West Side Story

I was hesitant to go after hearing some negative reviews and stories of disapppointing box office after release.

But he music treatmeant of Bernstein's score, the choreography, the cast, were reallyjust excellent. Tony and Maria have more chemistry and talent than the originals (movie version), and I was blown away by the "I Want to Be in America" street scene. Not woke, not lame. See it.

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.

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.

Living up to the highly praised 1961 movie musical of the same name, you'd think it would be hard for a reimagining to capture the same type of amazement that the original West Side Story movie had. But the 2021 version of this film is just as amazing as the original! Having director Steven Spielberg doing what he does best, you know you're in for a treat!

This one had a very talented cast as well from Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Mike Faist to name a few, and of course Rita Moreno herself! This version wasn't afraid to explore the inner workings of these characters. Which made for a very captivating experience.

Although it's not without it faults, the pacing felt a little strange in a few places. But it wasn't super noticeable as the story continued.

A benefit that this version has over the now 60-year-old original, there's more cultural awareness for the Puerto Rican characters that don't feel caricatures of what Hollywood believes all Puerto Ricans should appear. The use of Spanish dialogue allowed for a more authentic view into the lives of those characters when they weren't surrounded by members of the Jet's gang. Since this movie has been made well after the days of the strict guidelines of the Hays production code that took over Hollywood films from the 1930's to the late 60's, it allowed for this version to take more creative freedom and allow swearing, address racial issues, portray harsher violence, and display an emotionally darker tone that the 1961 version was unable to explore.

If you're "on the fence" about seeing this in theatres and waiting until it comes out on home video or streaming services, I suggested you should see it in theatres. This will give the most spectacular experience possible!

Spielberg does it again! Another outstanding production under his direction. The cast was great, the singing was great but one major thing that stood out to me was the choreography. It couldn't have been any better, and I can't imagine the amount of training and dance practice that each actor had to go through. Job well done by every member of the cast and crew!