mplo

To each their own, but having seen parts of the newer film version of West Side Story not that long ago on a TV program that emphasized the comparisons between the 2021 film version of West Side Story and the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story, who's also listened to the soundtrack to the 2021 film version, and being a devout fan of the original 1961 film version of WSS, my preference is for the old, original 1961 film version.

mplo

Hi, jjcool I first saw the original 1961 film version of West Side Story during a national re-release of this film, at around Christmastime of 1968, as a high school Senior, at a long since defunct cinema north of Boston and the town where my siblings and I grew up, fell in love with it from the start, and have loved it ever since. Since I was still a teenager in high school when I first saw this classic film, I identified with the Jets, the Sharks and their girls regarding kids being kids and so on, but when I got a little older and began seeing it in both repertory (and mostly now defunct) theatres in and around Boston, I began to appreciate the original 1961 film version of WSS for the creative piece of art that it is, as well as the very story behind WSS.

Four years later, when it first went on TV, I and a bunch of classmates in an evening class I was taking at museum of fine arts school here in Boston gathered around to watch it, on a small black-and-white TV that someone in the class had brought in. We all had a good time.

Fast forward to that summer (i. e. 1972), my love for the original 1961 film version of West Side Story was re-awakened, while on a six-week trip to Europe. One person in the group I was with had brought along a cassette tape of the soundtrack to the 1961 film version of WSS, which was played almost every evening, during free hours. My love for this great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical was re-awakened that summer, and that fall, when it aired on TV 2 days before Thanksgiving, I cut my evening class, stayed home, and watched the original film version of WSS on my parents' small black-and-white TV. I've been a fan of this film since.

joeblow69

Finally saw this last night, and it was acceptable I guess. I had just seen the original for the first time about a year ago, and I remember that one having a much bigger impact on me. On thing that really was distracting to me throughout the entire remake, is that in every single dance number, there were people that were completely out of sync. I honestly could not believe how sloppy that dancing was. It made every dance number seem like people were just going through the motions.

Runaway

This movie was so boring and even the scenes between the musical numbers felt staged. I just couldn't take the movies seriously and don't understand why Spielberg wanted to remake this.

joeblow69

Nostalgia maybe? Maybe he was hoping to resurrect this type of old school musical? I think that's a lost cause, imho.

davidh777

I’m a big fan of the original and have long considered it the best stage-to-screen adaptation ever. I discovered the movie back in the ‘80s and became a huge Broadway fan, and WSS is probably still my all-time-favorite show.

I think the Spielberg version is better (or at least more appealing to a modern audience) than the original, and I didn’t expect to think that. There were some noticeable changes with characters and plot and such, but even when I didn’t think they were a benefit, I didn’t think they were a detraction either.

Runaway

I mean, he's Steven Spielberg he doesn't have to have a reason which I do understand and making a musical may have been on his bucket list. I know my aversion towards musicals, especially those old school musicals make me blind to any appreciation anyway.

dex14

Paff

Caught up with this last night. By the way, if anyone is wondering why I'm suddenly "catching up" on a lot of movies and resurrecting threads in this sub-forum, well my contract ended at my job, I'm waiting for a new assignment, and in the meantime staying home all day but having to be frugal because my PTO will be running out very very soon.

As for my history with West Side Story, it was my dad who first introduced me to the film, but as an 11-year old with a short attention span, I got about 10 minutes in before I derisively laughed it off. Didn't stop me and my best friend at the time from mocking my dad by aggressively snapping our fingers to indicate we were ready to fight. After growing up though, I developed a fondness for musicals, and after becoming a fan of Hong Kong martial arts films and realizing the "fights" were carefully choreographed dances, West Side Story became a favorite on DVD. And finally, I got to see a 35mm print in 2008 at an old single screen theater (with a BIG screen) and it was simply amazing.

That said, this remake was....ok. Not great, but certainly enjoyable. It did manage to fix some problems with the original, specifically making the gangs and fights a bit more threatening, and of course the improvement of having actual Latino actors (as well as correcting something I once heard a stand-up comedian ridicule about the original; why, when Tony runs through the Puerto Rican neighborhood, only one woman answers to "Maria!"). I liked the lecture from the police lieutenant at the beginning explaining how if you're white, you can easily leave the slums as long as you don't spend your time and money drinking and fighting and getting other slum residents pregnant. I mean, they always kinda indicate the Jets were pretty much ignored by their parents in "Gee, Officer Krupke" but this plainly spells it out. Finally, after my viewing I went back and read this thread, and I liked Dooku's assessment of "I Feel Pretty" being much more poignant being it's the cleaning staff of Gimbel's admiring the clothes, even though they can't afford to buy the things at the place where they work, which is pretty f'ed up when you think about it.

I don't think I'd get much argument that the big "showstopping number" of West Side Story is "America", and Spielberg had a monumental task to live up to in filming it (at the 2008 35mm screening I attended, the crowd roared in applause at the end of the song, totally ignoring the Progressive Insurance admonishment that no one who made the movie is in attendance). I think he made a wise choice in not trying to recreate the rooftop set because he knew he'd never come close to the original, so he just put it out in the streets to make his own version of it without ever trying to compete with easily one of filmdom's top dance scenes, ever.

So, with that all said, I have to wonder why Steve didn't try to update the setting to modern NYC. I mean, the music is timeless, you don't have to change a thing there. The story is just as relevant if not more so, and hell, it's pretty much already a very faithful adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in the first place. Why not adapt again, and make the styles and scenes look like 21st Century New York? That's what makes musicals so adaptable, you can easily insert modern references. I mean, just off the top of my head I've seen Cabaret where at the end the genderfluid MC is now wearing a concentration camp uniform with the pink triangle patch, or Jesus Christ Superstar where "What's the Buzz" is turned into a modern press conference, Jesus at a podium while all the apostles have microphones and portable tape recorders asking him questions.

Not 100% sure if I'll add this to my Blu-Ray collection, but it's on HBO a lot currently, and I'm betting if I'm idly flipping channels I'd probably stop and watch part of it if it were mid-broadcast.

ftsoh

Is this the first time a remake won the Oscar in the same category (Best Supporting Actress) as the original? Can't think of another pair of the top of my head.