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West Side Story 1961: The real deal for me, all around:

posted 2 years ago by mplo (2305)
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Hi, everybody. I realize that I've posted on this message board a number of times about this, but the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story is the real deal for me, all around. Sure, it may not be perfect, due to the dubbing, but that doesn't bother me, due to my intense love for this film, and due to the fact that dubbing was rather common during that period.

The fact that West Side Story was preserved as a larger-than-lifesized piece of theatre when it was transferred from stage to screen is a big part of what gave the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story its strength and beauty.

I really liked Russ Tamblyn's role as the somewhat arrogant, cocky and tough guy, Riff, and he also had the looks, acrobativeness, and personality for the part of Riff, also. Tucker Smith had both the looks and personality for the role of Ice, the calm, cool, and collected Jet gang member, who also took over the Jet gang leadership after Riff's death during the Rumble, and the fact that he admonished the other Jets to keep cool after the killings, and the fact that Baby-John, the youngest and least mature of the Jets was moved to tears by the killings, indicated that they had soft spots and sparks of humanity and decency in them, as well. The same is true of the fact that when Maria leaned over Tony's body after he'd been shot and killed by Chino, Baby-John very gently and tenderly put Maria's black mourning shawl over her head and shoulders, and even Action came over to her, in sort of a tender way.

I think the fact that Tony ultimately stabbed and killed Bernardo in retaliation for having stabbed his close buddy, Riff, to death was a long time coming, even before the Rumble, and so was the fact that Tony and Maria's love affair ultimately went up in smoke, after Tony was shot and killed by Chino.

I also prefer the opening scenes of the aerial views of Manhattan's West Side of the 1950[s and the 1960's, even though that manhattan doesn't exist anymore, and the fact that they used reds, purples and blues to illustrate the passionate nature of the whole story behind West Side Story. The soundtrack to the original 1961 film version of West Side Story was much less metallic-sounding, and didn't go flat in so many places, either.

Natalie Wood was beautiful, and she was okay as Maria. Richard Beymer, I think, would've played a stronger Tony if not for the directorial constraints placed on him by Robert Wise, and if Natalie Wood hadn't been so openly hostile towards him during the filming and hadn't tried to get Beymer kicked off of the set on several occasions. Still, however, it's a shame what happened to her, and that her demise has not been solved after all these years.

The fact that the late Boris Leven seamlessly combined on-location scenes and sound stage scenes to create an uncanny resemblance to the impoverished, rough-and-rundown sections of the city, rather than like the tonier, wealthier sections of the city (the latter of which is true in Spielberg's reboot/remake of the film version of WSS), also gives the old, original 1961 film version of WSS its beauty, greatness, strength, and vitality.

Also, the fact that Tony was just an ordinary kid who wanted something more than gang life, and being on the streets all the time, and not somebody who was what made Tony more human than the Tony in Spielberg's West Side Story, as opposed to being a thug who was on parole from prison for assaulti and attempted murder.

Having said all of the above, the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story, as with a lot of the other movies that were made during that general period, imho, were far better than much of what's coming out nowadays in the way of movies, especially far too many sequels, reboots/remakes, and too much computerized special affects, or even overdone camera affects, too graphic, and too much exploding on the screen.

[–] AbrahamAytemo101 (27) 10 days ago

I can't really control whether people choose to prefer the remake to the original, but the push by fans of the film to get people to agree that the remake is superior - and by extension to call those who disagree racist - just comes off as over the top and a little forced to me.

I will say that Arianna DeBose was probably the best part of the remake and might even be better than Rita's own take on the character. Ironically, Rita's addition to the 2021 film's cast is the part I care least about (outside of Rachel Zegler - which don't even get me started). I might have been more appreciative about Rita's being included if she hadn't spent the last decade plus badmouthing Natalie Wood - who not only is no longer alive to defend herself but from what I can tell never said anything negative about Rita.

Also, the claim that the remake follows the stage play more closely is a flawed argument from the jump - if this were true the film's "America" number wouldn't be between the Sharks and their girlfriends but would have been exclusively among the women (which tbh always made more sense to me anyway - it's less believable that all the men/women would share the exact same viewpoint). It definitely takes way more cues from the 1961 version than people care to admit. But, then on the opposite side of the coin, other elements of the original stage musical were changed that are almost inexplicable (Tony's background, the Doc gender swap, etc.)

At the end of the day, if people came away thinking they were part of something special, and if the fan following for the remake gets more people to check out the original, I'd say it's a net positive. But the fact that there's still even a debate about which is superior now over 60 years out says something, as does the fact that it has continued to turn up on lists of the greatest American movies ever made (at least of the 20th Century which is very much a done deal). I'd like to see where the 2021 turns up in -say -2098 or 3007