Variety's Todd McCarthy looks back at West Side Story on screen

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 4:15pm

"ALTHOUGH THE FILM version of "West Side Story" won 10 Academy Awards in 1961, including best picture and director(s), its critical standing today perhaps isn't quite what it once was, in large measure due to bad-mouthing from the two artists left who played crucial roles in the show's creation, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. The hit Broadway revival of the show has given both men the opportunity to snipe anew at the movie, but it also provides a chance for anyone so inclined to make a direct comparison between the impact the 52-year-old musical has live and on the screen.

Having waited for years to see a first-rate production, I finally saw the show at the Palace Theater in New York last week. The verdict could not be clearer: Sondheim and Laurents are simply wrong, dead wrong. "West Side Story" the film is superior to the stage show in nearly every possible way -- it's more exciting, more dramatic, better danced and musically far more dynamic. And I say that having enjoyed the show."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118004537.html?categoryid=5&cs=1

Many would probably say that this production isn't the best one to judge against the film, but the comparison is still interesting given what we know about Laurents' opinion of it.

[dayao]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 8:56pm

The film version of WEST SIDE STORY is, for its time, a brilliant adaptation and Ernest Lehman on his worst day is a better writer than Arthur Laurents on his best day. There is a good reason why Laurents is the only member of the creative team responsible for the stage version who did not work on the film: his book was the weakest link in the show, a fact that is clearly evident in the current stage production of WEST SIDE STORY, and all the Spanish lyrics in the world and badmouthing the film will not change that fact.

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 08:56 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 8:58pm

I agree; the WSS film is one of the few cases in which the musical film is superior to the stage version, in my opinion. The changes made to the script greatly enhance the material and make more sense.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 9:16pm

I only like the movie for the duet version of "Somewhere". I can barely get through the rest of it without laughing my ass off. Mostly at the lousy dialogue and gang members doing ballet in the streets. It works for me on stage, but on film it's a joke. At least to me. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm cool with that.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 9:24pm

I gotta say I NEVER EVER EVER agree with McCarthy, and I usually have outright contempt for a lot of what he says, but I think he's right on the money with this one.

I think Sondheim just needs to sit in an audience in a movie theatre and watch the film with an audience. It is just MAGIC... like all the best movies are.

I'd say WEST SIDE STORY is the crowning achievement of all film versions of stage musicals. GIGI and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (and I'd include HIGH SOCIETY) are also on its level, but were written for the screen so its not quite the same thing.

It is pure, visceral magic from the first shot all the way through the blackout.

I'm a huge Dario Argento, Takashi Miike and Lars Von Trier fan but the rape scene makes even makes ME uncomfortable after all this time having seen the film as many times as I have.

WSS, like ROMEO & JULIET before it, will endure on celluloid as R&J has lived on on the page/stage.

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 9:31pm

And Laurents should bless that Movie every morning because that's how most of the world knows WEST SIDE STORY and why they are flocking to see this tepid revival.