Here's the link
-
friendoffilm — 11 years ago(July 27, 2014 08:30 AM)
Not withstanding the fact that
West Side Story
is in such a special class all by itself that a re-make of it by
anybody
would be an unmitigated disaster, Steve spielberg is really
not
the kind of guy that I'd like to see re-making
West Side Story,
because his expertise in musical theatre is absolutely zero.
You're right, leader-7.
Steve Spielberg has made some good movies, but I seriously doubt that
West Side Story
would be among them, in any case, if one gets the drift. -
Buddy-51 — 11 years ago(September 04, 2014 11:50 PM)
I'm not looking forward to a remake of this film, but, in Spielberg's defense, it should at least be pointed out that Robert Wise also had no experience directing musicals when he took on this assignment. In fact, Spielberg reminds me a bit of Wise in that he's not afraid to branch out into different genres (SF, horror, action, social drama, historical fiction) and he always seems to do a first-rate job in all of them.
-
friendoffilm — 11 years ago(September 05, 2014 12:27 AM)
Regardless of the prevailing opinion(s) regarding a re-make of the film version of
West Side Story
, I still belleve that a re-make of this fabulous classic would be an absolute and utter disaster. Another aspect of
West Side Story
(the film) is its subtlety, which, in turn, gives it its versatility. That being said,
I
personally envision a re-make of this particular film as being much more blatant, hyped-up, junkier and cheesier and devoid of the subtleties that give that great classic film its strength and versatility in the first place.
What it all boils down to is this: Imho,
nobody
, regardless of who they are, their experience with film-making, and their willingness to branch out and take risks (and I include Steven Spielberg here.), can be trusted with the re-making of a film such as
West Side Story
, which is too special for a re-make. This great classic that won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture on the year that it first came out (late October of 1961, to be exact.) is what it is, and nothing beats the original. I think that Steve Spielberg should show his great affection for this classic by leaving well enough alone and gravitate towards something else. -
StrongRex — 11 years ago(August 19, 2014 11:52 AM)
It has its own IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/board/13581652/?ref_=rvi_tt -
movibuf1962 — 11 years ago(January 09, 2015 08:47 AM)
WHATEVER (WTF) FOR??
All this'll do on message boards is unleash a floodgate of nasty, curt, hateful commentary passing as "free speech," as haters so often want to say on such anonymous boards. If you say you want it, you're labeled ignorant, under the age of 12, or too politically correct (whatever that means, but that argument is always brought up when people ask for accurate ethnic casting in films). If you say you don't want it, you're labeled a prude, a dinosaur, rigid, and a pretensious bigot because you like things the way they are and don't want change.
I personally think the original film is glorious, and it remains one of my top 10 favorite films of all time to this day. I have absolutely no problem with it being remade (as I can opt not to see it if it is done), but I don't see it happening 'cause it's a musical, and musical film is one genre that's passed over more than not in Hollywood. If Spielberg is actually doing it, more power to him- even though he's never done a musical [but then neither did Robert Wise!!]. I'd just hope he does it with as much of the integrity of the original book as possible and not succumb to the habit most directors have with musicals: turning them into MTV videos with irony, anger, edginess, and a gazillion apologies why people are spontaneously singing in the first place. Musicals nowadays are not filmed for people who love them, they're filmed for people who hate them. They're done with modifications, so the cynical audiences of today will be satisfied. Too much of WSS would be changed, made angrier, more violent, and probably half of the songs would be removed (as they were in INTO THE WOODS), or replaced with spoken dialogue (as they were in DREAMGIRLS), or framed as fantasies in the head of a mentally unstable heroine (as they were in CHICAGO). And who needs that?!! -
friendoffilm — 11 years ago(January 09, 2015 11:42 AM)
I stand by every single thing that I've said regarding a re-make of the film
West Side Story
. Some films should just simply be left alone, and West Side Story being a very special classic that's in a class by itself, imho, is one of them.
Chances are better than not, I think, that, in the event that a re-make of the film
West Side Story
were to happen, by anybody, including Spielberg, that the following would occur:
A) The romance scenes between Tony and Maria, as well as the ones between Anita and Bernardo, would be much more explicit sexual and graphic.
B) Since the police throughout the United States have become much more militarized and are far more heavily armed, that, too, would reflect in West Side Story. The cops would be even more violent and trigger-happy, and more overtly prejudiced, against non-whites and poor whites alike.
C) The school yard/playground fights between the Jets and Sharks would be even more graphic and more violent, because the hatred would be even more intense.
D) More to the point, guns, rather than switchblade knives and/or fisticuffs, would be used during the rumble, the epitats and insults more graphic and profane, the rumble and the ensuing deaths of Riff, Bernardo and Tony would be far, far bloodier.
E) There would be no hint of reconcilation between the two sides, and the hatred would just persisst.
F) The musical score to
West Side Story
, instead of being beautiful and intense, would be turned into a hip-hop score, and the dancing into rap dancing, which would make a real piece of junk out of a beautiful classic, if one gets the drift.
G) The cast, especially the police, would be even harsher, and way, way overdone. -
StrongRex — 10 years ago(April 08, 2015 10:59 PM)
replaced with spoken dialogue (as they were in DREAMGIRLS)
I don't think that would happen in West Side Story, because they actually did a good job creating a balance between songs and dialogue. There's plenty of dialogue in WSS, why would they make any of the songs' lines spoken words? But I will say that a ton of musicals have way too much unneeded singing to begin with, and not enough dialogue. -
friendoffilm — 10 years ago(May 16, 2015 06:20 AM)
I don't think that would happen in West Side Story, because they actually did a good job creating a balance between songs and dialogue. There's plenty of dialogue in WSS, why would they make any of the songs' lines spoken words? But I will say that a ton of musicals have way too much unneeded singing to begin with, and not enough dialogue.
Again, I stand by my opinions on the idea of a re-make of the film
West Side Story
. -
Just1Hitch — 4 years ago(February 15, 2022 08:13 PM)
friendoffilm, Here we are 7 years later and the 2021 West Side Story is a reality and recipient of 7 Oscar noms including best picture and best director. Brings to mind the proverb, "When we speak of the future the gods laugh."