Steven Spielberg's WEST SIDE STORY - News & Discussion Thread — Page 75

I love Steven Spielberg's magnificent new movie of ''West Side Story,'' but it's also inspired me to revisit Jerome Robbins' and Robert Wise's Oscar-winning classic. And to me, one of the most iconic images from the 1961 picture is the sight of the Jets, shoulders hunched, racing toward the camera in ''Cool.'' It was led by Ice, a newly created character for the movie. And he was played by Tucker Smith, a charismatic, good-looking young actor & dynamite dancer. Smith not only performed ''Cool'' to finger-snapping perfection, but dubbed some of Russ Tamblyn's singing in ''Jet Song.''

So who was Tucker Smith and whatever happened to him? According to Wikipedia, he made his Broadway debut in ''West Side Story'' and became one of the stage pros to make the leap to the big screen. Even after the Oscar-winning movie came out, he played Riff in the 1962 Los Angeles and 1963 Sacramento productions, and toured with it in Tokyo in 1964. His second (and last) Broadway appearance would be in another Sondheim musical: the short-lived ''Anyone Can Whistle'' (1964), starring Angela Lansbury. He played various roles and understudied Treasurer Cooley.

Wikipedia says Smith went on to small roles in film and TV, sometimes as a dancer (and uncredited in ''How to Succeed in Business,'' ''Hello, Dolly!,'' etc.). He did ''Parade'' with Carole Cook and Michele Lee; appeared in a 1973 musical of ''Gone With the Wind,'' and toured with Carol Channing in a revue. ... In the 1970s, Smith ran a bar in North Hollywood called Tucker's Turf, and apparently its name was a nod to his ''West Side'' storied past.

With such a dazzling debut in ''West Side Story,'' one might've expected more stardom for Smith. But David Ehrenstein, author of the book ''Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928-2000,'' says Smith did not pursue a Hollywood career because he was openly gay.

Smith died at age 52 in L.A. His death was attributed to cancer, and Ehrenstein says it was due to AIDS complications. Smith passed away on Dec. 22, 1988, so yesterday would've been the 33rd anniversary. Thanks to the 1961 ''West Side Story,'' Smith's legacy and image live on, forever ''Cool.''

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugWGhItaQA

I just need to add my '2 bits' to this very lengthy thread after seeing WSS today with maybe only 30 others.

I have forgotten everything I saw of the earlier film but know the story and music by heart so no comparisons were made.

I loved every second to the final credits. Nothing disappointed except I wanted more dancing. Perfect cast, not a weak link and the tears flowed, especially when Tonys dangling arm was gently lifted and placed on his body as he was carried away.

It was wonderful to experience so many different emotions over approx. 150 minutes

Thank you everyone associated with this glorious production of West Side Story.

I am one of those people who has been very slow going back to the movies. I am also one of those people who never really liked WSS. I always thought the score was incredible, but I never liked the movie (as a whole) and I always thought it was because I did not like the choreography, which I know is a sacrilege.

I decided to go to see this in the movies after reading the New York Magazine review. The critic essentially started (as I remember) with a explanation as to why s/he never liked the movie. Well, it was for all the same reasons that I did not. I always felt it was too stage bound and artificial and I realize that that is why I did not like the choreography (it was filmed too statically).

Well, when I went to see WSS (in Imax no less), my biggest fear was that I was going to be disappointed again, as has been the case every single time I previously viewed it, both in the movie and on stage. This was the first time I ever loved the movie from beginning to end. I thought it was magnificent and, for me, having had a couple of weeks to think about it, I think it is the best movie musical I have ever seen. (My previous favorites were Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, and Gigi).

Everything about this movie was for me perfect, including the much-maligned Anson Algort. While he will not win the Oscar -- I assume Jane Campion will for Power of the Dog, and it will be deserved to me -- Tony Kushner has done a great job with the script. As examples, the Chino character is so much better defined, and the introduction of Valentina was a master stroke. Riff and the Jets are better understood than in the prior version. Even the fact that Tony has been in jail for essentially his temper lays a better path for his killing Bernardo.

As someone who thinks that Spielberg should have several more Oscars than he does (ET, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Empire of the Sun), I think this is on par with any of his greatest direction thus far. The opening up of the movie in so many scenes was breathtaking, e.g., America, the opening number, the filming of Cool, One Hand One Heart, and Somewhere could not have been better. I don't know who decided to film One Hand One Heart at the cloisters, but it was another brilliant decision; that song became a religious experience in a way that it has not been for me before.

As for the performances, I cannot imagine anyone ever being as good as Rachel Zegler. Algort was the best Tony I have seen, and I have seen a lot of them; Debose was as good as Moreno to me, and that is saying a lot. David Alvarez was better than George Chakiris for me, and Chakiris won an Oscar in an incredible year. I dont know if Mike Faist's role was beefed up more than a little, but he certainly was a presence in the way that Russ Tamblyn was not. Finally, Rita Moreno. It was genius to give her Somewhere. I always felt that giving Tony and Maria both Somewhere and One Hand One Heart was too much, diluting the impact of both songs for me. With Moreno's age alone, the song became so much more of a lifetime's lament; just beautiful. I don't know how much of it was due to her performance or the way the role was written, but she became the heart of the movie, and she carried it off magnificently. In a year in which there are an incredible number of supporting actresses in contention for an Oscar nomination, I don't know if both of them will be nominated or if one of them should win. Of the performances that I have seen, I would vote for either one of them, and lament the fact that I had to choose at all.

Back to a prior point, I really do think this can stand with any musical I have ever seen as a candidate for the best movie musical ever made. (I will admit that I have always thought that Singing in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz are very good, but overrated movies). I do not remember ever seeing a movie in which I worked to hold back tears so many times, failing to win at the end. One was purely due to the beautiful way that Speilberg and his cinematographer filmed Maria and Tonight.

It is such a shame that this movie opened when it did, at a time when older audiences are still not going to the movies (as a whole). I also think it is hurt by the number of times people have seen the prior movie, i.e., do I really want to go to the movies to see a new version of something I have already seen, in a pandemic?

Only time will tell, but I would not be surprised to discover in some future time, this is recognized for the masterpiece it is and as the superior WSS film.

He has sure come a long ways!! How ironic that his real life sister's name is Maria.

What a great review Jarathen. I love how you said "One Hand, One Heart" was like a religious experience. I actually thought "Somewhere" needed to be sung by Tony and Maria to further their relationship, but that's me. I also don't find The Wizard of Oz overrated at all, but really, you wrote a wonderful review. Glad to know the performers are considered by some to have done the best they could, including Ansel. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the film as much as you did.

Updated On: 12/27/21 at 03:56 AM

bear88 - For me, to have Valentina sing "Somewhere" makes perfect sense. The sequence begins with her looking at a photograph of her and Doc. It is not a stretch to think their families objected to their marriage. She remembers this. Perhaps, she thought things would be different for Tony and Maria. She may realize things have not changed over the years. One more thing, for me, the song becomes an elegy for all the characters and the neighborhood.

I agree with you about Mike Faist. He's outstanding.

I agree about Justin Peck's choreography.

This was crushed because of Omicron. Pure and simple. The elderly stayed far far away.

The only risk people wanted to take was to go see Spider Man cause that audience is baked in and absolutely enormous.

Also if I had a guess the “They remake everything!” “Isn’t that too sad though?” and of course the “dancing gang fighting is stupid” was the larger mainstream word of mouth and didn’t help.

I think Into the Woods was more financially successful cause it’s lesser known outside of theatre circles so it at the very least piqued curiosity (plus people will see anything with a Disney label)

A lot of people have an idea of West Side Story so if they see it, it has to do with how they feel about it and if they’ve seen enough parodies of it (which this is easily the most parodied musical of all time) to make them feel silly about it they also might stay away.

Updated On: 12/27/21 at 10:20 AM

SophiaPetrillo said: "I finally saw it yesterday and I agree that it’s a masterpiece. One of the best movie musicals ever made. The 1961 version pales in comparison. My only criticism is that Ansel Elgort’s performance isn’t up to par with the rest of the cast."

The 1961 is irreplaceable as it’s the only record of Jerome Robbins and Peter Gennaro’s original choreography, plus the original scenic design and costume designs of the original 1957 Broadway production. The 2021 is a gorgeous re-interpretation but will never replace the 1961 film adaptation.

My reductive opinion about both versions is

The 1961 is fun but flawed in the front half and shines in everything after the rumble.

The 2021 is spectacular and masterful and great changes in the front half and just does not land the emotional beats of the tragic final act.

Owen22 said: "A depressing article...

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/12/26/west-side-story-is-officially-a-box-office-bomb.html"

the internet and social media is full of those on the film.

The most popular negative insult for the film in the general comments is:

“Go Woke, go broke.”

But It also infuriates me beyond belief when I read people’s condescending and ignorant comments on social media about how wrong it was to remake WSS, since the 1961 is “absolutely perfect”and most of them won’t watch it because of that reason alone. Many even say: “would you remake Jaws or Citizen Kane or Gone With The Wind etc?!” smh!!

And no matter how hard you’re trying to convince them that this is NOT a remake of the 1961 film but another adaptation from Lawrence’s book and the 1957 Broadway stage play, that everything is different from the casting to the choreography to the musical arrangement, the lyrics, the screenplay, character background story, dancing sequence etc; that all musicals and plays can be and have been readapted on film, well they just don’t take it. They still see it as an unnecessary remake on a classic that is considered blasphemous to even touch it.



I am wondering, did the audience had the same resentful reaction when film re adaptations of Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables, Beauty And The Beast, Romeo And Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Pinocchio, Cyrano, Hamlet, Merchant of Venice and other similar stage musicals and plays came out?



Note: noticed last week that another adaptation of Cyrano is out, I haven’t seen anyone bitching about that yet.

BrodyFosse123 said:
The 1961 is irreplaceable as it’s the only record of Jerome Robbins and Peter Gennaro’s original choreography, plus the original scenic design and costume designs of the original 1957 Broadway production. The 2021 is a gorgeous re-interpretation but will never replace the 1961 film adaptation. "

No.

Broadway Scenic Design = Oliver Smith

1961 Movie Scenic/Production Design = Boris Leven

Not the same thing.