It’s Official: Steven Spielberg is Remaking ’West Side Story’

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by JozefK, Jan 25, 2018.

  1. rodrigosanche55

    rodrigosanche55 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madrid, Spain
    You're right! Spielberg's West Side Story is so good that it cannot get any better, I agree it shouldn't be remade at all.
     
  2. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    o_O
     
  3. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    I’ll laugh later! HA!!
     
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  4. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    I thought Spielberg was taking on a major risk remaking WSS. The movie is considered a flop financially but the film itself is still wonderful. One of his best.
     
  5. JediJones

    JediJones Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    It went up 27% on Monday from last Monday. The only existing wide release to go up at all in box office Monday. This is genuine word-of-mouth kicking in. Given the low level of box office it's at though, it doesn't seem like it's going to help its financial prospects much. Could be at $30m domestic by next Monday, maybe hit over $40m in the end, or $50m if some really crazy holds start taking place.

    The Numbers - Daily Box Office Chart for Monday December 27, 2021
     
  6. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    Really? One of his best? That’s debatable
     
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  7. Number1TheLarch

    Number1TheLarch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Statesville, NC
    If we assume that WSS '61 was filmed in 1960 and WSS '21 was filmed in 2019, we get:

    Tony/Beymer 22
    Tony/Elgort 25
    Maria/Wood 22
    Maria/Zegler 19
    Riff/Tamblyn 26
    Riff/Faist 27
    Anita/Moreno 29
    Anita/DeBose 28
    Bernardo/Chakiris 26
    Bernardo/Alvarez 25

    Most of the '61 cast had some film cred: Beymer in "Diary of Anne Frank", Tamblyn in "High School Confidential", Moreno in "Singin' In The Rain" and "The King And I", and of course Wood was an actual Movie Star (TM). But none of them did their own singing.

    Ghost singers aren't accepted these days, so Spielberg's cast came mostly from Broadway, plus a worldwide search for Maria.
     
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  8. Number1TheLarch

    Number1TheLarch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Statesville, NC
    In retrospect, it should've been set in DC:

    AOC as Maria
    Madison Cawthorn as Tony
    Ilhan Omar as Anita
    Ben Shapiro as Riff
    Hunter Biden as Bernardo
    Rand Paul as Doc
    Rachel Maddow as Anybodys
    Tom Cotton as Krupke
    and Joe Manchin singing "Somewhere"

    Then it would've gotten media buzz from the fights in the aisles!
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2021
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  9. JediJones

    JediJones Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    This age difference is the most problematic though. The character's behavior starts to just seem odd at this higher age.

    Anybodys/Oakes 16
    Anybodys/Menas 29
     
  10. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    It’s my opinion. No need for a debate.
     
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  11. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    OK!
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I won't dissuade you from liking it, but when a critic the caliber of Leonard Maltin (who I generally agree with) shrugs his shoulders at the film, that tells me he and I are still in sync. The mass audience clearly agrees, and the trade press is reporting accurate statements that the movie bombed financially.

    I don't dispute there are great films that make no money, bad films that make tons of money, bad films that make no money, and sometimes OK films that barely break even. And those often don't gibe with what I personally like and what I want to see. And there are well-made films that are bad, well-made films that are great, and also good films that are not very well-made. So the visual/technical quality of the film is another factor beyond good/bad/successful. I don't dispute that West Side Story is a really good looking film. (Although I was again annoyed by the AutoTuned vocals in the theatrical mix.)
     
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  13. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    The Auto-Tune took me out of the performances. I really wish they would dial it down more or not use it at all. If one can hear it, then it's being overused.
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2021
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  14. JediJones

    JediJones Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Rundown of the current online ratings...

    Rotten Tomatoes:
    93% All Critics, 8.3/10 score
    93% Top Critics, 8.6/10 score
    89% All Audience, 4.4/5 score
    94% Verified Audience, 4.6/5 score

    Rotten Tomatoes ranks it their 10th best of the year, in a list based on "adjusted score":
    Top 100 Movies of 2021 - Rotten Tomatoes

    Metacritic:
    Metascore 85, Universal Acclaim, Must-see
    User score 7.2, Generally favorable reviews

    IMDB:
    7.9/10 with 19K votes
    Compared to the original 1961 movie:
    7.5/10 with 106K votes

    Letterboxd appears to rank it 9th best of the year, with a 4.02 score (the #1 movie has a 4.29):
    10 Highest Rated Movies Of 2021, According To Letterboxd
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2021
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  15. APH

    APH Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cambridge, England
    West Side Story has had quasi remakes in Grease and Baz Luhmann's Romeo + Juliet.
    Both of which appealed to younger viewers, as they were free of any baggage that comes with a true remake.
     
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  16. Number1TheLarch

    Number1TheLarch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Statesville, NC
    Yeah, I have no problem with casting for diversity, but every time Anybodys was onscreen it took me out of the moment. Part of it was the age of the performer as you say. But also having a born-as-male individual who's now transgender female playing a character that was played in previous productions by a female as a tomboy speaking lines like "I ain't no girl" was quite confusing.
     
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  17. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    Maybe that amazing musical score and songs are taken for granted these days. I haven't read much on the music which is the heart of the show. I thought it was beautifully done in this movie. My only disappointment was how they handled "Somewhere." It fit the movie's tone and I understand that they would want to give Rita Moreno her moment but I wish it was still sung by Tony and Maria, even briefly. An admitted nitpick.
     
  18. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    I don’t think that’s a nitpick. The decision to give that song to a new character rather than to Tony and Maria seriously affected the emotional climax of the film, IMHO.

    I loved it, but that one thing made this film much less than the original, for me.
     
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  19. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I agree with that, a poor decision. I was ultimately disappointed in this version but do plan to revisit it on blu-ray/streaming now that I know how it was done so I can critique it based on its own merits, instead of comparing it to the 1961 classic. I don't think it held a candle to the original in terms of cinematography and choreography (although at times the original is perhaps a bit TOO choreographed, I'm thinking of Maria and Anita moving in sync with the music on "A Boy Like That"). The auto-tune, while not as extreme as most musicals these days, took me out of the film more than a ghost singer would have. It also didn't help that someone near me in the theatre went on their cell phone twice for several minutes, till I finally said sternly "Could you please put your cell phone away? It's very distracting". :realmad:
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2021
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  20. FACE OF BOE

    FACE OF BOE Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Wait, what? The movie bombed? The 3 other people in my cinema seemed to enjoy it.
     
  21. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    West Side Story itself was a "remake" of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare play)
     
  22. JediJones

    JediJones Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    The original is free on YouTube. Not sure if they're trying to compete with the new one or promote it:

     
  23. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
  24. olinko

    olinko Forum Resident

    Location:
    Zagreb
    I've been looking for a thread on the new version, did NOT expect so much bitterness in the thread (movie-related or otherwise)

    Came to say that I'm absolutely impressed by the soundtrack album itself. So well recorded, great sound, great dynamics. And Dudamel's conducting is incredible.

    If there indeed are pitch corrections throughout the soundtrack, they're not glaring as some have claimed. Even if they were, at least they aren't overdubs like in the original, I'm happy with that :)

    As for the film itself, it's Spielberg at his most meticulous. Never did really take him as seriously as some other director's I love, but the guy sure knows how to make the best of each and every frame.

    The downside is that the movie only works if you know WSS beforehand. Otherwise it's quite quaint and old-fashioned and not sure it'd work as a standalone musical in 2021. (And also, personally, there's so much blue all over the photography. It's obviously intentional, but I remember the original being extremely red. An interesting choice)
     
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  25. Pizza

    Pizza With extra pepperoni

    Location:
    USA
    Played the soundtrack earlier today while cleaning up the house. Just fantastic. :agree:
     
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