UHD Review West Side Story (2021) UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[SuperClark]

Gene Kelly was primarily a dancer. But I doubt many people complain about his singing in his musicals.I don't. 'Go Home With Bonnie Jean; went on far too long. Regarding the singing of Cyd Charisse that was dubbed but I like her winsome performance,.I would have preferred they did not delete any musical numbers. The singing of Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer was also dubbed in WSS.That doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the movie.I like the film of My Fair Lady.I think Julie Andrews should have played Eliza.

 

[Malcolm R]

I have long wondered why a highly successful film needs to be remade. I assume they’re just trying to cash in on the success of the previous film hoping to strike gold twice.

They're trying to take a successful past film and remake it for a new, younger audience that does not watch "old" films.

 

[DarkVader]

The original is a masterpiece, with expert direction by Robert Wise. Jerome Robbins is credited as co-director, at Wise's insistence. However, he only shot "Prologue", "America", "Cool" and "Something's Coming." Much of those numbers had to be put together in editing, since, as good as he was as a choreographer, he had no talent for film making, which is why he was fired. Wise shot all the remaining numbers, and all the dialog scenes, although all the choreography is Robbins with assistance from Peter Gennaro, and was handled by his assistants, after his removal. The Spielberg film is horrible, on so many levels, for me. The cast is talented, to be sure, but they are let down by pedestrian direction, and a tedious screenplay that undermines the urgency of the piece, that both the original stage production and the 1961 film version have. The setting is preposterous. None of the destruction makes any sense. It looks more like London after The Blitz, than an urban redevelopment project. The stunt casting of Rita Moreno is absurd. Those kids wouldn't have set foot in her store, and her singing "Somewhere" is just awkward and silly. Stupid, actually. The choreography is nowhere near the original film's, nor is the score's orchestrations. I do think that Ansel Elgort is the lone stand-out who rises above the film's mediocrity, even if I prefer the floating-on-air Tony of Richard Beymer, and the unbeatable vocals of Jimmy Bryant, from the original film. Why everyone was fawning over Ariana DeBose's by the numbers portrayal of Anita is a bit perplexing. She's talented and fine in the role, but she plays it exactly how you would expect anyone to play it. This film was a chore to get through, for me. I couldn't wait for it to end, and I'll never, ever revisit it. Why bother, when there's been a perfect film version of this musical for over 50 years? Which is exactly why this film flopped.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Robbins was WAY ahead of his time and the reason you stated for his firing is absolutely and unequivocally WRONG.

Listen to this clip from AFI where Natalie Wood discusses Robbins and his technique:

 

[John Maher_289910]

It wouldn't be me that is wrong, it would be associated producer Saul Chaplin who is wrong. Everything I wrote came from him. He also spoke about Wood's adoration for Robbins and how lost she felt when he was gone.

 

[DarkVader]

It wouldn't be me that is wrong, it would be associated producer Saul Chaplin who is wrong. Everything I wrote came from him. He also spoke about Wood's adoration for Robbins and how lost she felt when he was gone.

My apologies. The main reason Robbins was fired is that he took too long filming (he was a perfectionist) and the film was already way behind schedule which inflated the budget. Chaplin, on the other hand was deceptive in that he went ahead and dubbed anyone and every one he could even if they could carry a tune without informing them beforehand. I am really surprised that he did not dub George Chakiris who was the only member of the main cast that was not dubbed.

Also, it was Mirisch who insisted that Robbins be brought on to co-direct the film, as he had seen the show in NYC and valued Robbin's contributions to the piece.

Robbins and Natalie did form a bond (along with Howard Jeffrey, his dance assistant) that lasted until his death. Robbins adored her.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

The 4K disc is just $12.99 on Amazon today Cyber Monday!

 

[John Maher_289910]

My apologies. The main reason Robbins was fired is that he took too long filming (he was a perfectionist) and the film was already way behind schedule which inflated the budget. Chaplin, on the other hand was deceptive in that he went ahead and dubbed anyone and every one he could even if they could carry a tune without informing them beforehand. I am really surprised that he did not dub George Chakiris who was the only member of the main cast that was not dubbed.

Also, it was Mirisch who insisted that Robbins be brought on to co-direct the film, as he had seen the show in NYC and valued Robbin's contributions to the piece.

Robbins and Natalie did form a bond (along with Howard Jeffrey, his dance assistant) that lasted until his death. Robbins adored her.

My good friend Grover Dale (who was in the original Broadway cast of WSS) had a similar bond with Robbins.

 

[DarkVader]

My good friend Grover Dale (who was in the original Broadway cast of WSS) had a similar bond with Robbins.

I love Grover Dale! Great dancer/choreographer/director.

 

[SuperClark]

A scene from the1996 remake.