West Side Story (1961): Overrated?

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by in2video2

very well stated. west side story belongs in any serious blu-ray collection and hopefully we may see this soon in our favorite format. To modern audiences it would still be the compelling film it has always been. Providing one has the time to devote without distraction to viewing this film musical, is able to accept its musical theatre roots in dance and song, and consider it all started from shakespeare's romeo and juliet - it is what it is - timeless - a classic. Robert wise left us with a legacy of two completely different movie musicals - [b]west side story and the sound of music. We are all the better for this. It was the best picture of its year - indeed, both were.

[/b]



+1

[Dubstar]

for anyone in and around the DC/MD/VA area, the AFI Silver will be presenting 'West Side Story' in 70mm for it's 50th Anniversay:

Friday February 11: 8:30pm

Saturday (12th): 9:30pm

Sunday (13th): 5:30pm

[U4K61]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

West Side Story as a stage production was responsible for completely changing the course of musical theatre. Without it, there would never have been a theatre for the general public. It would have all still remained operatic and foreign language presentations... which I always find is poor entertainment in live performance due to the over indulgence of "indicating" by the performers. It's like listening to a sunset but seeing a thunderstorm!

West Side Story will always have my utmost respect as a work of art that deserves way more credit than it will ever get... regardless of the format or era in which it is presented.

P.S. A modern remake would be very interesting. Updating the context from the 1950's to the new millenium would be a fascinating, if not Hurculean, task.

A Timeless Tragedy.

[jhiggy23]

One of the most undeserving best picture winners ever, especially considering it was going up against Judgment at Nuremberg. The people that didn't select that option I suspect haven't seen the film.

[chelsearicky]

Originally Posted by Grubert

Great except for Natalie Wood not being able to sing or dance to save her life.

Russ Tamblyn and Rita Moreno were also dubbed. Moreno is unassisted only on "America", and doesn't sing a note on " A Boy Like That".

[BluBonnet]

Most people today who weren't around at the time can't imagine what a revolutionary musical this was at the time, after many decades of genteel, happy-go-lucky musicals that were mostly just feel-good fluff. There simply had never been such a radical musical in terms of the gritty mileau in which it is set... Not to mention that it's depiction of racially-motivated social tension eerily preceded the Civil Rights movement of the 60s (and in some ways remains relevant to this date)

I hadn't yet been born when it came out, but still watching it decades later it was such a drastic departure from the Rodgers-Hammerstein type of musicals, or the colorful productions coming out of the legendary dream factories of MGM, RKO, Fox and Columbia...