominated too. Preferably in place of Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos.

[Sweet Tee]

Quote

Im more perplexed how Anita didn’t get in another slap or two on Maria when she was going on about loving Tony and how it’s like Anita’s love for bernando and begging for understanding. Anita’s entire life has just been flipped and she’s gotta listen to this? She’s a better person than I.

I love their friendship so much in all versions I've seen but I can't help but feel like their relationship is over.  I understand why Anita lied about Maria.  She was just nearly gang r*ped and that's an absolutely traumatizing thing to go through.  But, Tony died as a result of that.  And that devastates Maria.  I can't see them ever forgiving each other, which is just another layer of heartbreak.  And in this version, Maria's parents didn't seem to be in America.  It was just Bernardo, Anita, and Maria living together as a little family unit.  Let's say Anita goes back to Puerto Rico, what happens to Maria?  

Quote

She should have been nominated too. Preferably in place of Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos.

Her and Mike Faist.  He blew me away with how much depth he gave Riff.  They were both snubbed.  And yes, it's unacceptable that Rachel wasn't invited to the Oscars.  She's the lead for goodness sake!  So disrespectful.

Quote

I 100% agree that Maria forgiving Tony with no context or forgiveness is upsetting. It definitely bothered me that Spielberg/Kushner chose it to happen without context. AGHGH. Why not give her what, 30 more seconds to say, "I tried and he attacked me?" I mean, just saying.

Right?  I would have demanded to know what happened that lead to him killing my brother.  I mean, they were both very niave to think that Tony had any hope of stopping the rumble.  Especially, as it was about to start.  He could have gone to her and said, 'I tried to talk to my guys but they won't listen to me anymore.'  But, there was no way he was gonna talk both sides down seconds before the fighting was about to start.

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, Sweet Tee said:

  Let's say Anita goes back to Puerto Rico, what happens to Maria?  

Maria is screwed, to be honest. Even if Anita stayed, she’s not going to live with or help support Maria. Her community would shun her. She’s alone. Her best hope would be for Valentina to let her live in the basement where Tony was staying, or maybe go back to Puerto Rico to live with family there and just … avoid Anita, I guess?

[BetterButter]

 

[ShadowHunter]

The weakest part of the movie was the central romance lol. I wish another male actor had been cast instead of Ansel Elgort. What a boring drip he was. 

[dmeets]

If the Oscars producers feel like West Side Story is such a long-shot to win Best Picture that they didn't bother to invite the film's lead until she called them out on social media, then why bother including them as a nominee? I can understand limiting the invitee list, but the main cast from each BP nominee should have been invited. Otherwise, it'd look pretty awkward if only the movie's producers, director and one actor are up on stage.

But then this is the same group that felt so confident about a posthumous win for Chadwick Boseman that they wound up ending last year's ceremony with a "couldn't be here to accept so we thank you on his behalf. So uh... Good night everyone!" so maybe out of respect for all of the nominees they should just quit trying to assume the results ahead of time.

Edited March 22, 2022 by dmeets

[scarynikki12]

38 minutes ago, dmeets said:

If the Oscars producers feel like West Side Story is such a long-shot to win Best Picture that they didn't bother to invite the film's lead until she called them out on social media, then why bother including them as a nominee?

The Oscar producers aren’t the same people who do the nominations. The Academy makes the decisions regarding category size and arranges the nominating process. The show itself is, this year, in the hands of ABC so they’re the ones making all the decisions like who to present and cutting awards from the broadcast. The initial problem comes from Disney for not making sure she got an invite and, if Covid was legitimately the reason she didn’t initially get one*, they needed to be upfront with her.

*They’re claiming it was because she’s in England filming Snow White and there was concern that the trip back and forth could lead to a positive test and delay production but, again, be upfront with the information Disney.

[paramitch]

On 3/21/2022 at 1:02 PM, moonorchid said:

Im more perplexed how Anita didn’t get in another slap or two on Maria when she was going on about loving Tony and how it’s like Anita’s love for bernando and begging for understanding. Anita’s entire life has just been flipped and she’s gotta listen to this? She’s a better person than I. 

Because Anita loves Maria, and in that moment they are sharing this impossible, messy, love and grief in the same moment. I think the way it's played is key -- Maria is so young, and Anita knows her so well. Maria isn't meaning to judge Anita's life, and while of course her "true love of two days" cannot compare to Anita's years with Bernardo, that's the whole conceit of the story (and of Romeo & Juliet). So we (and Anita) just sort of have to buy into it.

And honestly that one single slap is so shocking to me, I think it works perfectly in the moment.

On 3/22/2022 at 9:16 AM, Spartan Girl said:

She should have been nominated too. Preferably in place of Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos.

Oh God, yes, THIS. Look, I love Nicole Kidman, but that thing was a travesty. I couldn't get more than 25 minutes in. Just horrifically miscast. And while I try very hard not to judge actresses for their plastic surgery choices, watching the stone-faced Kidman play Lucy was too painful for me to sit through (I also thought Bardem was just as miscast -- it was like watching two mastiffs try to play chihuahuas, just everything about their energy was wrong).

On 3/22/2022 at 11:12 AM, Empress1 said:

Maria is screwed, to be honest. Even if Anita stayed, she’s not going to live with or help support Maria. Her community would shun her. She’s alone. Her best hope would be for Valentina to let her live in the basement where Tony was staying, or maybe go back to Puerto Rico to live with family there and just … avoid Anita, I guess?

I don't agree that Maria is irrevocably screwed. I think she's strong enough, and bright enough, that she will get through this. I definitely think Valentina would take her in, and she already expresses that she wants to put herself through school and make something of herself. I'm also not sure she would be shunned as much as people think -- I prefer to think, based on the way the young men come together in the end to honor and mourn Tony, and how Valentina supports Chino, that the community will emerge kinder and wiser from this. I also feel that's part of the beauty of West Side Story -- it gives us a stronger Juliet in Maria, one who will survive all of this, in every sense.

Meanwhile -- @Sweet Tee, agreed on Mike Faist. I thought he was absolutely superb. He brought this wonderful combination of tension, wildness, and sweetness to Riff. He was wonderful.

And last but not least, I'm very glad that Rachel is not only going to the Oscars, but will be presenting. She deserves it.

Edited March 23, 2022 by paramitch
Added updates, apologies

[Spartan Girl]

The Take did a video comparing and contrasting both versions:

 

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:26 AM, Browncoat said:

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

I didn't either. And I was prepared to!

Saw it for the first time tonight. But I'd seen clips. And in those clips, his singing seemed too "lightweight" to me.

I felt differently, seeing his whole performance. He made me believe he was Tony, and his somewhat "lightweight" voice was part of what made me believe.

I liked everything about the movie. Newsflash: Spielberg is a genius!

[Spartan Girl]

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I actually liked that this version of Tony didn’t try to excuse killing Bernardo by telling Maria about how killed Riff. Honestly…would it really matter? He was her brother. Two wrongs don’t make a right. And FYI she did know about Riff because Chino told her when he came to her at Gimbels. So Kushner didn’t really drop the ball on that one,

[Lady Whistleup]

I think Maria will be fine. She's young, pretty, smart, and has a lot of moxie. Many people like that have very little and make a lot of their lives.

[Milburn Stone]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:23 PM, luvthepros said:

Justin Peck's choreography in Spielberg's film is part of what makes this film more gritty and realistic over the 1961 film. Seeing gang members with grittier choreography vs Robbins' balletic choreo is what makes Speilberg's film superior to me.

Another thing that struck me about Peck's choreography: Peck choreographed for the camera much more than Robbins did. (Which is part of why the new film is so awesome.) With Robbins, it's pretty much like he reprised his Broadway choreography and said to Wise, "OK, figure out a way to film it." (And of course Robbins did film some of it himself when he was still on the picture as co-director. But the same applied--he preserved his choreography and figured out how to shoot it.) Peck, on the other hand, choreographed to Spielberg's vision. Spielberg said, "OK, I'm going to be doing an overhead crane shot here; give me something that will look awesome from above." And Peck came through.

[Spartan Girl]

I too liked Peck’s choreography better. It was more effective in letting the Jets look edgy and somewhat menacing.

Also better in the remake? Tony and Maria’s first meeting. I’m sorry, but NOBODY talks like the sappy dialogue from the original. Even on stage it’s a bit much.

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I think Maria will be fine. She's young, pretty, smart, and has a lot of moxie. Many people like that have very little and make a lot of their lives.

Natalie Wood’s Maria? Sure, she’ll be fine. That last shot of her walking away with her head held high despite everything made that clear. But the last shot of Rachel’s Maria seemed so drained and broken. Her, I’d worry about.

[Lady Whistleup]

36 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Natalie Wood’s Maria? Sure, she’ll be fine. That last shot of her walking away with her head held high despite everything made that clear. But the last shot of Rachel’s Maria seemed so drained and broken. Her, I’d worry about.

You bring up one thing about the 1961 film vs 2021 film: 

Natalie Wood actually plays Maria as extremely headstrong. So the 1961 film has a lot of chemistry issues between Beymer and Wood, but I actually thought Wood's Maria was feistier and made of stern stuff, whereas Rachel's Maria played as younger and more vulnerable. 

In real life, Natalie Wood had a very strong personality. All the child stars of that era did. You had to be tough as nails to survive the Hollywood child actor industry.

[Brn2bwild]

11 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I think Maria will be fine. She's young, pretty, smart, and has a lot of moxie. Many people like that have very little and make a lot of their lives.

I have this idea that Valentina will find both Anita and Maria, and with the $500 each they got in exchange for their homes being torn down, will drive out of town and resettle in the Midwest.  Anita and Maria will maintain their sisterhood, even with the tension of knowing that Tony murdered Bernardo and Anita indirectly got Tony murdered.

It's interesting that none of the versions of WSS have shown Anita's reaction to Tony getting shot.

[Milburn Stone]

On 2/2/2022 at 2:26 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I also liked that...instead of a nameless bridal shop, Maria and her friends are the cleaning crew at Gimbles.

I'm about to veer into pure (if informed) speculation here, but I think that change was made by Spielberg/Kushner to address a concern of Sondheim's about his lyric for "I Feel Pretty." (A concern which I've never shared, but that's of no matter.) After the fact, Sondheim always cringed at his lyric because (to paraphrase him) "a young Puerto Rican girl would never use such fancy language." Transplanting the number to an upscale-ish environment--Gimbel's women's department in the fifties--an environment in which Maria works and has familiarity with--an environment that allows her to fantasize, for the moment, that she's one of those high-toned women--removes the last vestige of doubt about the aptness of the lyric writing. My guess is that Sondheim, when he saw the picture, said, "Now it makes sense."

It also has echoes of his Evening Primrose, but we won't get into that.