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shadowkatApparently Daylight Savings Time is next weekend? If so? Yay! I'll take next Monday off to deal with it.
Dull headache most of the day, but dissipating now that it is clearing. It was overcast most of the day.
Watched Speilberg's Adaptation of West Side Story on Disney + today. (It's also available on HBO MAX along with the original version.)
The Skinny? I like the 1960s version better. Co-worker is correct - it does not compare to the original. [And it is nearly impossible not to compare the two in one's head. ]
Why?
Robert Wise, the director of the 1960s version was a minimalist. And with musicals, less is more. Do too much - and you overshadow the score and dance numbers - which are the whole point. Wise wisely chose to emphasize Bernstein's score, highlight Robbins choreography and dance numbers, and Sondheim's lyrics, and under play everything else. He let the music speak for itself, and aided it with the visuals.
Speilberg in stark contrast - goes the hyper-realist route. (And I don't think hyper-realism necessarily works well with musicals. Mainly because musicals are kind of fantastical to begin with. You have people bursting out in song and dancings in the middle of streets, sidewalks, stores, and daily life. It's jarring if you get too realistic about the setting.) Also Kurshner's book well thankfully slang free (no Daddy-o's to be seen), tells us far too much about the characters, and way too much about the setting.
This musical works better if you go the minimalist route.
In his politically correct attempt fix the previous film, by painting the Puerto Ricans in a positive light, he ironically makes them kind of difficult to symphasize with. Spielberg gives them jobs, careers, and their own shops and town. They basically live in little Puerto Rico. Bernado is making money on boxing gigs, and has a career as a professional boxer. Chino is a banker, which includes fixing accounting machines, and wears tailored suits. Anita has a job as a dressmaker. Maria works at Gimbles as a cleaner. They have families, and a community. There's no real evidence of them being pushed out or discriminated against outside of the cops.
I related all of this to Mother, who has seen the original film enough to know the story.
Mother: Than why are Bernado and his friends even in a gang?
Me: Exactly. Bernado is the realistic - but there's no way he'd be running a gang. He'd not have the time or patience for it. Nor would he hurt his boxing career.
By bringing in this information - you are inadvertently underlining all the flaws in the musical's plot structure, and that's not a good idea. It's not Les Miserables or Miss Saigon or Jesus Christ Superstar - it's not meant to be an hyper-realistic Opera. In the original, the Jets and Sharks are just two rival street gangs, we don't need more information than that. Bernado is tired of running into brick walls whereever he goes. And he's sponsoring Chino. They've not obviously encroached on the Jets lives, and they are just trying to survive like everyone else.
In regards to the Jets? In Spielberg's version, they are painted as working poor or homeless street kids, with no families, living and squatting amongst the rubble of an area that has been demolished. In the original - Riff is staying with Tony's family, and has an uncle. Here? Both Riff and Tony are orphans with no family to speak of. They are Polish and Irish, and have no where to go. Their area of town is being turned into Lincoln Center. And they are wandering through a Puerto Rican village, which has obviously encroached on their area of town, taking over their pubs and bars, and hangouts, replacing English with Spanish and as a result they have no family or place to belong. In the opening number - we see Riff and his gang pull a Spanish Pub Sign off a pub, revealing the Irish Pub Sign underneath, and showing the store front was indeed once Irish pub, but it's been taken over by Puerto Ricans.
As Tony points out to Maria in one scene - right before the rumble, "Riff has no family. You and Bernardo and Chino have families. We don't. Riff has nowhere to go. His home is the Jets and the streets. Bernado has a home and a family."
This is not in the original film - and the sympathy in the original film slants more towards Bernardo, who we are shown is righteously angry due to how he's being treated, and his inability to get ahead. Riff, meanwhile, in the original film is a cheerful, in the moment, street tough, who does as he pleases without a care in the world. A bit of a clown. He comes across as a bit of a bully in a way - and is less sympathetic in the original. Faist's Riff in Spielberg's version is riveting, and lethal, but also sympathetic - due to the fact that he is so trapped.
For much of Spielberg's film, I felt as if the writer and director were sermonizing or explaining far too much - when seriously the music and dance could say it far better and speak for itself. It's a difficulty I have with Spielberg, actually - this tendency to go overboard. He's remade two Robert Wise films, and in both cases he demonstrated why Wise's minimalist method worked better. The other film he remade was The Haunting of Hill House or simply called The Haunting. Where Wise merely suggested the ghosts, Speilberg felt the need to show them in broad technocolor display. He does the same thing here - we're told far too much about the characters.
Tony - is on a parole from beating a kid to death in a previous rumble. (So why is he allowed anywhere near the school social? Also Maria tells him not to go to the rumble after he tells her the story - while in the original she tells him to stop it. )
The casting of Tony remains problematic. Weirdly more so. I honestly didn't think they could do worse than Richard Beemer in the role, but they managed to do it. Kudos.
While Beemer came across as in love, and why he feel in love with Maria made sense - he's searching for something else, something outside of what he has, and in steps Maria, who fits that. He's also very attractive, the actor playing Tony in Spielberg's version did nothing for me. Ansel Engort is a decent dancer, and can sing - but he's not a great dancer - as demonstrated by the excellent dance number "Cool" - which would have been much better if they'd cast a better Tony. Mike Faist is a good dancer, and singer - and he basically blows Egort off the screen during this number. He steals this number, along with the rumble, and the dance scenes from Tony, much as Tamblyn did from Beemer in the original. Why these movie directors persist in casting weak Tony's, I've no clue.
Tony and Maria in Wise's film have chemistry - partly because the actors didn't get along and the camera loves friction. Tony and Maria do not have that much chemistry here - they have some, but not enough to buy that she'd run away with him. I'm not even sure why she falls for him in this version. The first one made sense, this one...his attraction to her makes more sense.
The rest of cast is good in their roles. Anita is brilliant and deserves her nomination, as is Riff. Bernado is good, but it's hard to beat Chakiris, who admittedly isn't Puerto Rican but Greek. They went out of their way to get it right this round with a Puerto Rican Bernado.
Another misstep, and evidence that Spielberg doesn't quite understand this musical...or how to do it, is Valentina singing Somewhere. That's a beautiful song - that works best with Tony and Maria singing it as a duet, not some old woman who has lived a long life with someone she loved. Why is she singing this song? It's kind of jarring when the camera does a close up of Valentina and her white husband, showing that they lived a happy life. And then all the misery around her as a kind of voice over music video.
In the original - I weep whenever the song is sung, it's sung (or dubbed) for Maria and Tony - who sing it. And it is beautiful. Here, it's sentimental and does not work. I'd have preferred he take it out.
The placement of "I feel Pretty" is equally odd and jarring - it's sung right after Bernado and Riff are killed, and directly before Chino comes to tell Maria that Tony killed Bernado. I can see why they did it - but it makes the song difficult to watch or enjoy. Again it slides towards melodrama cliches.
The final scenes - which no longer include "Somewhere" - are well paced. And tragic. But lacking as well. It worked better to have the beginning and end - set at the same spot - the playground in the original film. Mainly because it's a playground. But the kids fight. And ultimately kill each other on the "community" playground. Also, the cops needed to come in on the scene faster than they do in Spielberg's. It adds something to it. Having them show up after Maria and the gangs leave with Tony's body, doesn't quite work - since it appears they are removing the evidence of a crime - when in truth, I think they are past caring at that point. The problem with hyper-realism in cinema is it can show the cracks more in a story, or the expectation is higher for realism.
That said, what works in Spielberg's version are the bits that do not revolve around the love story.
1. Every scene with Tony and Riff - is packed with energy. Faist and Egort bring it to those scenes. And the musical number "Cool" where Riff and Tony fight over a gun is fun to watch and captivating, even though I spent a good portion of it - wondering why Tony didn't just throw the gun out to sea or let it drop there.
However - the existence of Riff's gun is kind of problematic. In the original, Riff doesn't buy a gun or even consider it. He mentions zip guns but is shot down by the group. Chino is the one with the gun in the original, and it's never clear how he got it.
Tony and Riff have more chemistry than just anybody else in the cast does, which is problematic. And Egort is at his best with Faist.
2. Officer Krupke musical number is for the first time not cringe-inducing. It also works very well - and doesn't have any of the leads participating. In the original they have Riff doing most of the singing, and dancing. Possibly because they had Russ Tamblyn - who is great at that sort of thing. Here - it's the supporting actors playing the Jets who do it - and the setting is the police station - where they've all been brought in for questioning about the rumble. This is closer to the stage musical version.
Krupke leaves them locked in the station - alone, and they tear it apart doing this number - to stave off their fear, anger and frustration.
It works.
3. The Rumble works very well. The fight scenes are brutal. However, in the original it was more of a dance number. And in the original - Tony was less willing to fight. Here - Tony ends up fighting, even though Riff tries to stop him. Then Tony almost goes to far - which wakes Riff up to what he almost did to his friend in his attempt to commit suicide by rumble. That's an interesting character interaction. In this version it's not Tony's fault Riff dies, but Bernardo and Riff's - due to Riff's decision to use Bernado to kill himself, and Bernado's pride and rage - which makes it impossible for him to see through it. Riff is almost happy when Bernardo kills him in this version and kind of tells Tony not to worry about it. (In the other, Riff is shocked, and dismayed.)
Chino in this version helps Tony get into the Rumble. (He's not there in the other. Anybody helps Tony get in - in the other version.) And Tony's depicted as a bit more brutal here.
It's well choreographed and feels like an actual fight. And the camera angles are effective - particularly the first over-view shot, with the gang members shadows converging. But, what's loss is the dance moves.
4. The dialogue for everyone is better. Arthur Larents sucked at dialogue.
Kurshner is an expert. The 1950s fake urban slang is thankfully gone - both from the dialogue and the songs. Cool no longer has "Daddy-O" in the lyrics for example.
But other than that - I prefer the minimalist original version.
Does the film stand on its own two feet- regardless of the original. Yes, I think it does for the most part. But, I would most likely have some of the same criticisms had I not seen the original version. Tony wouldn't have worked that well for me regardless. Bernado may have worked better. Somewhere still wouldn't have worked. And I Feel Pretty would have felt jarring, either way. I'd have removed it and "Somewhere" completely from Spielberg's film, and had Somewhere play at the end credits.
Overall grade?
1961 Version? A- (for the casting of Tony and Maria)
2021 Version? B (see above)
***
Haven't done much today, outside of talk to mother, watch television, and revise my book. Slept until 8, had breakfast late...so...there you go.
Here's a picture.
Dull headache most of the day, but dissipating now that it is clearing. It was overcast most of the day.
Watched Speilberg's Adaptation of West Side Story on Disney + today. (It's also available on HBO MAX along with the original version.)
The Skinny? I like the 1960s version better. Co-worker is correct - it does not compare to the original. [And it is nearly impossible not to compare the two in one's head. ]
Why?
Robert Wise, the director of the 1960s version was a minimalist. And with musicals, less is more. Do too much - and you overshadow the score and dance numbers - which are the whole point. Wise wisely chose to emphasize Bernstein's score, highlight Robbins choreography and dance numbers, and Sondheim's lyrics, and under play everything else. He let the music speak for itself, and aided it with the visuals.
Speilberg in stark contrast - goes the hyper-realist route. (And I don't think hyper-realism necessarily works well with musicals. Mainly because musicals are kind of fantastical to begin with. You have people bursting out in song and dancings in the middle of streets, sidewalks, stores, and daily life. It's jarring if you get too realistic about the setting.) Also Kurshner's book well thankfully slang free (no Daddy-o's to be seen), tells us far too much about the characters, and way too much about the setting.
This musical works better if you go the minimalist route.
In his politically correct attempt fix the previous film, by painting the Puerto Ricans in a positive light, he ironically makes them kind of difficult to symphasize with. Spielberg gives them jobs, careers, and their own shops and town. They basically live in little Puerto Rico. Bernado is making money on boxing gigs, and has a career as a professional boxer. Chino is a banker, which includes fixing accounting machines, and wears tailored suits. Anita has a job as a dressmaker. Maria works at Gimbles as a cleaner. They have families, and a community. There's no real evidence of them being pushed out or discriminated against outside of the cops.
I related all of this to Mother, who has seen the original film enough to know the story.
Mother: Than why are Bernado and his friends even in a gang?
Me: Exactly. Bernado is the realistic - but there's no way he'd be running a gang. He'd not have the time or patience for it. Nor would he hurt his boxing career.
By bringing in this information - you are inadvertently underlining all the flaws in the musical's plot structure, and that's not a good idea. It's not Les Miserables or Miss Saigon or Jesus Christ Superstar - it's not meant to be an hyper-realistic Opera. In the original, the Jets and Sharks are just two rival street gangs, we don't need more information than that. Bernado is tired of running into brick walls whereever he goes. And he's sponsoring Chino. They've not obviously encroached on the Jets lives, and they are just trying to survive like everyone else.
In regards to the Jets? In Spielberg's version, they are painted as working poor or homeless street kids, with no families, living and squatting amongst the rubble of an area that has been demolished. In the original - Riff is staying with Tony's family, and has an uncle. Here? Both Riff and Tony are orphans with no family to speak of. They are Polish and Irish, and have no where to go. Their area of town is being turned into Lincoln Center. And they are wandering through a Puerto Rican village, which has obviously encroached on their area of town, taking over their pubs and bars, and hangouts, replacing English with Spanish and as a result they have no family or place to belong. In the opening number - we see Riff and his gang pull a Spanish Pub Sign off a pub, revealing the Irish Pub Sign underneath, and showing the store front was indeed once Irish pub, but it's been taken over by Puerto Ricans.
As Tony points out to Maria in one scene - right before the rumble, "Riff has no family. You and Bernardo and Chino have families. We don't. Riff has nowhere to go. His home is the Jets and the streets. Bernado has a home and a family."
This is not in the original film - and the sympathy in the original film slants more towards Bernardo, who we are shown is righteously angry due to how he's being treated, and his inability to get ahead. Riff, meanwhile, in the original film is a cheerful, in the moment, street tough, who does as he pleases without a care in the world. A bit of a clown. He comes across as a bit of a bully in a way - and is less sympathetic in the original. Faist's Riff in Spielberg's version is riveting, and lethal, but also sympathetic - due to the fact that he is so trapped.
For much of Spielberg's film, I felt as if the writer and director were sermonizing or explaining far too much - when seriously the music and dance could say it far better and speak for itself. It's a difficulty I have with Spielberg, actually - this tendency to go overboard. He's remade two Robert Wise films, and in both cases he demonstrated why Wise's minimalist method worked better. The other film he remade was The Haunting of Hill House or simply called The Haunting. Where Wise merely suggested the ghosts, Speilberg felt the need to show them in broad technocolor display. He does the same thing here - we're told far too much about the characters.
Tony - is on a parole from beating a kid to death in a previous rumble. (So why is he allowed anywhere near the school social? Also Maria tells him not to go to the rumble after he tells her the story - while in the original she tells him to stop it. )
The casting of Tony remains problematic. Weirdly more so. I honestly didn't think they could do worse than Richard Beemer in the role, but they managed to do it. Kudos.
While Beemer came across as in love, and why he feel in love with Maria made sense - he's searching for something else, something outside of what he has, and in steps Maria, who fits that. He's also very attractive, the actor playing Tony in Spielberg's version did nothing for me. Ansel Engort is a decent dancer, and can sing - but he's not a great dancer - as demonstrated by the excellent dance number "Cool" - which would have been much better if they'd cast a better Tony. Mike Faist is a good dancer, and singer - and he basically blows Egort off the screen during this number. He steals this number, along with the rumble, and the dance scenes from Tony, much as Tamblyn did from Beemer in the original. Why these movie directors persist in casting weak Tony's, I've no clue.
Tony and Maria in Wise's film have chemistry - partly because the actors didn't get along and the camera loves friction. Tony and Maria do not have that much chemistry here - they have some, but not enough to buy that she'd run away with him. I'm not even sure why she falls for him in this version. The first one made sense, this one...his attraction to her makes more sense.
The rest of cast is good in their roles. Anita is brilliant and deserves her nomination, as is Riff. Bernado is good, but it's hard to beat Chakiris, who admittedly isn't Puerto Rican but Greek. They went out of their way to get it right this round with a Puerto Rican Bernado.
Another misstep, and evidence that Spielberg doesn't quite understand this musical...or how to do it, is Valentina singing Somewhere. That's a beautiful song - that works best with Tony and Maria singing it as a duet, not some old woman who has lived a long life with someone she loved. Why is she singing this song? It's kind of jarring when the camera does a close up of Valentina and her white husband, showing that they lived a happy life. And then all the misery around her as a kind of voice over music video.
In the original - I weep whenever the song is sung, it's sung (or dubbed) for Maria and Tony - who sing it. And it is beautiful. Here, it's sentimental and does not work. I'd have preferred he take it out.
The placement of "I feel Pretty" is equally odd and jarring - it's sung right after Bernado and Riff are killed, and directly before Chino comes to tell Maria that Tony killed Bernado. I can see why they did it - but it makes the song difficult to watch or enjoy. Again it slides towards melodrama cliches.
The final scenes - which no longer include "Somewhere" - are well paced. And tragic. But lacking as well. It worked better to have the beginning and end - set at the same spot - the playground in the original film. Mainly because it's a playground. But the kids fight. And ultimately kill each other on the "community" playground. Also, the cops needed to come in on the scene faster than they do in Spielberg's. It adds something to it. Having them show up after Maria and the gangs leave with Tony's body, doesn't quite work - since it appears they are removing the evidence of a crime - when in truth, I think they are past caring at that point. The problem with hyper-realism in cinema is it can show the cracks more in a story, or the expectation is higher for realism.
That said, what works in Spielberg's version are the bits that do not revolve around the love story.
1. Every scene with Tony and Riff - is packed with energy. Faist and Egort bring it to those scenes. And the musical number "Cool" where Riff and Tony fight over a gun is fun to watch and captivating, even though I spent a good portion of it - wondering why Tony didn't just throw the gun out to sea or let it drop there.
However - the existence of Riff's gun is kind of problematic. In the original, Riff doesn't buy a gun or even consider it. He mentions zip guns but is shot down by the group. Chino is the one with the gun in the original, and it's never clear how he got it.
Tony and Riff have more chemistry than just anybody else in the cast does, which is problematic. And Egort is at his best with Faist.
2. Officer Krupke musical number is for the first time not cringe-inducing. It also works very well - and doesn't have any of the leads participating. In the original they have Riff doing most of the singing, and dancing. Possibly because they had Russ Tamblyn - who is great at that sort of thing. Here - it's the supporting actors playing the Jets who do it - and the setting is the police station - where they've all been brought in for questioning about the rumble. This is closer to the stage musical version.
Krupke leaves them locked in the station - alone, and they tear it apart doing this number - to stave off their fear, anger and frustration.
It works.
3. The Rumble works very well. The fight scenes are brutal. However, in the original it was more of a dance number. And in the original - Tony was less willing to fight. Here - Tony ends up fighting, even though Riff tries to stop him. Then Tony almost goes to far - which wakes Riff up to what he almost did to his friend in his attempt to commit suicide by rumble. That's an interesting character interaction. In this version it's not Tony's fault Riff dies, but Bernardo and Riff's - due to Riff's decision to use Bernado to kill himself, and Bernado's pride and rage - which makes it impossible for him to see through it. Riff is almost happy when Bernardo kills him in this version and kind of tells Tony not to worry about it. (In the other, Riff is shocked, and dismayed.)
Chino in this version helps Tony get into the Rumble. (He's not there in the other. Anybody helps Tony get in - in the other version.) And Tony's depicted as a bit more brutal here.
It's well choreographed and feels like an actual fight. And the camera angles are effective - particularly the first over-view shot, with the gang members shadows converging. But, what's loss is the dance moves.
4. The dialogue for everyone is better. Arthur Larents sucked at dialogue.
Kurshner is an expert. The 1950s fake urban slang is thankfully gone - both from the dialogue and the songs. Cool no longer has "Daddy-O" in the lyrics for example.
But other than that - I prefer the minimalist original version.
Does the film stand on its own two feet- regardless of the original. Yes, I think it does for the most part. But, I would most likely have some of the same criticisms had I not seen the original version. Tony wouldn't have worked that well for me regardless. Bernado may have worked better. Somewhere still wouldn't have worked. And I Feel Pretty would have felt jarring, either way. I'd have removed it and "Somewhere" completely from Spielberg's film, and had Somewhere play at the end credits.
Overall grade?
1961 Version? A- (for the casting of Tony and Maria)
2021 Version? B (see above)
***
Haven't done much today, outside of talk to mother, watch television, and revise my book. Slept until 8, had breakfast late...so...there you go.
Here's a picture.