Spielberg's West Side Story

[Burton Sundquist]

That would be great Ken! I would look forward to a Cinematic review as I am not sure when I will get the opportunity to screen it.

[Larry Arpin]

Here's a review and expresses the same as I felt about the actor playing Tony. When I posted this I didn't see all the hate tweets about Ansel Elgort and his abuse from a past relationship, keep this in mind when reading:

https://www.themarysue.com/steven-sp...K03fubdlnk4r6o

[Burton Sundquist]

Thanks Larry for providing the first review! I had no idea about the the troubled leading man. The link provided explains it all. The film itself seems like a brilliant piece of film-making with great performances except one! This will be a hard pill to swallow but should not take anything away from the talent that has been realized in this new production. I can wait for the Bluray on this one where it will be available quite soon I think.

[Oliver Feld]

I honestly try to understand the sense of modern remakes but I don’t get it…! Why can’t Hollywood try to bring back the famous classics to the movies to impress the next generation? Digitally enhanced chariot races in the new „Ben Hur“ version didn’t make this the better picture.
„West Side Story“ is a masterpiece in every aspect. Okay, Natalie Wood & Richard Beymer had been re-dubbed but the whole picture is stunning, touching and breathtaking. The Widescreen filming was epic! And it’s such an important and true reflection of the 50s!
I am sure, that Spielbergs version will be brillant. But do we really need a remake?
Are there no new ideas to be filmed?
I hope this will not be the era of new versions of „My Fair Lady“, „Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang“ or Lionel Bart’s „Oliver!!!“…!

[Brian Fretwell]

Yes just look at the number of Robin Hood remakes we've had. Only the one's with side stories like in TV series, not full to the finish with the sheriff have been to my taste, with one exception due to casting, though that borrowed from the "Robin of Sherwin" TV series.

[Steve Klare]

I think maybe where this starts to make sense is you've had a couple of generations where West Side Story, even though it is a true classic, has faded into the background. My son is 19, and without those Derann extracts I have, he might never have heard of West Side Story. Maybe this one is more for his generation. I'll give you odds if you had a new release of the 1961 West Side Story, the people in the seats would average more than 50 years old. Just maybe this new one will pull in a younger crowd. (Great date movie, although maybe not for the first date...)

True Story: maybe ten years ago I'm sitting watching the 'tube. Onscreen are Shatner and Nimoy. Shatner's in the Big Chair, Nimoy's got his ears on. My kid walks through the room and says "They look like Kirk and Spock." ("Look like"?!!) Maybe at least at that point, the 2009 version was his Star Trek. (We fixed this later on...).

I do feel a little funny about this remake though. There are just certain movies that we've all seen dozens of times that just sheer repetition makes somehow self-perfect. For example the idea of a modern Wizard of Oz is almost unthinkable. When people remake one of these they risk ruining a movie just by making it different, even if that different is really better if you looked at it with an unbiased eye.

Whether or not I secretly wish they didn't do it, I'm going to the theater to go see it!

[Mitchell Dvoskin]

> the idea of a modern Wizard of Oz is almost unthinkable.

And here I thought that you owned a copy of The Wiz in every known home format…

[Steve Klare]

Interesting point, Mitchell!

Is The Wiz a remake of the Wizard of Oz (1939)or a reinterpretation of the same story? I don't think the Wiz has any songs in common with the Wizard of Oz, for example. To me, when you make the new one that different it becomes its own entity. It's kind of the difference between any movie about Don Quixote and Man of LaMancha. (-or Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story)

One of the things that gripes a lot of people about all these remakes is the lack of originality. This makes a reinterpretation more palatable.

[Ed Gordon]

The 1939 Wizard of OZ is actually a remake.

It's worth noting that the most famous version of The Wizard of Oz is, itself, a remake. L. Frank Baum's original novel was adapted several times prior to 1939 during the silent film era. A 1910 movie, which is believed to have been directed by Otis Turner, is the only earlier adaptation that is still known to exist.

The above quote is from an article on "A Remake of The Wizard of Oz Is Officially in the Works" from February of 2021.

[Mike Newell]

If I had to pick out five movies never to be re-made, this one would be in that list. It's such a standard it's as if trying a remake is sacrilege! (-even if it really isn't)

-doesn't mean I won't go see it!

(Do you think Derann will re-form and make a new set of extracts?)

Larry, Maria's singing voice came from Marni Nixon. There's a story that on the day they were going to shoot "A Boy like That", Rita Moreno had a head cold and Marni Nixon sang for BOTH Rita Moreno and Natalie Wood. All by herself she was a duet!

Sure it Romeo and Juliet it’s been remade countless times including West Side Story.

[Mike Newell]

Out next week in cinemas. Trailer attached.

https://youtu.be/A5GJLwWiYSg

[Steve Klare]

The Wizard of Oz remake is in the works?

Great!

-When's the new My Fair Lady coming?

[Mike Newell]

Take it there will be no Munchkins in the new version.

[Steve Klare]

If so, I bet they will make 'em with CGI like Oompah Loompahs the Willie Wonka remake!

If that case there was only one actor and they basically ran him through the copy machine...

[Mike Newell]

> the idea of a modern Wizard of Oz is almost unthinkable.

And here I thought that you owned a copy of The Wiz in every known home format…

They produce versions of the Wizard of Oz on a regular basis Return to Oz was one and James Franco version 2013 Oz the Great and Powerful is another. They usually sink without trace. Would the books be in public domain now so they don’t have to pay any royalties to author’s family.