05/092008 --- The bar for the Summer Movie Season has been set extraordinarily high by "Star Tr...
05/092008 --- The bar for the Summer Movie Season has been set extraordinarily high by "Star Trek," J.J. Abrams against-all-odds, explosively entertaining reboot of a franchise we all thought was dead. Chris :)
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When I was growing up, my parents had two great musicals on the same tape---WEST SIDE STORY and GREASE. My mother knew I would enjoy GREASE more than WEST SIDE STORY and when I tried to watch it, I wasn't really impressed with it, and all I remembered from it was it starting with an aerial shot of Manhattan. I wasn't until this year that I saw WEST SIDE STORY in all its glory, after I was recommended to buy the DVD by a very good friend. Some of my favorite musicals have been MY FAIR LADY, 1776, and the SOUTH PARK movie (weird collection, I know), but I was absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer power and energy of WEST SIDE STORY. And now I'm glad to be writing a review on it, as I tell you about the film---and the experiance I had while watching it.
First of all, I know everyone out there doesn't like musicals, but this is one I feel anyone should give a chance too. And yet it might be Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet updated to the gang scene of 1950's New York, when a mass immigration of Puerto Ricans had come into the country. At the core of the story are The Jets, a band of Americans who are at war with The Sharks, who are all Puerto Ricans. In the eye-popping opening sequence, after the aerial shot, we see the Jets for the first time, snapping their fingers while intimidating the other guys playing basketball. We then see them go out into the street, picking up speed and then dancing to the music
that is being orchestrated. We then meet the Sharks, and it becomes---literally---a rumble set to theatre music.
I was so taken back by the opening sequence that I already knew at that point the film was wayyy ahead of its time for a musical. There were no lyrics to the sequence, just a combination of dance and brawls, which move the film along at a compelling rate. Soon, we then meet Tony (Richard Beymer) who is friends with the Jets' ringleader Riff (Russ Tamblyn, who is irresistable), though is not part of the gang and doesn't seem interested in being a member. Riff makes Tony come to a school dance, which serves as the second eye-poppng sequence in the film, which contains some of the most difficult dance moves and routines in any play or film. Tony then meets Maria (a lovely Natalie Wood), the sister of the Sharks' ringleader Bernardo (George Chakiris). It's love at first sight, but they must deal with the fact that they are not only from different worlds but are in the middle of this war between the Jets and Sharks.
I've seen many adaptions of Romeo & Juliet before, including the 1968 and 1996 versions, but this one towers above them all. Sure, the adaption (by Ernest Lehman) is rather loose, but I think it was way more powerful because of its authenticity alone...it was not only filmed on location in Manhattan, shortly after the gang fighting started between the Americans and Puerto Ricans, but also I think Tony and Maria are much stronger than their Shakespeare counterparts, and their naivete I think is more tangible and appealing. The fire escape scene where they sing "Tonight" is one of the most emotionally wrenching musical numbers I've ever seen; while they know that objections from both sides will come up, they don't care and just live for the moment right there together.
My favorite musical number personally is "America," which was (I believe) was pretty accurate of the attitudes of the Puerto Ricans; they feel they are more free in the U.S., while at the same time remaining faithful to their beloved homeland....more than anything however, they wanted to be accepted (and referred to) as Americans. There is also "Dear Kindly, Sgt. Krupke" which makes on-target jabs at the rebellion of teenagers and how they disrespected superiors. Other great songs include "I Feel Pretty," "Cool," and "Something's Comin'." The music and lyrics were done by the great Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, respectfully. Jerome Robbins, who created the film on Broadway, became choreographer and co-directed the film with Robert Wise, who later directed THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
I thought Wood and Beymer were quite good, despite the fact their singing was dubbed and that many critics thought they "lacked charisma," possibly because the original stage players had a special magic to them; well, I didn't see the original production for obvious reasons. The two actors that I thought really stole the film however were Rita Morena (as Barnardo's girlfriend Anita) and Chakiris, who both won Oscars; let me put it this way, Chakiris alone is to dancing, what Muhammed Ali is to boxing. Robbins is the real master behind WEST SIDE STORY however, and he deservedly got two Oscars...one special one for his choreography and one for co-directing with Wise. An impressive achievement.... considerering also that he was fired halfway during production.
Of course, the DVD looks great while making the film, which was released back in 1961, seem like it was made yesterday. The DVD includes a second disk with an hour long documentary "Memories of West Side Story," which featured interviews from many of the primary cast & crew members, minus Wood (who died in 1983), Robbins (who died in 1998), and Chakiris who, for some reason, didn't participate. The documentary explains the origins of the play, and how it was perfected over time. It had some intersting trivia facts as well, such as that Chakiris played Tony in the Londond stage version, and that the directors actually met and talked with the street gangs at that time....and they were even hired to serve as crowd controllers while on location!!! Probably the most surprising thing about WEST SIDE STORY is that director Robert Wise's original choice was Elvis Presley.....like, what could have been!!!!
I'm glad to have this film part of my collection, and I still can't believe I haven't been able to see it---any of it, for that matter---until now. I listen to the soundtrack every now and then. Now that think about it, the film is really more about prejudice and society than anything else, though it is spiced with music and dance almost perfectly, making the film one truly vivid experiance and that's probably why it's considered on of the greatest musicals of all time....well, hell...it won 10 Academy Awards. If you have never seen it before, I hope you take it upon yourself to rent it to see what you think, even if you don't like musical, like I said. (Well, at least see it before you rent CHICAGO, lol.) Thank you for reading my review and I look forward to hearing your comments.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
Advantages: An excellent adaptation of Shakespeare's timeless classic: Romeo and Julliet Disadvantages: you know what's going to happen, but that's the fun isn't it?!
Sep 23rd, 2003
very helpful by (97%):
helpful by (3%):
