West Side Story

What they have done with “West Side Story,” released in 1961, in breaking it down and moving it from stage to screen is to make the fine material into nothing short of a masterpiece.

In every respect, the remaking of the Arthur Laurentis-Leonard Bernstein musical in the dynamic forms of motion pictures is intelligently and appropriately succeeded. Bosley Crowther said in his review, “The drama of New York juvenile gang war, which cried to be released in the freer and less restricted medium of the mobile photograph, is now given range and natural aspect on the large Panavision color screen, and the music and dances that expand it are magnified as true sense-experiences.”

The strong blend of drama, dance, and music becomes a rich artistic whole.

Crowther noted, “Perhaps the most striking aspect of it is the sweep and vitality of the dazzling Jerome Robbins dances that the kids of the seamy West Side do. Here is conveyed the wild emotion that burns in these youngsters' touch, lithe frames. Here are the muscle and the rhythm that bespeak a collective energy.”

From the moment the camera comes superbly down out of the sky at the start of the film and shows the Jets, a gang of tough kids, swaying antsy-like in a playground park, bodies move gracefully and fiercely in frequent impulsive movements of dance, and even the movements of the characters in the drama have the grace of actors in a ballet.

Crowther said, “This pulsing persistence of rhythm all the way through the film--in the obviously organized dances, such as the arrogant show-offs of the Jets, that swirl through play-grounds, alleys, school gymnasiums and parking lots, and in the less conspicuous stagings, such as that of the "rumble" (battle) of the two kids--gives an overbeat of eloquence to the graphic realism of this film and sweeps it along, with Mr. Bernstein's' potent music, to the level of an operatic form.”

Against, or within, this flow of rhythm is played the tender drama of two nice kids, a Puerto Rican girl and a Polish boy, who meet and fall in love, despite the rancor and rivalry of their respective ethnic groups, and are thrown to an end that is tragic, just like Romeo & Juliet.

Every moment of the drama has legitimacy and integrity, got from skillful, tasteful handing of a universal theme. Crowther mentioned, “Ernest Lehman's crackling screen play, taken from Arthur Laurent's book, and Robert Wise's incisive direction are faithful and cinema-wise, and the performances are terrific except in one major role.”

Richard Beymer’s characterization of the boy who meets and loves the girl is a little thin and beautiful, but Natalie Wood is full of shine and charm as the nubile Puerto Rican who is emotionally drawn to him. Crowther credited, “Rita Moreno is a spitfire as Miss Wood's faithful friend, and George Chakiris is proud and heroic as her sweetheart and leader of the rival gang.”

Excellent as young kids (and dancers) in a variety of characterizations are Russ Tamblyn, Tucker Smith, Tony Mordente, Jose De Vega, Jay Norman and many more, and outstanding girls are Gina Trikonis, Ynovve Othion, Suzie Kaye, and Sue Oakes.

Crowther noted, “Although the singing voices are, for the most part, dubbed by unspecified vocal performers, the device is not noticeable and detracts not one whit from the beauty and eloquence of the songs.”

Obviously, in the end, the moral of the tragedy comes through in the amazing sense of wasting the energies of kids. It is screamed by the candy-store owner, played forcefully by Ned Glass, when he screams, “You kids make this world lousy! When will you stop?”

It is a statement that should be heard by thoughtful people – sympathetic people – all over the planet.

It may look difficult to believe that it has been almost seventy-five years since Jerome Robbins thought the idea and shared the plan of bringing a modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to Broadway as a musical. It took another eight years for the idea to be realized when, after some changes and revisions, it debuted on Broadway. In 1958, it was nominated for six Tony Awards and won two.

Four years later, the movie adaptation, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, and Rita Moreno premiered and won ten out of the eleven Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture. At the time, an eleven-year-old named Steven fell in love with the story and music and sixty years later, Academy Award-winning director, Steven Spielberg released a 2021 remake, which has been nominated for seven Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture.

Like Romeo & Juliet, Tony and Marie are troubled lovers. They are from two different races even though they live within a ten-block radius from each other in New York City. She is a Puerto Rican immigrant, and he is an American who was part of The Jets gang that hates the new immigrants and The Sharks gang. Despite resistance and objections from everyone around them, Tony and Maria are meant to be together. Sadly, very often when there is hate there is violence, and their story inevitably ends in tragedy.

The 1961 version is so famous that it is hard to imagine anyone else playing the roles of Maria, Tony, Bernardo, and Anita but Spielberg found some young talent that do their best. Rachel Zegler, who plays Maria, is an amazing actress. Her talent knows no bounds as her acting is only outshined by her singing which is excellent. Surprisingly, Ansel Elgort is casted as Tony, and he does a good job overall but is outdone by Zegler. The surprise is that Elgort can really sing, which no one knew.

Broadway talent Ariana DeBose steps into the role of Anita but she has some big shoes to fill. For younger audiences, they might find her to be very good but for those who saw the original film will compare her to Moreno and, undeniably, Morena is superior. Interestingly, Moreno plays Valentina, Doc’s widow who runs the drug store. She also executive produces the film and incorporating her into the remake was smart for Spielberg.

Allison Rose admitted in her review, “If this had been a brand-new Spielberg movie, I would have said the production value, cast and plot are all strong and the film is entertaining. However, since this is a remake of a classic film that was a critical and box office success previously, comparisons will obviously be made, and I prefer the 1961 version over the 2021 version. It isn’t a bad movie; it just isn’t an improvement from the sixty-year-old story.”

I know that this is “Disney Month” and I had reviewed the original and remake, even though only the remake was released by Disney, but I felt like I should have included the original, or else this wouldn’t be a faithful review. Check both of them out because I think you will love both of them. The original is on HBO Max while the remake is available on HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. See them and enjoy yourself to some toe-tapping numbers.

Tomorrow I will be continuing with the Star Wars shows in “Disney Month 2022.”