West Side Story

This is one of the greatest movies ever made! PERIOD!

what a wonderful surprise of 2021 my godss
- I won't lie, when I heard that Spielberg was going to direct this musical I was afraid it would be a complete disaster, that's because I'm only used to Spielberg's side in Lincoln, Jaws, Shindler's List and saving private ryan, the melodragon, baby.. ..so when I was directing I was intrigued that I hadn't seen him in this kind of film
- the choreography, the songs reinvented in new voices, the lighting, the colors from the movie, the choreographiesssss EVERYTHING ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! Is the 1961 classic a classic?? without a doubt, but here we have a quality remake that knows how to do justice to its primary work.
- about the acting I NEED to mention Mike Faist (who had not won me over on the Panic series) who left me completely attracted to his Riff, Ariana DeBose as Anita is sensational, she is extremely competent in bringing a character to life already so well played in 1961 by Rita Moreno, David Alvarez is a Bernardo much better and more fun than the one in 1961 and Rachel Zegler is beautiful beautiful beautiful like Maria... Ansel, despite bringing a Tony with a predominantly sweeter side, passionate and doesn't show so much his ''gang leader'' side, badboy etc... I really loved to see him completely surrendered to his heart and his love
- I was completely in love with this new version and how it became necessary 10\10 without fear of being happy

The remake of West Side Story is beautiful. I think AOC plays Maria. All the teenagers look like 30-year-old ballet students. https://t.co/Rc0KCNdZ0r

Maria is played by AOC.

Spielberg did his magic and I am grateful for it!! :star_struck:🙈

Full disclosure, I was and am a HUGE fan of the 1961 WEST SIDE STORY. I know it’s every detail, every word of every lyric, every emotional cue. Rita Moreno was the iconic Rita. So, I went to see this new Spielberg directed, Moreno produced, 2021 version with more curiosity than expectation. Not forgetting that WEST SIDE STORY was inspired by Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET, the general structure of the movies is the same yet contemporary and musical. The 2021 version is grittier. The context of the drama is more developed, setting it in a disappearing New York neighbourhood, which makes the rivalry of the street gangs more a matter of life and death that either the play or the first movie. Rita Moreno is very much celebrated in this new film, with a newly created character and a reallocation of a song. Two musical numbers in the 2021 version paled when compared to the 1961: (1) the dance at the gym didn’t have the battle fever of the original (probably solely due to the incomparable Rita Moreno in 1961) and by moving Tony and Maria’s first meeting from the actual dance to behind the bleachers it lost the transcendent quality of their love at first sight; and (2) Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” scene being moved from a Dress Shop (where the girls worked) to a department store (where they were but a small part of a cleaning crew), despite the clever use of store displays, changed the context from dreaming of a wedding to dreaming of blending into Americana. I also felt that 2021 suffered from the loss of (a) priest, which stripped away marriage vows in a church for promises in a museum (??), and (b) the the loss of the potion separated the lovers and the tragic death of love at the end. HOWEVER, ALL COMPARISONS OR DISAPPOINTMENTS EVAPORATED when Rachel Zegler’s soaring soprano lifted Maria’s first note. It was so beautiful I had to remind myself to breath. Her duets with Amsel Elgort were transporting. What would have been a rating of 7 (good) was made 9 (superb) by Zegler’s performance, making this a must see film. [Musical Drama]

I was afraid that I would hate this remake of the 60s movie (since I had really enjoyed the original—and especially love the music in general), but I really enjoyed this version. Obviously there were some minor changes and up until a certain point I was a bit annoyed by the trans person (until they revealed that it was about acceptance and he was not just randomly added for diversity points).
All in all, Spielberg did a fantastic job and the movie die result in some tears shed.

the introducing rachel zegler as maria threw me for a loop

Spielberg can still make magic with a camera. The cinematography, the lighting… many shots evoked the golden age of cinema, bathing the actors in light that makes them shine or shimmer, conveying emotion as well as their acting does. And the cast, for the most part, are excellent. Zegler is a breakout. DeBose lives up to an intimidating legacy with aplomb, radiant and charming in her highest moments and heartwrenching and righteous at her lowest. Speaking of that legacy, Rita Moreno is a legend who brought me to tears; she takes a song that felt simplistic and sappy and infuses it with decades of hard won experience and worn down hope. And Alvarez and Rivera infuse what were stereotypical roles with humanity.

So much care was taken to update this story. Anita gets a little more closure. The Sharks get more screen time. Class and race are put into sharper focus. And the choreography invokes the original while being fresh. Most of the music and lyrics still don’t stand out for me, but they’re working with what they have. And sequences like the America number elevate them. Most of all, I appreciate the attempt to represent Latinos so fully. In The Heights excluded the darker skinned; this gives them their due. The biggest slight against the film is Elgort. I appreciate the attempt to give Tony more depth and edge, something he lacked in the original. But he lacks the conviction of the other actors, and his crimes make the romance with Maria even more awkward and unhealthy than it originally comes off as. He feels almost predatory, and Bernardo nails him dead-on when he says it feels like he’s using Maria to feel new and better; she’s a fixation, a symbol.

Still, West Side Story is an event, and a great one at that, taking a story with flaws and sanding them out to make it one I enjoy much more.

better action sequence than Matrix 4 fr