West Side Story

WEST SIDE STORY (PG)

D: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins

Mirisch/Seven Arts (Robert Wise)

US 1961

155 mins

Musical

W: Ernest Lehman [based on the play by Arthur Laurents, inspired by "Romeo & Juliet" by William Shakespeare]

DP: Daniel L. Fapp

Ed: Thomas Stanford

Mus: Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim

PD: Boris Leven

Cos: Irene Sharaff

Natalie Wood (Maria), Richard Beymer (Tony), Russ Tamblyn (Riff), Rita Moreno (Anita), George Chakiris (Bernardo), Simon Oakland (Lt. Schrank), Bill Bramley (Officer Krupke), Tucker Smith (Ice)

Amongst the all-time great big screen musicals, inspired by Romeo & Juliet and relocated to New York's Hell's Kitchen where two rival gangs, The Jets and The Sharks, are involved in a turf war.

A tragic love story develops between Maria and Tony, but it's arguably the supporting performances that are far more interesting, particularly from George Chakiris as Bernardo and Rita Moreno as Anita.

Everything about the production is meticulously crafted by director Robert Wise, including the electrifying choreography by Jerome Robbins, who shared directorial credit.

It helps if you're a fan of musicals, but even if you aren't, there should be enough here to entertain.

8/10

WEST SIDE STORY (12)

D: Steven Spielberg

20th Century Studios / Amblin / TSG (Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger & Kevin McCollum)

US 2021

156 mins

Musical

W: Tony Kushner [based on the play by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim]

DP: Janusz Kaminski

Ed: Michael Kahn & Sarah Broshar

Mus: Leonard Bernstein

PD: Adam Stockhausen

Cos: Paul Tazewell

Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Mike Faist (Riff), Rita Moreno (Valentina)

Another remake for the new generation, this time from director Steven Spielberg tackles West Side Story, which originally came to the silver screen in 1961 and hauled in 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, begging the question “How can it possibly be improved?”

The answer is: it can’t, but it does manage to be a little more gritty than the previous incarnation, whilst maintaining the vivid colour and iconic songs that made the 1960’s version so beloved, as well as squeezing in a subplot about gentrification that wasn’t particularly prevalent before.

Surprisingly, this is Spielberg’s first attempt at the musical genre and it does have much to be impressed for, such as the choreography, set design, costumes and some of the performances.

On the flip side, there’s also a lot of negatives, including some poor characterisation, the running time and some of the performances.

There’s also the question “Why?”, which will all come down to personal preference. You’ll either prefer the earlier version or this one. For me, I don’t particularly love either, but the 1961 version is objectively the more superior.

I actually preferred “In The Heights” (qv) over this.

6/10