Steven Spielberg's WEST SIDE STORY - News & Discussion Thread — Page 85

Excellent assessment and I’m one who feels Valentina was used WAY too much in the film - she seemed to be part of EVERY major moment in the film and giving her “Somewhere” completely diluted the impact that having it sung by Tony and Maria always has/had. I feel Valentina’s last scene should have been when she stops Anita’s assault and leaving her out completely from the finale.

The Other One said: "I still believe Spielberg has a shot at winning both the Best Director Oscar and the DGA award. I would love to see both happen.

I don't think the film has much of a shot at Best Picture, but I'm not sure it's going to The Power of the Dog, either. That film's failure to win any of its SAG nominations makes it a bit less of a sure shot. Time will tell.

For people who complain about the end seeming rushed, you need to contrast Ernest Lehman's screenplay with Tony Kushner's. Lehman shifted things around in his relatively faithful adaptation of Arthur Laurents' book to allow the tension to build in the story of Tony and Maria without distraction. Kushner adds elements that don't really enhance their story. Valentina gets in the way of Something's Coming,we learn the history of Chino getting the gun, Valentina pops up again to turn Somewhere into a moment as much about her own history as the current reality of the protagonists: all of this dilutes the impact of Tony's death and Maria's response to it. Kushner may actually have intended to make the film less about them and more about a destructive society in which theirs is just one more story. If so, he succeeded. But the impact of their tragic climax suffers as a consequence, and it isn't Rachel's performance or Spielberg's pacing that is responsible."

I agree with so much of this. In this version I wasn't as emotionally invested in Tony and Maria's love story as I was in the original film. In the original Tony and Maria lock eyes at precisely the same time in a classic "love at first sight" moment. In this new version Tony sees Maria first and slowly follows her around from a distance as she's dancing with Chino (and it comes off a little predatory) she only notices Tony after she breaks away from Chino and walks off.

My partner had absolutely no remorse for Tony. He felt that Tony absolutely deserved to die for his actions in this version. He cited that Tony Kushner by changing and adding an element that was not in the original story: being remorseful for almost killing a guy that led to his imprisonment was a mis-step in rewriting this character.

He felt that to have Tony stab and kill Bernardo was inconsistent with how the character was written in the first half of the film, especially after Bernardo shows genuine horror and remorse for having stabbed Riff in the first place - - - a remorse that wasn't even hinted at in the original version of the story.

Updated On: 3/6/22 at 09:14 AM

The Other One said: "Giving Tony a prior incident like that might help to explain his move away from the Jets, but as a result he's moving away because he has to and not because he's outgrown them. More damagingly, he becomes a repeat offender. It's harder to want Maria to run off with him. This is not the right choice for West Side Story.

I'd say that Chakiris actually does look horrified in the earlier film after his Bernardo has killed Riff. Tony's response in both is a gut reaction to having seen his friend killed. That I bought, although Tony's history in the newer version puts a question mark over all of his actions.

As much as I liked the film overall, I understood with one viewing that it was never going to take the place of the first for me. Lehman knew how best to tell this story. Kushner did not know when, where or how to stop. I don't think his lack of an Oscar nomination is a mistake. A surprise, maybe, because of his reputation and how heavily the film was promoted, but not a mistake."

Yes, you hit the nail right on the head. It really does which lessens the emotional impact of his death in the end because it leaves you thinking, well it's a shame but he brought this all on himself.

I saw this film twice in theaters and a third time on Disney+ a few nights ago. Definitely agree with a lot of assessments here. Overall, Spielberg's version lost sight of the story at its core. It was too caught up with production design, elaborate sets, colorful costumes, beautiful shots, and so on, that the heart and soul became secondary. Kushner's screenplay did not help matters.

Did anyone else not love the choreography and how it was shot? The energy and intensity of the 1961 film's dance made the movie for me. Jerome Robbins and Peter Gennaro drilled those kids, and got results. Wise/Robbins' camera enhanced the performances while Spielberg's treated dance like background noise.

The Robbins/Gennaro WSS choreo is so iconic that it is basically another character, in my opinion. Justin Peck’s choreo has some great moments, mainly the girls’ dance break in America, but nothing will ever top the original choreo. Don’t even get me started on that awful 2019 revival…how many somersaults does one show need?

Just have to say that a lot of the complaints about Tony the character would be solved by casting the right Tony. The 61 version is my favorite film of all time, but it's irritating to know that Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and many others screen tested for Tony and were denied in favor of Beymer.

Spielberg could've and should've cast Mike Faist as Tony. If he did, the expository dialogue about his backstory would've been unnecessary. Mike could've told Tony's story using his face. Missed opportunity there. Has anyone caught the little documentary talking about the casting process? It's clear that Ansel wasn't the definitive first choice. Steven wasn't even sold on his vocal performance. I have to wonder if Fox mandated a star be cast.

Jasmine Green said: "babyjunegem said: "Just have to say that a lot of the complaints about Tony the character would be solved by casting the right Tony. The 61 version is my favorite film of all time, but it's irritating to know that Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and many others screen tested for Tony and were denied in favor of Beymer.

Spielberg could've and should've cast Mike Faist as Tony. If he did, the expository dialogue about his backstory would've been unnecessary. Mike could've told Tony's story using his face. Missed opportunity there. Has anyone caught the little documentary talking about the casting process? It's clear that Ansel wasn't the definitive first choice. Steven wasn't even sold on his vocal performance. I have to wonder if Fox mandated a star be cast."

I thought Mike Faist was perfect as Riff and I can't even really imagine him as Tony at this point, although I'm sure he would have done a good job. And I haven't seen the casting documentary yet, but you brought up an interesting point about first choices that made me wonder about Rachel Zegler's casting as well. Spielberg mentioned in an interview that he saw her audition on day one or two of the casting process but she didn't get the role until about many months and callbacks later, and several months after Ansel Elgort was cast. I thought she was very good as Maria especially considering it was her screen debut, but I wonder if Spielberg had reservations about her as well? I think the casting process for Anita, Bernardo, and Riff was much faster, which makes sense to me since they were perfectly cast and the strongest actors in the main cast imo.

"

From what I've read, it seems that Rachel was Spielberg's top choice. He speaks very highly of her. I think that she had to audition multiple times because she had no professional experience, so, the studio needed to be sure about her. Anita was cast quickly. Rumors of Ariana's casting were posted here weeks (maybe even months) before it was made public. Spielberg did admit to trouble casting Bernardo. I can't speak for Riff since Mike has said that he got a phone call on a Friday to be at rehearsal on Monday.

Hiring a stellar actor as Tony would truly take the material to new heights. Ariana's co-star from A Bronx Tale, Bobby Conte Thornton could've been a contender. He's a stellar singer.

Still, Mike Faist's magnetism could've given us an unconventional Tony for the ages.

Personally, I found the issues with Maria to be a writing/directing problem. A stronger co-star to act against might've made a difference.

babyjunegem said: "Just have to say that a lot of the complaints about Tony the character would be solved by casting the right Tony. The 61 version is my favorite film of all time, but it's irritating to know that Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and many others screen tested for Tony and were denied in favor of Beymer.

Spielberg could've and should've cast Mike Faist as Tony. If he did, the expository dialogue about his backstory would've been unnecessary. Mike could've told Tony's story using his face. Missed opportunity there. Has anyone caught the little documentary talking about the casting process? It's clear that Ansel wasn't the definitive first choice. Steven wasn't even sold on his vocal performance. I have to wonder if Fox mandated a star be cast."

It's clear you don't know what you are talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlutQ5oxro

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Rachel Zegler's performance only gets better on rewatch. She really both made this character hers and made her dynamic. She has all these great little moments I keep catching.

"For richer or poorer"

"I'm poor."

kills me.

Her sequence where she gets dressed to the music of Somewhere Ballet is really ingenious. Just smart and thoughtful.

The ending being not the best seems way more to do with Spielberg and how he directed and staged it.

"

I feel the same way about Zegler - she’s luminous.

I also love the way she looks up at Tony and delivers the line “You’re tall!”

The girl has IT factor to spare.

The Other One said: "I still believe Spielberg has a shot at winning both the Best Director Oscar and the DGA award. I would love to see both happen.

I don't think the film has much of a shot at Best Picture, but I'm not sure it's going to The Power of the Dog, either."

I haven't seen "The Power of the Dog" yet, as it's not available to me on any of the streaming sources I subscribe to, but I think WSS has the best chance over the other nominees to win best picture.

There's been little to no discussion in this thread regarding the actual filmmaking expertise Spielberg has employed in the making of this film. Beyond whether/not the cast was fittingly selected (especially in regards to Ansel Elgort), Spielberg's vision for the film and his direction are spectacular. Justin Peck's choreography is brilliant (and seems very much in alignment with Spielberg's vision), and the cinematography is also brilliant.

One of the common complaints from folks who don't like musicals is that the singing and dancing in musicals seem to come from out of the blue, and that in real life, people don't just break into song or dance. There are comedy sketches, and even at least one TV series (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) that play on this notion.

Spielberg has very creatively and meticulously created a film that works to dispel that notion. Each song and each dance number is organically grounded in their scene, and Spielberg employs expertly creative filmmaking technique to accomplish this.

What I noticed right out of the gate is his use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. A diegetic sound is any sound that originates from the world of a film. Non-diegetic sound is what those who don't like musicals complain about; i.e., music that wouldn't occur in real life, but is there nonetheless.

Although the opening notes to the Prologue are scored for the orchestra (non-diegetic sound), Spielberg directs them to be a call and response of real-world whistles/hoots between real (although unseen) characters. At first, the only non-diegetic sound is percussion that underscores the diegetic. The orchestra creeps in slowly until we become fully acclimated to a full orchestra. It would not surprise me at all if future stage productions of WSS also employed this option.

Justin Peck's choreography follows suit. As a previous poster implied, there doesn't seem to be a lot of actual choreography. Personally, I believe it just *seems* that way, and I think it's intentional. It is dancing and choreography, though. Peck appears to be on board with Spielberg's vision of growing smoothly and organically from the real world, into the world of the musical. I love the first bits of choreography we see where the individual guys break out of the pack in a stylized hop forward with the open arms.

Spielberg also takes care to include examples of people actually breaking into song and dance in real life. The first example is the addition of "La Borinqueña". The main purpose for its inclusion in the story is a social/political statement, but it also demonstrates that people really do break into song in real life. Beyond the obvious "Dance st he Gym", "America" is a great example of people dancing in the real world. His choice to move the number into the streets, amongst a crowd of New Yorkers (and even children joining in the dancing), makes the number feel more connected to the real world.

Spielberg also makes a choice to ensure that every song is being sung to someone, as a dialogue vs introspection. Even "Maria" (which is usually performed as Tony singing to himself) is sung to a custodian who is maintaining the basketball court, as well as reimagining all those repetitions of the name "Maria" as Tony calling out to the neighborhood, searching for her.

Odd side note RE: "Maria": I found a pdf of the screenplay online. It may or may not "officially" be Kushner's screenplay (as opposed to one created by a fan who meticulously watched the movie and transcribed what they saw onscreen), but here's what's written regarding the multiple repetitions of the name:

[Tony runs down a narrow alley, calling up, searching for her:]

TONY

Maria! Maria! Maria, Maria!

[From windows up and down the alley, several PUERTORRIQUEÑAS of various ages, all named Maria, look out from windows.]



It's that bit of info that the women (and little girl) in that scene are "all named Maria" that makes me question whether/not this copy of the screenplay is authentic, but if it truly is, I *never* would have known that from watching the film.

There is no doubt however that Tony is calling out the name throughout the neighborhood (as opposed to introspectively repeating the name to himself) because at the the end of the number, Maria climbs out onto her fire escape and calls out, "Quien es?" (Who's there?). She must have heard her name being called.

Sound isn't the only creative element in WSS. There's a lot more to be said regarding the execution of Spielberg's vision for this movie beyond just his directing the actors. i.e., his very "blink and you'll miss it" homage to the album cover of the original movie soundtrack. Bottom line is that Spielberg has been meticulously detailed with his creativity in telling this story.

But this post is getting long...

I enjoyed your post, John Adams, long or not. As I said at the beginning of my own long post at the top of this page, I would love to see Spielberg receive the Oscar (and the DGA). I am not sure about the film's chances. I tend to think the feel-good qualities of CODA might carry it to Best Picture, but nothing is definite and that is not a prediction.

I liked Ansel Elgort as Tony more than most people I know, and I especially loved his approach to "Maria." He is the only Tony I've ever seen who unapologetically loves singing for all to hear in the middle of the night. I may have heard the song sung better, but the scene is a highlight for me.

In just 3 days this thread reaches it's 2 year mark and in those 2 years a lot has happened with the world, in the world. A 2 year journey that has brought much critical, if not box office success to this particular film that has made a major star of a then-unknown 18 year high schooler and gave the opportunity to some very much loved Broadway vets the chance to shine on the silver screen: Brian D'Arcy James, Paloma Garcia Lee, Mike Faist, David Alvarez and that inimitable force of nature, Ms. Ariana DeBose.

She's won the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and now the BAFTA for her mesmerizing performance as "Anita". In just two short weeks I believe the Oscar will be hers.