Amor, Sublime Amor

I absolutely loved the movie - I had a lot of high expectations. I grew up rewatching the borrowed DVD of the 1961 version from the library. I have the 2009 Broadway version memorized by heart. But this adaptation?? It did everything so, so much justice. The acting, the singing, the dancing. There was a tension that you should feel throughout. And so many Performances with a capital P - ESP Ariana, Mike and David. The shots were absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The orchestra - EXQUISITE. This version of WSS actually broke me.

I want to watch it again. I look forward to owning this version on DVD.

My first thought in hearing about this ... a thought I'm sure was shared by many ... was WHY? Why remake a movie that was done so well the first time. Still, I went to the theater and found a wonderful, well-made movie. I hadn't read anything about the movie before seeing it and I went in wondering if they would update it to present day. They didn't, but I think that might have worked too.

Discussing the movie with my twenty-something son, I brought up the "why remake a nearly perfect film" question and his response was ... for a new generation. People his age were never going to see the 1961 version in the theater and most would never see a 60 year old movie at all. This movie allows a new generation (or two or three) to experience the magic on the big screen. Ultimately, the appeal of the movie lies in the music and the dance ... even more than the story. But the story is still powerful even after there have been so very many Romeo and Juliet adaptations.

A fun movie to see on the big screen.

I can't answer that question because I haven't seen most of the remakes, but it is hard for me to imagine a better one. This film is not a copy of the original made in 1961, when the setting was contemporary with the film. That 1961 film won 10 Oscars including best picture and best director (Robert Wise), so it would be hard to top. Here Steven Spielberg doesn't top the original, but replaces it with something that brings the story up to date. It is edgier, filled with actors who are of the same ethnicity as the roles they play and ie speaks to current issues, notably immigration. The latter is not hard since the opposing gangs are white on one side and Puerto Rican on the other. It even has a role sympathetic to the current LGBTQ movement.

The original was my favorite filmed musical, largely for two reasons: The music and Natalie Wood in the role of Maria. The plot is, of course, a refashioning of Romeo and Juliet and the broad outlines of the 2021 film are the same. Some of the musical are not in the same places as in the 1961 film, which is okay except for "I Feel Pretty" which does not seem to come at an appropriate place. Also, "Somewhere" is not sung by the couple, but by Valentina (played by Rita Morena as an excellent replacement for Ned Glass as Doc). That did not work for me. Those made me gave this a 9 instead of a 10.

The script differs from the 1961 substantially and for the better, because it fills in some gaps in the plot and provides a better context for some of the music and actions. A few of the lyrics are changed as well, but not dramatically. Some of the dialog is in Spanish, but I could tell what was being said, again from the context.

I was never good at judging actors because it is always hard to tell how much of their performance owes to good direction and what can I say except Spielberg. To me, however, the performances seemed more realistic than the 1961 film.

Watching west Side Stiry in a cold theatre with a mask, I was having a difficult time warming up to the movie. I kept thinking "why bother" with a remake. Then I realized the movie was still set in the 60's. And Spielberg wanted to set the record straight. The new West Side Story is about race.

In this production the Puerto Ricans were really Latino and spoke Spanish (no subtitles). The white kids were mostly sort of clueless, without much reason for being there. The Puerto Ricans had all the good lines, the believability, the energy.

I actually liked the performances a lot. Rachel Zegler as Maria was stunningly pure, almost unrealistically romanticized like a virgin princess. Ariana DeBose was tormented and fiery, and David Alvarez was the stealth show stealer of the production with his sexy, macho Bernardo.

The singing was outstanding. Rita Moreno sang and she still has a decent voice. But in retrospect, I was mist impressed with Ansel Elbert as Tony, who has been getting mediocre reviews for his lack of "soul". Ansel Elbert was hot! Elbert was singing tenor, sweet, clear and very emotional singing from his heart. What a concept.

It's not a common occurrence for a young person to sing so innocently these days, about true love, and Elbert, with his pouty lips and lanky working class presentation was so much fun to watch! Nobody believes in true love anymore. So it was a bit anachronistic to see this production based on the idea of true love. At the end when Maria cries her heart out over Tony laying in the street she is not only crying about the loss of her love. She also seems to be crying to the gang members looking on snd crying about their loss of innocence. In that regard she was crying for the audience, for me, Who cries about true love these days? True Love? It's actually counterrevolutionary.

I saw both the stage version live and the 1961 movie in the past, and even though I always loved the music and dance numbers, I was never really sold or engaged by the storytelling. I would go as far as saying that the story almost bored me on both the movie and stage musical.

This adaptation from Spielberg however manages to turn the characters into real people, the situations get higher stakes, the emotion is palpable. The quality of the songs and musical numbers are impressive, but they always were, you can't do West Side Story without it. But those numbers are greatly enhanced by a really dynamic direction from Spielberg. A direction, that stays masterful throughout and that is really working with the score of the movie.

The acting is so much more real that the 61 movie, Ariana DeBose is simply incredible at both singing and dancing, but her acting chops are really shining here. She carried the movie for me, even though to be fair, all the cast did a great job.

The focus on giving an emotional story and emotional performances from the actors was the way to go, and it is what makes this adaptation a great one. I cried so much (mostly thanks to DeBose and Moreno's performances) throughout the second part of the movie, while I had never shed one tear on the stage musical nor the 61 movie that never managed to move me.

Overall this new adaptation is clearly a love letter to the source material, not trying to reinvent what was already working, but enhancing what wasn't to make it a movie that can move people from our generations.