West Side Story – 2021 movie

Wow I almost don't know where to start. One of the best musicals ever written in the hands of a master of cinema and a superb cast. And the casting thing is key for me. Don't shoehorn stars in who aren't right just because they're a name, go find new talent and let them light up the screen.

After reading this thread I was worried about Ansel Elgort but was pleasantly surprised. As a previous poster said his scenes with Rita Moreno were wonderful, as was Cool. It's hard to single anything out because I was totally engrossed from start to finish.

And that music so beautifully orchestrated, sung and heard in the big screen setting. I'm not sure my neighbours would appreciate me recreating it when the DVD comes out. 5 stars from me and surely some Oscars to come.

Side note, this was my first cinema trip in almost 2 years. I had to make myself go, picking an early screening and banking on it being quiet (massive screen, about 10-12 in). 2 women neither wearing masks, one with a persistent cough that punctuated most of the film. Not here to judge, I was far enough away (I hope) masked up and triple jabbed, but it shows what the last 20 odd months have done to my anxiety that I almost left. I was a bit shocked at how much it bothered me, I never used to be that person but I know I'm not alone.

I saw WSS this afternoon. I loved all the numbers that were staged differently from previous versions, though I wanted the hooker who locked herself up before Officer Krupke to have a pay off line after the Jets absconded. The bits that often make me drift off (One Hand ,One Heart, I Feel Pretty) were expertly interpreted. No weak links as far as I'm concerned.

Let’s keep the mask wearing discussion to the Covid threads please.

theatreboard.co.uk/thread/8004/coronavirus-general-discussion?page=303

theatreboard.co.uk/thread/7997/recreation-leisure-running-again?page=152

This thread is for discussion of the film.

Great production at Leicester Curve late 2019, was tipped to transfer and/or tour but something happened to stop that...

Having nothing more to add other than to repeat what’s already been said.

THIS is how you do a movie musical. Not a single part of the film needs changed. No character needs recast. Perfection in every single way.

Rita Moreno absolutely broke my heart. I feel like she was represented, the audience, in the movie, as in love with these two characters as we are and just as equally devastated when their promising future is snatched away from them.

Of course it’ll be nominated for many, many awards which will be nice but I hope this film gets the audience recognition it deserves and, hopefully with better adaptions, that movie musicals are respected more.

The film made $10.5 million dollars as of 10th December and has a budget of $100 million and $150 million in marketing to make up. And it didn't even have big stars or cgi.

Apparently, today the budget for the original would be $52 million

And whilst the virus is partly a reason, its not stopping people flocking to see Ghostbusters Afterlife and Venom 2 over this or Encanto.

I suspect many are planning to see Spider-Man and The Matrix in the coming weeks. 

Very true. I saw it yesterday and most people in the cinema were (at a guess) +50 and beyond with very few young people in sight. 

While I personally agree that WSS can do without star casting, the utter lack of star names might also have been a deterrent. 

And I'm sure that there are countless people wondering what the point of this new version is, when the original is such a beloved classic.

As a musical lover I've seen all the movie adaptations of recent years (of course) but very few really set the box office alight anyway. Maybe Hollywood needs to realize that there just won't be any return to the days of the "Golden Age" when musical movies were blockbusters with songs everyone knew. Today they're more of a niche product and they work best, IMHO, when they lean into this, such as with the wonderful "Tick, Tick, Boom" on Netflix. 

While the new WSS isn't longer than a stage production, it did feel very long to sit through (mercifully Dutch cinemas do an intermission that allows for a quick loo break/getting up for a bit). And while I, as a fan of the show, picked up a lot of small but smart changes in Tony Kushner's script, I don't think the average person is really aware of that. Nor do I think there are countless people out there thinking "Oh, they finally cast the Sharks with bonafide Latin performers, I really must see this!"  In fact there seems to be a strange rumour going around that "half the movie" is in Spanish without subtitles, putting people off going.

And at the end of the day, it still IS a strange beast, mixing scruffy youth gangs with almost balletic dancing and sappy crooning of the "Tonight" type. The Outsiders, which I recently rewatched when it was briefly re-released at the cinema, has a very similar subject of youth gang warfare in the 50s and very much the same looks, but stood the test of time better, I think, because there was no singing and dancing, just a soundtrack with rock'n'roll of the period the boys would actually have been listening to. 

This was very enjoyable. I was hesitant about a reimagined WSS but this was done pretty perfectly.

The only disagreement I have with some other posters here is that I felt like Ansel Elgort was horrible casting. He dims every scene he’s in imo. Both vocally and comparative innate charisma, Rachel Zegler completely blew him away in every scene they shared. They needed to find someone who could match her better in order for me to truly buy into the fact that Maria would do so much to be with Tony. That’s my 2 cents at least.

I haven't seen this yet, though very excited to given the rave reviews!

I'm trying not to worry too much about the box office numbers yet. It's getting such unanimous praise that it will hopefully grow with word of mouth, like The Greatest Showman.

I agree to an extent - he's certainly the weakest lead from a casting perspective. I warmed to him by the end, but I felt he lacked energy and charisma in the early scenes. I also felt he stood out as very clean cut compared to the rest of the Jets. I'm sure that was a conscious choice as Tony is trying to disengage from his past, but I just didn't believe the character as styled and interpreted would ever have been part of the same gang as the others - let alone be one of their leaders.

Apart from that, I absolutely loved this version. As others have said, the direction and overall production is spot on. It's nostalgic without feeling like an homage, and the subtle changes to the source material (which is brilliant, I know) lift it further into something which feels relevant and exciting.

Heartbreaking. We stayed and sat through the credits just to give it all time to sink in, and Ariana DeBose is incredible. A flawless performance which had me gripped every time she was on screen.