All Things West Side Story
 

Since West Side Story is my alltime favorite film, I decided to also do some thinking about what some of the songs in this great classic mean. I'll start with the following:

A) Something's Comin': Although this may seem like one of the dullest numbers in WSS to many people, it actually carries a rather powerful message that helps to set the tone for what follows during the rest of West Side Story. Tony, who's broken away from the Jets due to other emotions, predicts that Something's Comin', but doesn't knowwhat it is.

"Somethin's comin'--I don't know what it is,
But it is gonna be great"
"The air is hummin'--and somethin' great is comin' "

The above-mentioned phrase is a clear prediction that something
is coming that's extremely intense, both good and bad. So, Tony may have been unconsciously predicting his meeting and falling in love with Maria, only to have their love go up in smoke shortly afterwards.

B) Tonight: This is one of the most intense songs in an already-intense classic with a powerful message to it. However, the song Tonight is sort of a continuation of a prediction: that this particular night will be different; Tony and Maria will be seeing each other, but who knows what will come of it?

"Tonight, Tonight, won't be just any night.
'Tonight there will be no morning star"
Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight,
And for us, stars will stop where they are."

The above phrasing, I believe, sums this unpredictable prediction up quite well. The excitement of meeting each other, crossing over the racial/ethnic barriers and falling in love despite taboos from both sides, is followed by the destruction of Tony and Maria's love as a result.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Something’s Comin’ dull????? Nothing of the sort, WSSlover! It’s a jingling, toe-tapping number with the ratatat sounds of garbage cans being emptied and the horn-blast of a passing car, growing louder as it approaches and fading as it goes. It’s got the yearning of youth for something special, something exciting to lift them from their everyday world. It’s full of hope and self-confidence that whatever is coming can be mastered and tamed and put to use. And like all the songs in WSS, the lyrics have the sound of kids talking. There’s the ya-ya-ya taunting in Gee, Officer Krupke and the finger-snapping macho coolness of Cool (a personal favorite). But mostly I love the Spanish beat in America and Maria, and the lonesome longing of unrequited love and dashed hopes in Somewhere.

Hollywood had to change some of the lyrics to several songs because they were too racy or too racial, and they shuffled the numbers to a different sequence in the story—having one song before the fight instead of after, that sort of thing. Still, it’s a great musical on either stage or screen. I just wish they had cast real singers in the lead roles for the movie. The role of Tony was offered to Elvis but his manager Col. Tom Parker made him turn it down. When the film later won all those awards, Elvis was sorry he didn’t take the role—could have made a big difference in his Hollywood career. (Elvis also was considered but Parker rejected the role of the kid brother in The Rainmaker that made Earl Holliman a movie star.)

Others considered for the role of Tony included Warren Beatty, Tab Hunter, Anthony Perkins, Burt Reynolds, Troy Donahue, Bobby Darin, Richard Chamberlain, and Gary Lockwood. Darin was negotiating for the role but couldn’t work it in around his singing tours. I’d love to have heard Darin doing the WSS songs! Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood became lovers while filming Splendor in the Grass and she came with him when he auditioned for the part. She helped out at the audition by reading Maria’s dialogue to his Tony, and the producers signed her for Maria’s part.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Hey....thanks for all the info, rufnek. I'm aware that Elvis Presley was offered the part of Tony, but had to turn it down. Elvis Presley would've made an excellent Tony, imo, because he had the singing voice and the tough-but-tender looks of an ex-gangster. Yet, at the same time, if the winds of chance had turned and Elvis Presley had gotten the part of Tony, would West Side Story retained its specialness, or would it have become just another Elvis Presley flick, and therefore been rendered more trite and somewhat cheapened? Nobody really knows. Natalie Wood, imo, did OK as Maria. Due to my intense love for this film, it's hard for me to pinpoint any favorite scene/song(s), but the America, Cool and Dance at the Gym scenes stood out for me, as did the pre-Rumble Quintet and the Rumble itself. I actually like the fact that the orders of the Officer Krupke and the Cool scenes were changed around for the film version. It makes it a great story, as well as a great musical. rufnek, I totally agree with you that West Side Story is a great musical both on stage and on screen. Many people also forget that the film version of WSS is what helped popularize this great musical. All of the above having been said, I've got to admit that, even though West Side Story is presumably about teenagers, I still love this film as much as I did when I first saw it, back in December 1968, as a high school senior, already after the heyday of its newness and popularity, and shortly before it went on TV. I also agree with much of the other stuff that you said about WSS, too. I couldn't have put it more articulately myself. Thanks again, rufnek.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

I'm not an Elvis fan (the Killer--Jerry Lee Lewis--is more my type of singer), but I've always felt that he could have done better if Col. Parker had let him do material that he had to rise to--such as the music of West Side Story. Or if he had been teamed with some real actors like Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn and Wendell Corey in The Rainmaker. Elvis's best chance to prove his acting ability, I think, was in King Creole with pros like Walter Mathau, Carolyn Jones, and especially Vic Morrow. But he wasn't properly prepared--he could have used some acting lessons.

My pick of the bunch considered would have been Bobby Darin who could both sing and act. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Captain Newman, M.D. and was a standout in Pressure Point in which he and Sidney Portier were the two people most on the screen (there was talk of a possible Oscar for that role, in what I think was Darin's first--or one of his first--films; don't think he was nominated, however). He was also a hell of a singer who could deliver on Big Band numbers as well as quiet ballads. Plus he had the neighborhood background of Tony and the rest of the Jets.

Anthony Perkins would have been my second choice for Tony, just to see what he would have done with the role. He's thin for a street fighter, but his indecision would have been right on for the torn Tony.

My only complaint about Natalie was that she was just OK. She didn't convince me she was Puerto Rican, however, just a nice American girl in a lot of pancake makeup. Didn't even come as close to the image as did George Chakaris (whatever!) in his role. It would have been daring and so much more admirable if Hollywood actually had gone out and found a young Hispanic woman who was also an experienced singer-dancer-actor. for that role. They already had one in Rita Moreno, so I know they were out there, probably looking for work in Hollywood and on Broadway. (Both found real Asians for Flower Drum Song, and there are more Hispanics than Asians in this country. Surely Rita could have recommended a friend!)

Barring that, I still wish they had picked leads who could actually sing the songs instead of just lip-syncing like American Bandstand.
Having said that, however, I wonder what Audrey Hepburn would have been like in the role of Maria. She was after the part at one time. She couldn't sing, either, yet sparkled in the film version of My Fair Lady.

I always smile at that gym dance scene because I've lived that moment at a community recreation hall dance on the south side of San Antonio when I was about 14 or so. Hispanics on one side of the floor, anglos on the other and God help anyone who accidentally bumped a couple of the opposite culture on the dance floor or who danced too close to the other side of the room. And the last thing you ever wanted to do was to go into the restrooms! I wasn't nearly as cool and clever as the WSS cast--I was just damned scared. For dance scenes, however, I really like the power and fun of "America."

Yeah, I think Hollywood actually improved the flow of the story by changing the sequence of several of the musical numbers. For instance, it makes sense for "I Feel Pretty" to come earlier in the movie when Maria's hopes and spirits are high instead of later as her troubles develop.

As for the music itself, just look at how many popular songs came out of that movie that are still standards! If you don't already have it, I urge you to hunt down a record album (I doubt if it's on tape or CD) of West Side Story by Stan Kenton. Kenton put together a large jazz ensemble to play the WSS score as specially arranged by Johnnie Richards and it is spectacular. Leonard Bernstein did an orchestra version of his score and that's great, but Kenton's jazzier version with soloists really takes the music to the streets. That's what I had in mind when talking about "Something's Comin'" earlier. The horns have that sound of passing traffic and the cymbals copy the rattle of trash cans. It's a real treat. All instrumental, of course, but boy how that music soars!

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Wow!! rufnek, you seem to know a great deal about West Side Story, some of which I was already aware of, and some of which I wasn't. Thanks again for all the info. The name Stan Kenton does sound a tad familiar, but I'm not positive of who he is, nor have I ever been a jazz fan, like my dad was. Sounds like he's got an interesting recording of WSS's score. Although I've never taken well to the idea of rehashing such a beautiful original as Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story musical score, this one sounds interesting, even though I'm not into jazz. As for searching for a record album of Stan Kenton/West Side Story, since I no longer have a regular LP turntable, that could be a problem for me, since I have a CD stereo. I wonder if it will come out on CD or tape cassette, if it's not out already .

Since you lived in a place where racial/ethnic tensions were played out in real life, it must've been quite terrifying for you, at such a young age, while growing up, to deal with.

I've got to admit, however, that I'm not troubled by the dubbing, especially since this practice was quite common back then, from what I understand. Natalie Wood didn't have a bad singing voice or anything like that, but it simply wasn't powerful enough, which is why they had to use Marni Nixon to dub Wood's voice in the film version of WSS. I admittedly have no complaints about Natalie Wood's role as Maria; however, I do think that Richard Beymer was a poor choice as Tony, and the fact that he and Natalie Wood got along extremely poorly off-screen really didn't help at all. The fact that Richard Beymer was cast as Tony was politics as usual. Natalie Wood, in fact, had tried to get Richard Beymer kicked off the set on several occasions, which he was pained by, and it showed in his performance as Tony in the film. That being said, one really has to wonder if Richard Beymer might have performed better as Tony if he and Natalie Wood had gotten along better off-screen. I'd be willing to give Beymer the benefit of the doubt and say that it is at least somewhat of a possibility. However, I think that Beymer's weak, lacklustre performance as Tony was more than off-set by the other actors/actresses in the film.

Regarding the possibility of Bobby Darin performing as Tony in the film version of WSS: I've only heard one song of Bobby Darin (If I Were A Carpenter), so I'm not that familiar with his voice, and therefore not sure how he would've made out as West Side Story's Tony, nor was I aware of his background. Tony Perkins is not an actor that I'm familiar with either, although I've heard the name on numerous occasions.

Rita Moreno was excellent as Anita, and she's a favorite of a lot of people. West Side Story, I believe, is noted, not only for the musical score, but for the great dancing through the whole thing. Regarding the Dance at the Gym scene--I smile at that too--and I love the way Riff does his flips into the air--that's so cool! Rita Moreno dances excellently in that scene, too, as she does in "America". However, I love all of the dancing in WSS-it's so beautiful.

What's really too bad is the fact that, very often, the talents of actors/actresses and/or musicians and singers are all too often hemmed in by politics as usual, and it sounds as if in Elvis Presley's case, that was no exception.

Nonetheless, even though I think that the film West Side Story's real shortcoming was the casting of Richard Beymer as Tony, this has not stopped me from going to see this great classic when it comes to one of the two repertory movie theatres in our area, on TV, or even driving into a neighboring state to go and see it.

Btw, rufnek, I enjoy talking and corresponding with you, and hope you and I continue to correspond more on this forum. Thanks.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

A lot of people think they don't like jazz because they think it's ethnic or all weird sounds (like the be-bop version can be to some), but you really hear more jazz than you realize in films and commercials and even its influence in modern music. If you hear some good jazz played well, you'll like it. It's the most American of all forms of music.

And don't worry that it's a rehashing of Bernstein's music. It's just a different arrangement for the fairly big band (but not as big as an orchestra) that just heightens the emphasis in certain section by including different instruments, or spotlighting a solo performance or slowing the tempo a little. Plus every person in the band is good enough to be performing solo or headling a band of his own. Great musicians playing great music in away that lets you hear it a little differently. It's all a very lush sound. In fact, go to Amazon.com and call up West Side Story by Stan Kenton and just read all the things that other people wrote in about it. Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

Ah, it really wasn't that bad--that sort of stuff only happened in South San Antonio, which is the second toughest part of that city after the West side, which is where the barrio was. The barrio and cheap housing for poorer Anglos kinda merged together in South San, where my cousin lived. My brother and I often spent the summers with him and when we were little kids we went to the neighborhood recreation hall and pool all the time and never had any trouble. The fights only started when we reach puberty and have to start proving something to everyone. Mostly I lived in smaller towns where there were no gangs or stuff like that, and I went to school with Hispanics all the time and had no problems. Liked them in fact. Still do.


Oh, if you haven't heard much of Darin, you've got a treat coming! Hunt down a tape or CD of his greatest hits. These I know are still available because he was and is still so popular. Listen to some of the big band numbers he did like "Mack the Knife" (originally from the Threepenny Opera which was done in Germany nearly 100 years ago but totally updated in the Darin version), Beyond the Sea (my personal favorite and the title of a movie about Darin that came out a few years ago), and especially the swinging version of "Artificial Flowers." He had the voice and range and the acting ability to do Broadway musicals.[/quote]

If you liked Russ Tamblyn's dancing in WSS, you'd love him in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a Broadway play made into a movie and then released on both VHS and DVD, I think. He was very acrobatic. I remember a picture that appeared in Life or Look or one of those magazines about 40 years ago that showed him and his girlfriend (or new bride, I forget which) walking down the street, but it was staged so that he was right in the middle of a backward flip where he's pointing straight up in the air.

As for Rita, I saw her once. She came to the paper where I worked to see our movie or music or theater reviewer, came in dressed very well with a mink stole and jewelry, very pretty, so as she approached my desk I said, "Hey, Rita! Looking good!!! And she looked over and just smiled. Very pretty woman, then and later.


I'm sure we will. You're a real pleasure to chat with.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

If you liked Russ Tamblyn's dancing in WSS, you'd love him in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a Broadway play made into a movie and then released on both VHS and DVD, I think. He was very acrobatic. I remember a picture that appeared in Life or Look or one of those magazines about 40 years ago that showed him and his girlfriend (or new bride, I forget which) walking down the street, but it was staged so that he was right in the middle of a backward flip where he's pointing straight up in the air.

As for Rita, I saw her once. She came to the paper where I worked to see our movie or music or theater reviewer, came in dressed very well with a mink stole and jewelry, very pretty, so as she approached my desk I said, "Hey, Rita! Looking good!!! And she looked over and just smiled. Very pretty woman, then and later.




I'm sure we will. You're a real pleasure to chat with.[/quote]Hey---thanks again, rufnek! You're right about jazz being present everywhere, including film, commercials, etc. Never gave it much thought, although I've always been aware that the music from both the film version and the stage version of West Side Story are a combo of jazz, pop, salsa music, etc. I'll have to look into the Amazon opinion of Stan Kenton's West Side Story--sounds interesting...and cool!! I wonder if it is available on CD. If it is, I might consider buying it, although not right now.

My first introduction to West Side Story was back in the summer of 1962, when my sister and I attended day camp out West. Another girl in the group I was in, who'd recently received a copy of the LP album of the soundtrack to the original Broadway stage production of WSS, brought the album in and played it for the rest of the group. From that day on, I fell in love with the music of WSS, and all the kids would sing the songs on the bus to and from camp every day. I never did see any of the original Broadway stage productions of West Side Story, nor did I see the film version of WSS until Christmastime 1968, as a high school senior, when it was past the heyday of its popularity and newness, and shortly before it went on TV. I fell in love with the film instantly.

Four years later, after having forgotten about it, WSS went on TV that spring. I was in an evening class, and someone had brought in a small black-and-white TV, and we gathered around to watch it. That summer, when I went on a six-week trip to Europe, someone in the group I was with had brought a cassette tape of the WSS movie soundtrack, which was played almost every evening. My love for WSS was re-awakened, along with a desire to see the film.
Shortly after I came home, I mentioned it to my dad over supper.
Our dialogue about it went something like this:

Me: Gee, I wish I could see the movie West Side Story again.

Dad: You never forgot it, did you?

Me: No.

When it was aired on TV that Thanksgiving, I watched it, and that was when my love of the film really took off. I've admittedly been hooked on this film since.





Glad you were able to hold your own while growing up, and that you got along with and made friends with the various kids that you went to school with. Without knowing you personally, it sounds like you've always had a good head on your shoulders. Fights start in adolescence, because that's such a tough stage to go through, generally. I think that, particularly in Western societies, the adolescent is often forced to prove him/herself in some way or other.

Regarding Bobby Darin's greatest hits: Since Record Towers, the most prominent record store around, has since closed its doors, I'll have to look elsewhere, such as Newbury Comics or perhaps Borders, or Strawberries for the Stan Henton and Bobby Darin CDs. Something to think about!

Regarding the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I never saw: If I recall correctly, that one came out even before West Side Story (the film version) did. Wasn't Tucker Smith also in that one? I heard that he was, and that he was also in the film version of Sweet Smell of Success, which I also never saw, and came out before the film version of WSS. Tucker Smith was excellent as Jet gang member Ice in West Side Story; he had both the looks and the personality for that role. It suited him perfectly. Too bad about Tucker Smith's death. It was tragic, particularly since he died so young.

Nowadays, it seems that they're making musicals out of movies, instead of the other way around.

Since I don't have a DVD player at home, buying or renting those two particular movies could be a problem for me.

Rita Moreno--yup, she's still a very attractive lady. So, you got to see her in person? How cool!!

When I attended a West Side Story sing-a-long screening at the Brattle Theatre, in Cambridge, MA a year ago last fall, Marni Nixon was in the lobby of the theatre selling and autographing copies of her then-new book, I Could Have Danced All Night. She seemed pleasant enough, and, although around 80 or so, she looked only in her sixties! She and I chatted briefly before the WSS screening, and, when I told her that WSS is my alltime favorite film, she was happy.

Other actors in WSS: Russ Tamblyn (Riff) and Richard Beymer (Tony) are very good friends in real life, and Russ Tamblyn's daughter, Amber, was involved in some sort of TV program, which I forget the name of, at one point.

As a devout fan of the film West Side Story, who's also seen a half dozen stage productions of this great musical, I've reached the conclusion that certain types of singing voices and/or music are appropriate for different types of media, if one gets the drift, and I think that WSS is no exception.

Again, rufnek. It's a pleasure to chat with you too. Hope to talk again soon.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

If you liked Russ Tamblyn's dancing in WSS, you'd love him in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a Broadway play made into a movie and then released on both VHS and DVD, I think. He was very acrobatic. I remember a picture that appeared in Life or Look or one of those magazines about 40 years ago that showed him and his girlfriend (or new bride, I forget which) walking down the street, but it was staged so that he was right in the middle of a backward flip where he's pointing straight up in the air.

As for Rita, I saw her once. She came to the paper where I worked to see our movie or music or theater reviewer, came in dressed very well with a mink stole and jewelry, very pretty, so as she approached my desk I said, "Hey, Rita! Looking good!!! And she looked over and just smiled. Very pretty woman, then and later.




I'm sure we will. You're a real pleasure to chat with.[/quote]

Hey---thanks again, rufnek! You're right about jazz being present everywhere, including film, commercials, etc. Never gave it much thought, although I've always been aware that the music from both the film version and the stage version of West Side Story are a combo of jazz, pop, salsa music, etc. I'll have to look into the Amazon opinion of Stan Kenton's West Side Story--sounds interesting...and cool!! I wonder if it is available on CD. If it is, I might consider buying it, although not right now.

My first introduction to West Side Story was back in the summer of 1962, when my sister and I attended day camp out West. Another girl in the group I was in, who'd recently received a copy of the LP album of the soundtrack to the original Broadway stage production of WSS, brought the album in and played it for the rest of the group. From that day on, I fell in love with the music of WSS, and all the kids would sing the songs on the bus to and from camp every day. I never did see any of the original Broadway stage productions of West Side Story, nor did I see the film version of WSS until Christmastime 1968, as a high school senior, when it was past the heyday of its popularity and newness, and shortly before it went on TV. I fell in love with the film instantly.

Four years later, after having forgotten about it, WSS went on TV that spring. I was in an evening class, and someone had brought in a small black-and-white TV, and we gathered around to watch it. That summer, when I went on a six-week trip to Europe, someone in the group I was with had brought a cassette tape of the WSS movie soundtrack, which was played almost every evening. My love for WSS was re-awakened, along with a desire to see the film.
Shortly after I came home, I mentioned it to my dad over supper.
Our dialogue about it went something like this:

Me: Gee, I wish I could see the movie West Side Story again.

Dad: You never forgot it, did you?

Me: No.

When it was aired on TV that Thanksgiving, I watched it, and that was when my love of the film really took off. I've admittedly been hooked on this film since.





Glad you were able to hold your own while growing up, and that you got along with and made friends with the various kids that you went to school with. Without knowing you personally, it sounds like you've always had a good head on your shoulders. Fights start in adolescence, because that's such a tough stage to go through, generally. I think that, particularly in Western societies, the adolescent is often forced to prove him/herself in some way or other.

Regarding Bobby Darin's greatest hits: Since Record Towers, the most prominent record store around, has since closed its doors, I'll have to look elsewhere, such as Newbury Comics or perhaps Borders, or Strawberries for the Stan Henton and Bobby Darin CDs. Something to think about!

Regarding the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I never saw: If I recall correctly, that one came out even before West Side Story (the film version) did. Wasn't Tucker Smith also in that one? I heard that he was, and that he was also in the film version of Sweet Smell of Success, which I also never saw, and came out before the film version of WSS. Tucker Smith was excellent as Jet gang member Ice in West Side Story; he had both the looks and the personality for that role. It suited him perfectly. Too bad about Tucker Smith's death. It was tragic, particularly since he died so young.

Nowadays, it seems that they're making musicals out of movies, instead of the other way around.

Since I don't have a DVD player at home, buying or renting those two particular movies could be a problem for me.

Rita Moreno--yup, she's still a very attractive lady. So, you got to see her in person? How cool!!

When I attended a West Side Story sing-a-long screening at the Brattle Theatre, in Cambridge, MA a year ago last fall, Marni Nixon was in the lobby of the theatre selling and autographing copies of her then-new book, I Could Have Danced All Night. She seemed pleasant enough, and, although around 80 or so, she looked only in her sixties! She and I chatted briefly before the WSS screening, and, when I told her that WSS is my alltime favorite film, she was happy.

Other actors in WSS: Russ Tamblyn (Riff) and Richard Beymer (Tony) are very good friends in real life, and Russ Tamblyn's daughter, Amber, was involved in some sort of TV program, which I forget the name of, at one point.

As a devout fan of the film West Side Story, who's also seen a half dozen stage productions of this great musical, I've reached the conclusion that certain types of singing voices and/or music are appropriate for different types of media, if one gets the drift, and I think that WSS is no exception.

Again, rufnek. It's a pleasure to chat with you too. Hope to talk again soon.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Sorry for the double posting.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 437343)

That summer, when I went on a six-week trip to Europe, someone in the group I was with had brought a cassette tape of the WSS movie soundtrack, which was played almost every evening. My love for WSS was re-awakened, along with a desire to see the film.

What parts of Europe did you visit? I got to Europe for the first time in 1963-1964—Germany—courtesy of the US Army.

Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 437343)

Regarding the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which I never saw: If I recall correctly, that one came out even before West Side Story (the film version) did. Wasn't Tucker Smith also in that one? I heard that he was, and that he was also in the film version of Sweet Smell of Success, which I also never saw, and came out before the film version of WSS. Tucker Smith was excellent as Jet gang member Ice in West Side Story; he had both the looks and the personality for that role. It suited him perfectly. Too bad about Tucker Smith's death. It was tragic, particularly since he died so young.

Don’t know much about Smith. Looked him up and apparently he had uncredited dancing parts in the films How to Succeed in Business (one of my favorite musicals), The Producers (another good one!) and Hello, Dolly in 1967-1968. Apparently not in Seven Brides, however.

Originally Posted by WSSlover (Post 437343)

As a devout fan of the film West Side Story, who's also seen a half dozen stage productions of this great musical, I've reached the conclusion that certain types of singing voices and/or music are appropriate for different types of media, if one gets the drift, and I think that WSS is no exception.

Have you also seen productions of Romeo and Juliet? How does that compare for you with WWS?

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

I've never seen any productions of Romeo & Juliet, but I am aware that certain comparisons can be made between R & J and WSS, since one is loosely based on the other. For instance, the Montagues and the Capulets become the Jets and Sharks. Romeo and Juliet become Tony and Maria. Juliet's nurse becomes Maria's girlfriend, Anita.In both West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet, two people from opposing sides fall in love despite all the taboos and amid the deadly conflict, and,in both instances, they end up star-crossed as a result of the hatred between the feuding sides, if one gets the drift.

The summer when I went to Europe and got the chance to listen to the WSS film soundtrack cassette tape was back in the summer of 1972. I visited England and France for a total of six weeks and got to see some wonderful sights, particularly in London and Paris. I even visited London's Goldsmith Hall, which was fantastic, and also got to see the stage productions of Showboat, Godspell, and afew others. The film version of "Godspell was dreadful, btw, but the stage play was great. From what I understand, the film version of "Showboat" is also wonderful, though I've never seen it. I also got to visit the countryside, which was also wonderful.

I didn't know that Tucker Smith was in Hello Dolly, nor did I know about his being an uncredited dancer in "How to Succeed in Business" or in "The Producers". Uncredited dancers were rather common back then. For some reason I thought that Tucker Smith had been in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". Hmmmm...Oh well.

West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

the great, venerable golden oldie-but-goody movie musical classic film, West Side Story, has withstood the test of time beautifully, and is a good, clear indication of one thing: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Imho, anybody who says that West Side Story is passe, dated, obsolete, just for starry-eyed adolescents, or too "white-bread" is wrong. West Side Story is a beautiful movie/musical classic modeled somewhat on Romeo and Juliet, about realities that take place even today: racial & ethnic tensions, urban gang warfare, and people crossing the racial/ethnic-color-religion barrier to date, fall in love and even marry. No matter who becomes POTUS, the above-mentioned things will always exist.

Hey...I know that in real life, street gangs don't dance through the streets, I know people don't generally fall in love at first sight, or even if they do, it still takes time for it to develop into something really, really substantial, if one gets the drift, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all, and I'm also aware that today's street gangs are far deadlier and more violent than they were back then, often entailing the use of high-tech, high-powered guns, rather than fisticuffs or switchblades.

In my eyes, the only shortcoming of the film West Side Story was the casting of Richard Beymer as Tony, and the fact that he and Natalie Wood got along extremely poorly (Natalie Wood had, in fact, tried to get Richard Beymer kicked off the set on several occasions) really didn't help. In fact, Beymer's being bothered by it was somewhat obvious. Yet, that has not stopped me from going to see a screening of WSS virtually everytime it comes to town (I only missed one screening in our area--March 2001, when an afternoon screenng in town conflicted directly with my late dad's memorial, so I didn't go that day. ) and loving every minute of it, as always.

As a neighbor put it, West Side Story is fiction, and yet closer to reality in some respects. I'm still waiting for some decent movies to come up, and for WSS to reappear. As a devout fan of this great film who has also seen at least a half dozen stage productions of this great musical and who owns both the CD soundtracks to the film and the original Broadway stage play, I fully savor this great classic and hope that, regardless of who comes into the White House this fall, or what else happens, that this great classic never, ever becomes obsolete. The MGM adaage "Unlike other classics, West Side Story grows younger" has a strong element of truth to it. I call it "The classic that never grows old".

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Everyone here likes West Side Story. Most of the people I know in real life like West Side Story. Everyone who doesn't, hasn't seen it. So what are you talking about?

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Yeah, I don't get all the animosity. it's one of my favourite films!

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Actually, I know quite afew people who've seen West Side Story who really don't like the film at all. Some of them are people that work as mental health councilors and who councel troubled kids from lower socio-economic backgrounds and/or minority backgrounds, and feel that WSS is too unrealistic, too promotory of stereotypes that all workingclass kids, be they white or non-white, are involved with street gang activity, and who're also a good deal younger than me and don't have as much appreciation of this film. I also know one guy (around my age) who grew up in our area who thought that WSS was a disgusting take-off on gang activities. I also know people who think that West Side Story is too "whitebread" for their tastes.

Also, the late Pauline Kael, who was a well-known and respected movie critic not only disliked West Side Story, but absolutely panned the hell out of it unlike any critic I've ever seen do. Bertinelli, another movie critic, said that WSS was too sanitized.
What's bothersome is the fact that these opinions have, in a way, found their way into many circles of today's mainstream opinions of this great film, which is part of the reason why it's shown so infrequently. All of the above having been said, I really wonder what will happen to this great classic film, as well as other classics when the next POTUS, whoever he may be, takes over the White House in January 2009.

I know you all like WSS, so I wasn't directing my comments at anyone here...at all. Most people that I know also like West Side Story, but aren't as into it as I am, and are accepting about it.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

I don't understand why there's such animosity over WSS either, but I guess people are people, with different tastes. I also know people who're not big fans of this great film, but who don't harbor the kind of hostility about it that some people do. I do, however, agree with people who say that Richard Beymer was a rather weak, lacklustre Tony, but I won't go into a big thing over that.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

well, I meant where does your animosity towards the people HERE come from? Nobodys said anything against the film...:confused:

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Whoa, Monkeypunch! I have absolutely no animosity towards the people here on movieforums at all. Trust me. There are people that I know, in real life and off of this forum that really hate West Side Story, and have made it obvious to me that they think that I'm immature and/or retarded for having such a great liking for it. Sorry that you took what I said in the wrong way.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Well, I for one didn't get any sense of animosity to this forum in any of your entries, WSSlover. You expressed very plainly that some people you know outside this forum have been critical not only of the film but of you for liking the film. Hey, you like what you like and don't like what you don't like. No explanation or appoligies necessary.

As for love at first sight, Hollywood and Broadway have been using that device for years to hurry a story along. Look at Carousel and Brigadoon and, to a certain extent, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I once met a girl in a Houston honky tonk who gave me a double-take and later told me, "I don't know if I'm in love or in lust," and we were together for 3-4 years. Which was longer than my first marriage! :-)

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

Yeah, I love to sing in the shower too. *L*

I liked West Side Story. I saw it fairly recently so my daughter could watch it with me. I have the 33 record that I used to listen to as a kid too. (Yes, I do have needles that work on my old record player!)

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

I am a huge West Side Story fan and am currently portraying Anybodys in a stage production over this summer. Some other comparisions between the two stories is that in both Romeo & Juliet the lovers are trying to escape to be together. One ends up in a tomb and the other ends up in a courtyard or alley way when tragedy strikes. Both are fueled by other killing. In Romeo & Juliet Tibalt is killed by the hand of the rival clan and of course in West Side Story Riff is killed by Bernardo and then Bernardo killed by Tony. Both stories are tragic and are both fueled by hate. The one scene I really love in West Side Story is right at the end after Tony has been shot and Maria grabs the gun from Chino and asks "How many Bullets are left in the Gun, Chino"? She then goes on after pointed the gun at several gangs members and said that she can now kill because she now has hate. Hate is the central theme of both story that fules nothing but tragedy in the end of both the films.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

You're playing Anybodys in a stage production of West Side Story this summer?!? Hey.....congratulations!! Hope you have lots of fun! Break a leg (as they say in show biz)

I, too am a big West Side Story fan, as my username on this forum indicates, who has also seen a half dozen stage productions of this great musical. The songs Tonight and Something's Comin', to me, both indicate that there's something different coming that's never happened before, not only to Tony, but to everybody else as well, and nobody really knows what it is or how things'll turn out. Unpredictability there. It's agreed that Maria's strong message "You all killed him! And my brother and Riff! Not with bullets & guns! With hate! Well, I can kill too, because now I have hate!" carries a strong message: The strangling affects of hatred on everybody and how, much like an acid that corrodes the vessel it's in, corrodes everybody.

You're also right about hatred fueling the disputes between the different factions in both West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet. Thanks for the neat post, Anybodys.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Yep, I love the production both onstage and the film. It is so much fun performing all the dances and songs.

Both the songs Something Coming & Tonight are keys to the story, and I really think you are right as all the characters have Something Coming in their futures. They don't know when or what it may be, but ultimately they will find out. In the case of Riff & Bernardo the outcome of what is in store for their future is very Tragic. As for Anita it is the discovery that her boyfriend has been killed, but she also realizes that love is strong(A Boy Like That). Ultimately Anita turns back to rage as the Jet gang shows her more hatred as she goes and tries to help the situation. Even parts like the part I am playing, Anybodys. She finds acceptances . Something that she does not have with the gang in the beginning of the show.

No Problem, I could talk about this movie or stage production all the time. It is a dream to be a part of it as it is the one show that since I started performing I wanted to be in.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

The play originally had a more Shakespearian ending in that, following her monologue, Maria does shoot Chino and then herself. But that ending was changed somewhere along the way, maybe after out-of-town tryouts.

To me, the changed ending also changes the play's theme. If Maria shoots Chino, then it is about hate and the relationship of the two gangs doesn't change. But Maria lets Chino live, then it's about redemption, forgiveness, and love triumphing over hate, and members of both gangs join together to carry away Tony's body. Even the cops come away with a different point of view.

More than that, the overall story of both Romeo and Julliet and West Side Story is really about love--in both, these two young people (in Shakespeare's play, Julliet is something like 14-16, but there were no "teenagers" back then as we know them--one was either a child or an adult) fall in love despite the fact that they come from deeply divided groups, they pursue that love despite all the opposition from family and friends, and they maintain that love despite the fact that Romeo/Tony's friend is killed by Julliet/Maria's brother who is then killed by Romeo/Tony. In both, the young woman comes up with an escape plan and sends her friend to tell her lover. The friend is against the marriage, but she goes out of love for her friend. She actually tries to deliver the message, until abused by members of Romeo/Tony's group, at which time love for her friend gives way to hatred of her opponents and she spits out the lie at Julliet/Maria is dead.

The main theme it seems to me is love in many forms--love of friends and family, romantic love, and all of the tragic elements underline a love of life. Especially when Maria doesn't kill Chino or herself.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Regarding the West Side Story songs Something's Comin' and
Tonight being the key to the story behind WSS: That's very true, Anybodys. They're both a prediction of the coming of something different, that has never come before, and the something great. The song, Somethings Comin' means that somethings coming that's going to be great and different, but Tony doesn't know what is coming; he just knows that what's coming will be different...and intense.

The phrases, "Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star." "Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight. And for us stars will stop where they are." clearly meant that a love was in blossom, that tonight would be different because Tony and Maria would see each other, only to have their love die a-borning due to the hostility and disapproval of their relationship from both gangs.

West Side Story's Anybodys's persistent struggle for acceptance by the gang, which she achieves towards the end of WSS is another way in which both the stageplay and the film West Side Story were both ahead of their time. The often-ardous struggle on the part of women (and girls) to gain acceptence in a male-dominated world is proof of that.

Come to think of it, an old classmate of mine who's now married and raising a young girl, claims that West Side Story is actually quite sexist, but I disagreed with her, saying that the women in WSS were strong; Anita for constantly disagreeing with Bernardo, Anybody's for struggling to gain acceptance by the Jets gang, and Maria for stubbornly and loyally sticking with Tony and loving him, even after she's learned that her brother has died by his hand.

I'm glad your dream of actually participating in West Side Story came true, Anybodys. You must be very, very proud.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

WSSluver you are so right, West Side Story was way before it's time. It really changes the musical scene from what it was.

I love being in a production of West Side Story. Even when I was little and would watch the movie I always would say I wanted to be Maria. Well since I have Blonde hair and have a pale complexion that didn't quite workout , but the part of Anybodys is amazing. She is such a wonderful character and very strong willed. Also I really like the dances and numbers she is in the show. My favorite number and dance of the show has to be Cool.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Hey...Thanks, Anybodys.

Glad to see that there's another big West Side Story fan here on this forum. This great movie-musical classic was, indeed, a breakthrough, although I still recall a brief conversation that I had with my mom after I'd gone over to my family's house one February afternoon afew years ago to watch an airing of West Side Story on the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) Channel, following the program, in which she'd mentioned that she'd recently read an article pointing out that West Side Story was the last great movie musical. I told her that I believed that. During that same airing of WSS, my mom looked in on me a couple of times and sort of chuckled to herself, because she's always known......(heh). I love the "Cool" scene also, but then again, due to my intense love for West Side Story, it's hard for me to pinpoint a favorite scene(s) or song(s ), because I love this great movie-musical classic so much as a whole, due to the fact that it's a dynamic little package of a fabulous musical score, a great story, wonderfully-choreographed dancing by Jerome Robbins, great directing by Wise and Robbins, the richly-colored costumes and photography...the works.

You're right on about WSS's Anybody's being strong-willed, Anybody's. That, and her persistence and her courage is what gained her acceptence by the Jets gang towards the end. Regarding your having blonde hair: It doesn't matter. I bet you make a great Anybodys in the production you're in!

I also might add that I'm glad to have found a forum where I can discuss West Side Story as much as I want. It's great.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

I remmember talking a few years back with my Grandmom about the stage production of WSS as they went to see it on Broadway when it was first on stage there with Carol Lawrence & Larry Kert and they said that in the beginning the show was not well received at all and even many people including critics left at the intermission. Can you imagine walking out of what has probably gone down as the greatest musical in history. I know I would be kicking myself. I am also glad that it made a quick turn around and people started to accept it. If it wouldn't have been there may have never been a movie. The main reason my Grandmom said it was not recepted very well was people saw it as too violent. Also like you said it showed women in a different light for those times and some people were not quite ready for that. This stage show and Movie will be a classic when I get old and I will be able to take my children and grandchildren to see it.

Oh, yes I know having blonde hair & pale skin playing Anybodys is o.k., but playing Maria just doesn't go over as well with a Blonde Haired fair skin girl. :) Plus I locve the role of Anybodys because of the challenging dances she is involved in the production. Maria doesn't have that.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

Do you have any links anywhere on the Net which claim that West Side Story was ever thought of in a negative light on Broadway? I'm having a tough time finding any, so I would appreciate those.

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

There is also a Public Television Documentary called Broadway I believe that states this . I am not sure if there is any articles about it on the web. I am going by what my Grandmom told me because I was not there when it hit Broadway. If I come across something I will let you know. A little research project for me maybe.;)

Re: West Side Story: Meanings of songs: Tonight & Somethin's Comin'.
 

This:


I really didn't know about at all. So, originally, West Side Story was more like Romeo & Juliet than most others, including myself, realized. Wow! Interesting.
Thanks for the new piece of info, rufnek.

West Side Story is fantastic on the great big, wide movie theatre screen:
 

This post is kind of long, but I was in the mood for posting a long post.


It was in early October 2001, less than a month after Sept. 11, that I'd driven down to NYC for the special 40th-year anniversary screening of the great, venerable classic film, West Side Story, at NYC’s renowned Radio City Music Hall, where my friends and I had a wonderful time. Radio City Music Hall had been filled with an exuberant, friendly crowd, and there’d been much finger-snappping and applause from the audience.

Five years later, in mid-October of 2006, again, I drove down to the Big Apple for yet another screening of the venerable classic film, West Side Story. This time, seeing the link for the weeklong screenings of West Side Story at NYC's Clearview/Ziegfeld Cinema on another website, I couldn't resist the temptation, and I was determined to go down to NYC to take in yet another screening of this great film. After thinking about it, I phoned my cousin, who lives on NYC's Upper West Side, and spoke with her at length about it. Since she was headed for upstate NY over the weekend, and her other nights during the week were busy, we decided to take in Tuesday night's 8:15 screening of WSS. Attempts on my part to obtain the tickets online failed, so my cousin willingly and graciously got the tickets for us.
*
Leaving home at around 9:00 a. m. that Tuesday morning, I arrived in NYC shortly after 1:00 p. m. and waited around, enjoying the nice, crisp sunny October day and talking to people, until my cousin arrived home from work, at around four o'clock. After relaxing for awhile and having a light, quick dinner, my cousin and I took the subway downtown to mid-town Manhattan, where the theatre was located. What a wonderful evening that was--there was a beautiful new print of the film WSS, and the screen was big and long. As always, on the great big, wide screen, WSS could be seen in its entire glory, the way it was meant to be seen.

All of the cast members, from the romancing Tony and Maria, to Doc, to the warring Jets and Sharks, seemed to come even more alive and to move much more freely and fluidly, in a much wider, more open space. This was true of even Richard Beymer, who was a weak, lacklustre Tony.

The soundtrack seemed to sound richer, and the richly-colored costumes and photography also took on a more intense dimension. In short, the entire film of West Side Story, from the opening aerial shots of NYC's West Side, to the playground skirmishes between the Jets & Sharks, from the romancing Tony and Maria and Bernardo and Anita, to the Rumble and the Cool scenes to the graffitied credits at the very end of the film seem to take on a magical, almost 3-dimensional quality when shown on a great big, wide movie theatre screen.

Although the evening screening of West Side Story didn't quite sell out, it was, in fact, very well-attended. Russ Tamblyn does a wonderful job as the exuberant, wacky, acrobatic Riff, as do David Winters as A-rab, Elliot Feld as the immature, constantly awed and frightened Baby-John. The same is true of Tony Mordente, who does a fabulous job playing the role of the hot-tempered, institagating troublemaker of the Jets, Action. Tucker Smith does an equally fantastic job playing the role of the handsome, calm, cool and collected Ice, who ultimately takes over the Jet gang leadership after Riff's death in the Rumble.

The role of the sardonic, but hot-tempered Shark gangleader, Bernardo, is fabulously played by George Chakiris, as is the role of Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, who is a feisty firebrand of a girl, by Rita Moreno, who does an excellent job. Simon Oakland also does an excellent job of playing the bigoted, cantankerous Lt. Schrank, and Bill Bramley also does well playing Officer Krupke. All told, WSS is a very strong movie, with a very strong cast, most of whom had been in the original Broadway stage productions of West Side Story. This, coupled with Jerome Robbins fantastic choreograqphy of the dancing--(might I add that the dancing in West Side Story is also one of the things that makes it so great?) is also terrific.

Although Richard Beymer definitely played a rather weak, lacklustre Tony, he, too comes off as being somewhat more vital and alive on the great big, wide movie theatre screen, plus he's more than offset by the wonderful performances of the other actors/actresses in the film West Side Story.
*
The Clearfield/Ziegfeld Cinema in NYC is a beautiful old theatre, very handsome and palatial-looking inside, that was converted into a movie theatre from a place where much live theatre, including vaudeville, had been performed previously. It's the perfect place for such great old films, or films, period, imo. After the screening, my cousin and I went back to her apartment, which is in a rather funky upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, and, the next day, in exchange for staying at her place, when she went off to work, I tuned her Mason-Hamlin grand piano, which made her very happy. All told, it had been a wonderful time. After another day in NYC, I drove home the next morning, after thanking my cousin for the WSS tickets, and her hospitality. It had been a wonderful two days. Visiting my cousin, who I hadn't seen in afew years, plus taking in a wonderful favorite classic film combined to make a wonderful mini-vacation. That Friday night, I attended a West Side Story singalong screening near where I live. WSS played to a sold-out house!! It, too was lots of fun. Although there are other movies that I've liked well enough to see more than once, and there are afew movies of today that I've liked well, West Side Story holds a special place in my heart, and, more than likely, always will.
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Now, as everybody knows, West Side Story is a film that, although I’ve seen a number of films, both old and new, that I’ve liked well enough to see more than once, I can’t enough of--something about West Side Story brings me back to see it time and again.

Most movies, be they new or old, are not movies that I’d go out of state to see screenings of--however, West Side Story is special enough to do that, in my book.

There’s yet another reason, however, that West Side Story has remained as special as it is. It’s true that many, if not most of the actors/actresses who were in the original Broadway Stage production of West Side Story were also in the movie versioin, and that Jerome Robbins choreographed the dancing for both the original Broadway stage productions and the film version of West Side Story. For better and worse, Jerome Robbins was a tough taskmaster and a perfectionist, who made the cast members work hard enough until they dropped, sometimes literally.

However, there’s yet another reason why West Side Story remains as special as it is: Unlike many, if not most other musicals, which have been cheaply re-made and made into somewhat more up-to-date, mediocre revivals, the creators of West Side Story have fought the good fight for, and stood their ground regarding the preservation of the integrity of their materials and their masterful creation(s), which they have felt was more important than making money hand over fist. Having said that, I believe, that, even though Robert Wise had originally approached and selected....would you believe....Elvis Presley to play the part of Tony in the film version, that WSS might or might not have become stale ages and ages ago, due to being turned into another Elvis Presley flick.

There are people who think that Larry Kert, who played Tony in the original Broadway stage productions of West Side Story, would’ve been utterly fantastic as Tony in the movie version of this great, dynamic musical. It’s possible, but who knows. Politics, as usual, I believe, are what led to the casting of Richard Beymer as Tony in the film version of WSS, which, unfortunately, was not a good choice, but, then again, who really knows??

Here’s an afterthought: Since West Side STory is my alltime favorite movie, I have driven down to the Big Apple from Boston twice in the last five years specially to see it, in addition to having driven to places such as Hanover, NH, Providence, RI, as well as having attended virtually every screening of the film West Side Story here in my area. The one exception was in mid-March of 2001, when an afternoon screening of the film WSS in my area conflicted directly with my late dad’s memorial, so I didn’t attend that afternoon’s screening.

To quote the MGM adage on this great keeper of golden oldie-but-goody classic film, “ West Side Story, unlike other classics, grows younger.”

Re: West Side Story is fantastic on the great big, wide movie theatre screen:
 

Thanks for the post. My sister and I saw Citizen Kane on a big screen in 2001. West Side Story must have been gigantic on that massive screen. I've allways wanted to see that , Ben-Hur, and Lawernce Of Arabia in a theater like that. The helicoptor shots were eye popping I'll bet.:)

Re: West Side Story is fantastic on the great big, wide movie theatre screen:
 

Hi, wolfie39. I've also seen Ben-Hur (which I admittedly wasn't crazy about), Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, Sound of Music, and a bunch of other classic films on the great big, gigantic wide screen, in real movie theatres, with the lights down low. With West Side Story, however, everything from the helicopter shots all the way to the graffitied credits were eye-popping. If West Side Story ever, ever comes to a big-screen movie theatre in your area, I say..jump at the chance to go and see it. You'll be in for a real treat!

West Side Story---Another Viewing:
 

Hey, folks!!

Yes, I did make the drive down to Hartford, CT., for yet another viewing of my alltime favorite film, West Side Story, at the CineStudio Theatre, a part of Trinity College. Trinity College campus is a very pretty campus, although a number of the nearby neighborhoods of Hartford, CT, seem kind of run-down and not so great.

This past Saturday was sunshiny and cool, perfect for making the drive down there. It was a scenic drive, although I lost almost an hour getting stuck in some awful traffic prior to and getting onto I-84 and through the pay-toll. Once I was on I-84 itself, however, I had no more trouble, and the rest of the trip down there went smoothly.

Arriving at the Trinity College campus at around six o'clock that evening (I'd left Boston at 3 that afternoon), explored the rather verdant, pleasant-looking campus for awhile, and then, on the suggestion of an employee there who I'd asked where I could get something to eat, I walked up to a small restaurant on the nearest intersecting street, ordered a large salad with ham and mozzerella cheeese, walked back to the campus and the theatre, and ate as much of the super-huge salad as I could, without overstuffing myself. As much as I love WSS, I didn't want to see the movie (or any movie, for that matter) on an empty stomach, and I was hungry. While waiting to be let into the theatre, I talked to some people who were also going in for the film. One guy I talked to, who lived in a town 40 minutes away from Trinity College, said that he'd been to and knew a bunch of the same movie theatres that I know, and frequent quite a bit, since he often went to different places on vacation. He and his partner help run the theatre, and they'd tried to book the brand-new 70-mm print of the film WSS that just came out, but San Francisco's Castro Theatre, which is also supposed to be a beautiful theatre, was playing that print of WSS tonight. So they showed the new 35-mm print of West Side Story, which was just as beautiful, although it would also be cool to view the new 70-mm print of this great classic. Hopefully, maybe someday, that will happen.

When I told the guy that WSS is my favorite film, and that I'd driven down from Massachusetts to see it, he was interested in how I'd come to like it so much. As is always the case, I didn't hesitate to relate how I'd been introduced to West Side Story as a musical generally, and how I'd come to love the music and, later, as a high school senior, the film. At a little after seven p. m., the theatre opened for seating for the 7:30 pm screening. I took a seat in the balcony of the theatre, which, imo, is the best place to view a film such as West Side Story. After some rather unnerving previews of other coming film attractions, WSS finally started. (Somehow, I've begun to think more and more that the previews are put in there for the benefit of late stragglers so they won't end up missing any of the feature film presentation. If that be the case, it's good).

The theatre seemed to be the epitome of a nice old movie palace of a theatre, with a shirred curtain over the screen, and a 50-foot wide screen that was slightly concave, if one gets the drift. This is a wonderful feature to have for such classic films as WSS and many other films, because it brings out the richness in such films, imo. As always, I noticed things that I hadn't really noticed before on viewing the film West Side Story. The various facial expressions of sorrow, exuberance, frustration, anger, arrogance and hubris, recklessness and combativeness, especially among the gangs, and more noticeable among the Jets, were far more noticeable than before, imo, and, especially during the Dance at the Gym scene, there seemed to be whole families with small kids watching from the sidelines while the Jets & Sharks danced in competition with each other. The adults, especially Doc, the Candy Store owner, but including Lt. Schrank, Ofcr. Krupke and social worker "Glad Hand" seemed more frustrated, nervous and sorrowful over what was coming and what did come. The grittiness of the kids' faces after the rumble, as well as the various expressions were more noticeable. Another thing that i noticed in the film West Side Story that I hadn't noticed before was the fact that when the Jets were in Doc's Candy Store, and Anita had come in, that Anybodys wiggled her hips back and forth, made a grotesque face, and said "mambo', as a way of making fun of Anita's ethnicity and culture. This great film is clearly about teens and/or young adults who live in an urban background, and, the slightly concaved screen seemed to accentuate the city scenery.

At about quarter past ten, the screening of WSS ended, and I drove home, which took only 2 hours, due to no delays.

West Side Story to air on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) Channel on 9/29/08, at 12 a. m.
 

I will be looking forward to watching it, even though it's only going to be on TV, because West Side Story, to me, is enjoyable on TV, too, although it has never, ever stopped me from going to a real movie theatre screening of West Side Story when it comes to my area, or to a place that's reasonably nearby.

Yay!!

West Side Story; NOT just a teen movie:
 

Hey there, folks! Much discussion has been taking place on other blogs about the late "Liberal Lion", Senator Edward M. (Ted, Teddy) Kennedy after his recent passing due to brain cancer, that, after a long, tough fight against, eventually took the Senator's life. Although Senator Ted Kennedy's passing supposedly signifies the end of an era, there is one aspect of this era that, for me, has not come to an end; my love for many of the movies and much of the music of the 1960's; most notably, the venerable golden oldie- but-great movie/musical classic, West Side Story. As everybody here on MLW knows, and has been mentioned, get me talking and writing about my alltime favorite movie and there's virtually no end to it! (lol!):) Can you all stand another essay about this wonderful classic? (lol)

Anyway, here goes:

This is a post that has been percolating in my mind for awhile, and, having experienced a certain amount of scorn on other boards for talking about West Side Story, because many people consider this movie mainly for adolescents. This could be because most people, when they pick a favorite film or films, tend to pick films that they directly identify with in some way or other, and West Side Story is supposedly a movie that teens identify with. Having first seen the film West Side Story when I was still in high school, I can see why many people feel that way.

However, over the years, I've been more and more inclined to believe otherwise. Contrary to what many people say, either explicitly or implicitly, the great golden oldie-but-goody movie/musical classic, West Side Story is not just a movie for teenagers, but a great movie/musical classic for people of pretty much all ages and from all walks of life. I can say this, because, whenever I've attended a screening of this great classic, I've noticed that people of pretty much all ages and all walks of life are present in the audience--pre-teens, teens, young adults, middle-aged, and older people.

West Side Story, imho, is a classic that seems to bring people from pretty much all walks of life and all ages together, to share as one big happy, if temporary community, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, as it's really meant to be viewed. Unfortunately, however, like all things, West Side Story also has its detractors. There are people who're upset by it, because, for whatever reason(s), it tends to hit too close to home for those who live and work in low-income communities where there's much crime, gang-violence and racial/ethnic tensions. Social workers, mental health councilors and many law-enforcement people, and average, ordinary people who've got issues that they have to deal with themselves, or people who simply fail to get what West Side Story is all about, due to a generation gap also often feel that WSS hits too close to home. They've frequently had to deal with racism, gang violence and the problems of substance and alcohol abuse.

Many of today's young people, regardless of who or what walk of life they're from, have also grown up listening to tinnier-sounding music and viewing schlockier films in which things are constantly exploding on the screen, in antiseptic-looking multiplex cinemas containing 10-30 cinemas that're shoebox-sized, with screens that look like super-big TV's, plus the general admission and concessions can cost upward of ten dollars or more.

Yet, West Side Story is proof of one thing: that really artistic and beautiful movies/musicals with style and substance can be and have been made. So, all of the above having been said, I'll also add this: Whether you're a devout fan of West Side Story like me, who's also seen some good stage productions of this great musical and rarely misses a WSS screening in my area, someone who's only seen this great classic on TV, DVD or video, or if you've never, ever seen West Side Story at all, I say: If West Side Story ever comes to the great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre in your area, I say.... jump at the opportunity to see this great classic film on the great big, wide movie theatre screen! It's an enriching, fullfilling experience that you'll never forget!

Yes, folks; I'm a West Side Story Geek---and proud of it.
 

Today, I thought I'd write another essay on West Side Story, so here I am. Here goes:

As an artist/craftswoman who designs and makes predominantly sterling silver jewelry, boxes and holloware, and resides and works in a large artists' community just outside Boston, and who's also hard-wired together somewhat differently than most people, I admit to having some unusual interests. As you know, in addition to being physically active, working on my craft, thinking about issues, although my school of thought often differs from that of many, if not most posters, I readily admit to yet another thing; I'm a West Side Story Geek--and proud of it. Unlike many other movies, be they older or newer films that I've liked well enough to see more than once, West Side Story seems to beckon me to come back and see it again and again, because, for reasons I'm not really able to put a finger on, it holds a very special place in my heart regarding movies.

West Side Story is a golden oldie-but-great movie/musical classic that I never get tired of viewing, whether it be on TV, or, especially, on a great big, wide screen in a real movie theatre with the lights down low, plus I've also seen several very good stage productions of WSS as well. Unlike most other older but likeable classic films which seem to have frayed somewhat around the edges and can seem a bit dated, West Side Story, imo, is as relevant as ever, even today.

Granted, some of the dialogue between the romancing Tony and Maria, especially when they first meet during the Dance at the Gym scene may seem somewhat quaint by today's standards, and West Side Story, as a whole, seems rather white-bread, too sanitized, and not gritty or realistic enough for many of today's younger people, the story behind it, although fiction, is closer to reality in a number of respects; the presence of urban gang warfare, racial & ethnic tensions, and people crossing the racial/ethnic/religious/color lines to date, fall in love, and even marry. All of these things get played out in real life, even now.

West Side Story, with its brilliant Leonard Bernstein musical score, the beautifully-choreographed dance by Jerome Robbins, the cinematography, not to mentioned the very story behind WSS, are all exciting, and it always feels like I'm viewing West Side Story for the first time, especially when its viewed on a big screen, in a real movie theatre. Equally important, I always notice things in this great movie/musical classic that I've never noticed before, be it subtle movements, other people in the background, or subtle facial expressions, and even subtle voices, etc.

Here's another thing about West Side Story that puts it in a class by itself; unlike many, if not most musicals that've been recycled and revised to make sort of cheap, up-to-date productions, the original producers of West Side Story fought the good fight to preserve it as the great, golden oldie-but-goody that it is. Another wonderful thing about West Side Story is that it's symbolic of the time when super-expensive and ultra-fancy gadgetry were not required to produce wonderful special affects (the ones in WSS are fabulous!), movies were not unnecessarily graphic and violent, with so many overtly explicit sex scenes, and things weren't constantly exploding on the screen. Movies that were made prior to 1970 were also much better photographed, and WSS was no exception, imo.

From the time I first heard the music to West Side Story, it has held a powerful grip on my imagination and a special place in my heart, both of which have stayed with me. Since I was still a teenager when I first saw the movie (a high school Senior), I was able to identify with the kids in the film, in terms of age, and of kids being kids, etc. However, when I reached my adulthood, I began to appreciate West Side Story even more for its overall beauty, the story, the artistic cinematography, the brilliant musical score, the richly-colored costumes, the various personalities of the cast members, especially the Jets and Sharks, and, more than ever, the story behind it, and the various emotions in WSS being expressed so fluidly and thoroughly and beautifully through dance. Even today, I believe that it still captures the exuberance and innocence of youth, yet also reflects the loss of innocence that can and sometimes does occur at an early age.

What's also quite amazing is the fact that, roughly half a century later, West Side Story, which has been my alltime favorite movie for more than 40 years, is still remembered for what it is; a beautiful musical and movie classic that resonates in the hearts and minds of many, many people (myself included, of course!), and, imho, is equally beautifuly on screen and on stage. I'm not ashamed to admit that I love writing and talking about West Side Story, so when the opportunity to do so comes up, I do, and there's virtually no end to it once I get started. Unlike West Side Story, imho, it's highly doubtful that Grease, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or even High School Musical will be around in 50 years, much less remembered. The fact that <i>West Side Story </i> still holds a place in the hearts and memories of so many people, both on stage and/or on screen all these years after the original Broadway Stage production opened at NYC's Winter Garden in late September 1957 and was made into an equally wonderful film 4 years later also indicates how much this dynamically beautiful movie/musical classic is truly in a class by itself. The well-attended screenings of the film and stage productions, even nowadays, are yet another indication of this.

Like most, if not all movies/musicals, West Side Story reflects the times when it was made. Therefore, it's not realistic to expect Hollywood and the movie industry to make more films like WSS. While there has been occasional talk about a possible re-make of WSS, there's no way, imho, that a remake of West Side Story would get off the ground--at least not very well, or for very long. The heart and soul would be cut right out of it. To paraphrase an old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That being said, I often pontificate about how West Side Story would be if it had come out any later than it did, particularly if it had come out today, and whether it would still hold a special place in so many people's hearts and memories, and if it would still hold such a special place in my heart and memory regarding movies, but that's a diary for another time.

West Side Story also has a very strong cast, with the exception of Richard Beymer, who, imo, played a rather weak, lacklustre Tony. As much as I, along with virtually everybody else, be they average moviegoer(s) and film critics alike, agree with that sentiment, I also think that the Beymer-bashing in some circles has gotten out of hand. This opinion was formed fairly recently, during that last year or two, when I learned something I hadn't read or heard about before. Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood had a very bad rapport off-screen and in real life; they didn't get along. To be more exact, however, Natalie Wood disliked Richard Beymer and, in fact, had tried to get him kicked off the set on several occasions. Although I'm not really sure of the reasons for this, it was clear that Beymer was pained by Wood's hostility towards him, and it showed.

Having learned that, while I also think that part of Beymer's weakness as Tony was due, in part to the way in which both the scripts of the movie and the original Broadway stage version of WSS had been written, I'm also somewhat more willing than before to give Richard Beymer some benefit of the doubt and say that, had he and Natalie Wood had a better rapport off-screen and in real life, Richard Beymer might've played a stronger role as Tony. (You may all be interested to know that Elvis Presley was the first one that Robert Wise approached for the role of Tony, but under pressure from his manager, Presley was forced to reject that role. It's also said that Elvis regretted his having rejected the role of Tony in WSS when the film West Side Story became a hit.)

Some movies really shouldn't/mustn't be made over, and West Side Story is one of them, imo.

Open Letter to West Side Story:
 

Open Letter to a great, golden-oldie-but-goody keeper of a classic movie/musical, West Side Story;

Hey, West Side Story!

You are one fantastic film--it's a small wonder that so many people love you.* The people who created both the stage musical and the film of you, West Side Story were/are fabulous people who've fought the good fight to preserve your integrity and not turn you into a cheap, updated, mediocre-at-best production.* For that, the people who created you deserve much respect and credit.

West Side Story, between your fabulous Bernstein musical score, your richly-colored costumes and photograpny, your beautifully-choreographed dancing by Jerome Robbins, your direction by the late Robert Wise,* the well-chosen cast that was mostly taken from the original Broadway stage productions and put into the film version of you, the wonderful scenery, the cinema technology, not to mention the very story behind you, have all been combined together to make you, West Side Story, into a dynamic, beautiful package.*

The only shortcoming I see in you is the fact that Richard Beymer was chosen as Tony, since he was rather weak and lacklustre;* however, Natalie Wood did OK as Maria, although her hatred of Richard Beymer off-screen was quite obvious, and Richard Beymer was clearly pained by it.

West* Side Story, you are exuberant, tense, gentle, sad, and tough all at once. You have so many personalities to you that it's great.* You're the only movie/musical that can pull that off.* I've written a number of compositions about you on this website, as well as others, and it's another indication of your greatness.* The fact that somebody even wrote a novelization of you is also indicative of your greatness, although the novelization of you was rather puerile and childish, and inaccurate, to boot.* Nonetheless, I had fun reading it, just the same.

West Side Story:* I can't really put a finger on why you're my favorite alltime film, but you most definitely are special.* I've attended virtually every screening of you here in my area (the one exception being back in mid-March 2001, when an afternoon screening of you conflicted directly with my late dad's memorial, so I didn't attend that afternoon's screening.)* Nonetheless, I've also seen you on TCM (Turner Classic movies) when it comes on TV,* and, believe it or not, I've driven down to the Big Apple to see a screening of you at least twice in the past five years, which is fabulous.* It's not every film that I'd drive out of state to see, WSS, but you are most definitely special. WSS, I've also seen you in Providence, RI, and I've seen you up in New Hampshire.

Although I first got introduced to you by hearing the music back in the early 1960's, out at a day camp out west, I didn't the movie WSS, until I was a senior in high school, around Christmastime, 1968, shortly before you went on TV.* I loved you from the start, and always will.*

I've been to a couple of singalong screenings of you, and, with the exception of a screening of you back in mid-March of 2001, which conflicted directly with my (late) dad's memorial, I've attended every screening of you in our area, and, as I pointed out above, have even made road trips out of state to see screenings of you. I recently saw two screenings of you last night, at the Brattle Theatre, in Cambridge, MA. The first screening I attended with 3 friends of mine, and it was funny to hear them make the same statements that a number of film critics have made about you; that you're an American masterpiece, and a classic that doesn't grow old.

Thank you, West Side Story, for having come into existence and pleased oh, so many people, including myself, and thank you to the people who made your existence possible.* Just the mention/thought of you, West Side Story, makes me smile, especially when I'm in a crappy mood.* Although you're wonderful on TV, too, you're even more beautiful and fantastic on the great big, wide screen of a real movie theatre palace, with the lights down low.* Even Richard Beymer's weak, lacklustre Tony comes off as more vital and alive on the great big, wide screen.

West Side Story:* from the beautiful Bernstein musical score, to the aerial shots of NYC's West Side, to the warring Jets and Sharks, to the romancing Tony and Maria, to Schrank, Doc, Krupke, and Bernardo, Riff, Anita and everybody else, not to mention the scenery, and richly-colored photography, and the fingersnapping, pulsating tempo, everything about you is even more beautiful and seems to take on a magical, almost 3-dimensional quality on the great big wide screen.* Seeing you in NYC's renowned Radio City Music Hall one Saturday night in October 2001, foillowing 9/11, as well as in NYC's equally palatial Clearview/Ziegfeld Cinema five years later, was fantastic!!*

West Side Story--the MGM quote "Unlike other classics, West Side Story grows younger" is absolutely and totally on target.*

In America, nothing is impossible.

West Side Story--Speculations:
 

Please note: This post, too, is also my very own writing, although it's been cross-posted from another blog called firefly-dreaming.com, as well as leonardbernstein.com and moviefancentral.com: Here goes:

As pretty much everybody knows, West Side Story is my alltime favorite movie, and that I'm a devout fan of this great classic film who always feels like I'm seeing West Side Story for the first time. Inotherwords, it's still fresh, imho. Although West Side Story is loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, this particular musical is still relevant, imho, because, although it's fiction, it's closer to reality in many respects; people from "opposite sides of the track" falling in love amid conflict on both sides, dating and even marrying, racial, ethnic and religious tensions, urban gang warfare, all of which still frequently gets played out in real life. People can and do even fall in love at first sight in real life, although in real life, even that takes time to grow and develop into something where mutual trust and love enable the love to mushroom into something really substantial, if one gets the drift.

Yet, I'm also aware that in real life, gangs don't go dancing through the streets, nor do they dance their way through street fights and all-out rumbles, which have now evolved into dangerous drive-by shootings and shootings on street corners in many neighborhoods, and gangs today are even more vicious than they were in times gone past. It used to be that gangs would stake out and protect their territory, in real life, but racial/ ethnic tensions and hostilities lent that protection of turf an even more vicious edge.

Since I've also seen several very good stage productions of West Side Story, I kind of have to say that West Side Story is my favorite stage musical, as well. In addition to the two screenings of the film version of West Side Story that I recently attended at the Emerson College-owned Paramount Theatre in downtown Boston last month, and the other at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in Brookline, in mid-November (I've already snagged myself tickets for both of those screenings), I attended a screening of the film West Side Story at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA this past Memorial Day with a long time good friend of mine, and I will be taking my youngest nephew and my niece to a matinee show of the latest Broadway stage revival of West Side Story. I've read a number of reviews on this latest West Side Story Broadway stage revival; some good, others not so good. I really wasn't sure I wanted to see this particular production of the stage version of West Side Story, but at suggestions from other people, I went down to the Colonial Theatre here on Boston's Boylston Street, and purchased some rather expensive mezzanine tickets. It's well that I did, since they're going fast, and there weren't many mezzanine tickets left, and I didn't want the balcony, because that would've been too far away.

The Broadway stage revival of West Side Story here in Boston will be coming up in late June, and I've got to admit to having ambivalent feelings about seeing this particular play, given the mixed reviews I've read about it, but curiosity is beckoning me. Since I've always considered West Side Story a beautiful musical both on stage and on screen for a number of reasons that I've already posted here, as well as on some other forums, I figure I have nothing to lose. Seeing something live on stage can also be interesting, and it's a whole different kind of medium, because more effort is required to maintain a constant wave of communication between the actors/actresses and the audience, through a much narrower focus than when one watches a movie on the large screen, since movies generally demand one's attention by appearing larger than life on the screen.

West Side Story, for all kinds of reasons, is one of the few musicals, imho, that's successful on both stage and screen, but there are others who would disagree. I think it depends on who one talks to, as well.
This particular musical has a particular appeal to me because of the overall story behind it, the Bernstein musical score, and the various characters and a real story of love and romance that develops amid conflict, only to go up in smoke. The beautifully-choreographed dancing by Jerome Robbins, as well as the fabulous cinematography and photography by Daniel Fap, as well as the well designed sets by Boris Leven that looked uncannily like a real run-down urban setting, and the richly-colored costumes and photography also make this great movie/musical the dynamite package that it is. When I saw the film version of West Side Story for the first time this year at the beautifully-renovated Paramount Theatre here in Boston this past Sunday night, I once again realized what a wonderful alternative to most of what's coming out nowadays in the way of movies that this great, golden oldie but keeper of a movie/musical classic that West Side Story really and truly is.

WSS is still relevant for the same reason that all the great plays and books and films are still relevant--they reflect the human condition. That's especially true of Shakespeare's works that have been updated so many times to the 20th Century, with Macbeth turned into a story of warring crime families. Shakespeare still lives because the situations and characters he wrote are so real, so human that time cannot contain or limit them.

The play and movie does indeed illustrate how the divisions and animosities among young people are still in our society today. And the attractions of lovers across dividing lines--when I was in high school, we had each year what we called slave auctions, in which we guys could bid for girls we liked and the girls on a separate day would bid for us. Slave requirements were that you had to meet your "owner" in the morning before classes and he or she would tell you what was expected of you through the day. The usual was something silly to wear, something silly to tote around, and you usually were obligated to meet the owner at the end of each class and carry his or her books to the next class. The slave status lasted only during school hours but guys usually were expected to take their "slave" out for burgers and a movie that evening. Usually, the guys and gals buying each other were already dating anyway.

Well, my senior year the girl I was hooked up with had moved to a neighboring town, so I had no "slave day" plans and was surprised when this really good-looking Hispanic girl paid out some good bucks for me. Night before we guys were to be slaves, she called me to tell me she was my "owner" (which I had already heard through the grapevine), and what really floored me--she asked if I were OK with that because of our ethnic differences. Except for a buddy of mine dating one of the prettiest Hispanics in our school (but seldom in public) there was no dating across cultural lines back then. But Yolanda and I had been friends for years, so I told her I was very honored at the opportunity be her slave. Well, I ended up the next day wearing some goofy hat to school and toting around a babydoll and its bottle, but I enjoyed seeing her at the end of each class and carrying her books and walking her to the next class. We did a lot of joking around in the halls and had a good time.

Thing is, back then I was very serious about my relationship with the girl I was dating, often driving over to see her on the weekends. Yet I was really attracted to Yolanda, too. But for various reasons, I felt like I "owed" to my girlfriend to be true to her, a situation she later gave me many reasons to regret after we were married. So I told Yolanda when she called me that I couldn't take her out the night after slave day because I was dating this other person. I've always regretted that decision--missed a swell opportunity to get to know this beautiful, sweet young lady, and ended up instead with my first ex-wife.

On the other hand, when I was about 13-14, my brother, cousin and I one night went to a sock hop at a youth hall across the street from his house in South San Antonio, a pretty salty side of town. It was a mixed race and ethnic neighborhood, with Hispanics accounting for more of the mix. To enter the recreation hall, we had to squeeze through two lines of Hispanic guys who would punch on us, pinch us, slap us. Some of these guys were my age but a lot of them were older, including some in their 20s, so it was not the place to start asserting one's rights. Inside the hall everyone was divided into the bigger Hispanic side and the smaller Anglo Saxon side. Some of those Anglo guys I didn't like any better than the Hispanics who had been punching on me. Anyway, there was a lot of tension in the hall. At one point someone threw a light switch and a bunch of Hispanics punched out some Anglo who apparently danced too close to their side of the room. Some of the older, tougher guys on both sides were starting to get vocal, so we figured it was time to call it a night. Had to squeez through the same lines on the way out, only a bunch of the guys followed us out whistling and yelling. We got halfway across the street and made a run for the house. Thank goodness I was a lot faster back then than I am now. But it wasn't the only time I ever got threatened or chased down in South San. So the mixed dance in WSS always seemed to me like a walk in the park compared to that night at the South San Rec Hall.

Well, I don't know about love at first sight, although first time I ever laid eyes on my first ex-wife was when she was a new girl transferring into our high school history class. I was sitting in the back of the room clowning with some friends so she had already come into the room and was standing in front of the teacher's desk so all I could see was her back. She had a head scarf on and a winter coat, so I really couldn't see much of her, but for some reason I just knew something was gonna happen between us.

When she turned around, I saw she was cute, so when she started to the back of the room past all the chair-desks that were already taken, I pushed toward her an empty one next to me, and said, "here, take this one." And she did. That's when my troubles really began! :rolleyes:

Years later, having been kicked in the teeth by young love, I seemed to have a knack for spotting women in honky-tonks who were receptive to romance with no strings. It was like one lady told me one night, "I don't know if I'm in love or just in lust, but I really don't care!"

Like the country song says, "Some girls don't like boys like me / But some girls do!"

West Side Story: The Classic that Never Grows Old:
 

Hey, folks: Here's hoping you'll be able to tolerate another thread on my all time favorite movie, West Side Story.

I started writing an essay with this title early one morning, not that long ago, only to have it just disappear on me when I was roughly halfway through it. It's a royal pain in the neck when that happens, but I decided to wait until later today to try it again, as I was too exasperated to try to do it over again right away.

I'll start out by saying that my initial introduction to West Side Story was through the music of the original Broadway stage production of this musical. It came while I was attending day camp out west in the summer of 1962, prior to entering the sixth grade. A girl in the group I was with, who'd just received an LP copy of the original Broadway soundtrack of WSS for her birthday, brought it to camp and played it for the rest of the group. My love of West Side Story took off...instantly.

West Side Story-mania was in the air that summer. Kids roamed the hallways, sometimes in groups, snapping their fingers, and the various songs from WSS rang through the bus to and from camp every day of the week, as the kids sang all the songs. It was cool.

I missed seeing the film version of West Side Story during the heyday of its popularity, partly due to my relative isolation from most of the other kids, and partly because my parents refused to take my sister and I to see it, at least in part because they didn't think (and my mom still doesn't think) that West Side Story was a kids' movie. Having seen this great, golden oldie but keeper of a Classic movie/musical more times than I'm able or willing to count at this point, the more I think about it, the more I tend to agree with my mom on this point.

Since my parents also had an LP copy of the soundtrack of the original Broadway stage version of WSS, I played it on my parents' Hi-Fi whenever I had the opportunity to do so, because I'd come to so love the music and the story of West Side Story itself. I would not get to see the movie until seven years later, as my high school years were coming to a close, and WSS, although there was a big national re-release of it, had passed the heyday of its popularity, freshness and newness.

I finally did get to see it for the first time, at around Christmastime of 1968, as a high school Senior, at a now-defunct cinema that was roughly 45 minutes north of Boston, and fell in love with this film the minute I saw it. Little did I, or my family know, that this was the start of my own love affair with the film West Side Story that would last all the way up until the present, much to their amusement, chagrin and resigned acceptence of this particular idiosyncrasy of mine.

Now for the real crux of my essay:

West Side Story, as everybody knows, began as a famous late-1950's Broadway stage musical, which played in NYC's Winter Garden for roughly two years before embarking on a national tour, and then an international tour, as well, becoming a hit national and internationally, as well. The concept of West Side Story had actually been started around WWII, when the conflict between Jews and Catholics here in the United States was still fresh. The two gangs were to be Jewish and Irish/Italian Catholic. Maria was to be Jewish and Tony to be Irish/Italian Catholic. There were also afew name changes to this musical along the way as well; It was originally named Gangway, then East Side Story, and, finally, West Side Story.

Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the very concept of West Side Story didn't get really get off the ground until well after WWII, when the conflict between Jews and Catholics here in the United States was not nearly as new and fresh and overt as it had previously been. The large influx of Puerto Ricans into NYC and the Continental United States generally was now the catalyst of conflict, which was between the PR's and the White European Ethnic Americans. Tony was a Polish-American and a former White European Ethnic American Jets leader, while Maria, who became Tony's love interest, was the sister of the newly-arrived Puerto Rican Shark gangleader, Bernardo.

After Walter Mirisch bought the rights to the movie version, West Side Story not only became a big hit on stage, both nationally and worldwide, but it became a big hit as a spectacular film, which won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, after its initial release in late October 1961.

Since I was still a teenager in high school the first time that I saw the movie West Side Story, I identified with the Jets, the Sharks and their girls, regarding kids being kids, and so on. When I got to be a little older, however, and began watching West Side Story every time it came around to an independent, repertory movie theatre, however, I still loved and appreciated this film, although I had a somewhat different viewpoint of it than I had as a high school kid. I was able to appreciate West Side Story as a dynamic work of art and cinematic technology, as well as the intense scenery, the brilliant Bernstein musical store, the wonderfully-choreographed dancing by the late Jerome Robbins, and the very story behind it, as well as everything else.

With the exception of Richard Beymer (who I've always regarded as sort of a weak, lacklustre Tony), I thought that WSS had a very strong cast, and was a very strong film overall. West Side Story, to me, carries a certain message; It succinctly points out the destructive consequences of racial/ethnic prejudice and the violence that often ensues as a result, but there's also a detectable ray of hope in the end, when several Jets and Sharks come together to carry Tony's body off after he was shot to death by Chino in retaliation for Tony's having stabbed Bernardo to death. The scene where Maria comes between the Jets and Sharks as they seem ready to clash once more, seems to have been the catalyst for that ray of hope to have arrived, or perhaps it would've arrived anyway. No one knows.

Truthfully, I'm a devout fan of the film West Side Story (it's my all time favorite movie, hands down!), who's also seen several very good stage productions of this musical, including the newer, more up to date Broadway stage revival of West Side Story, which, although was enjoyable, I looked at with a harder, more critical eye than my sister in law and my then 8-year-niece, neither of whom had ever seen WSS on stage before,

The film West Side Story is a film that I never get tired of seeing over and over again, whether it be in a real movie theatre, on a great big, wide screen with the lights down low, or on TV, and i've seen it more times than I'm able and willing to count, at this point. Regardless of how many people claim that seeing it on a great home theatre system on TV is fantastic, absolutely nothing beats seeing West Side Story in a real movie theatre. In fact, WSS cries for a great big, wide movie theatre screen.

Although West Side Story is a strong movie overall (which is why I have a tough time picking out favorite characters and/or scenes and songs from it), the Dance at the Gym, The prologue/Jets song, Cool, America, the pre-Rumble quartet and the Rumble itself, as well as Ofcr Krupke are pillar scenes.

Regarding the cast, they're all strong, imho. Not long ago, however, I learned something about the relationship between Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer off-screen that made me more willing to give Richard Beymer the benefit of the doubt. Natalie Wood had a lot of hostility and resentment towards Richard Beymer (she was dating Warren Beatty at the time), and it showed, plus Richard Beyner was clearly pained by it. Natalie Wood had, in fact, tried to get Richard Beymer kicked off the set on several occasions, as well, although they made up a number of years later, when they met in a California restaurant. I believe that had Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer gotten along better during the filming of West Side Story, that Richard Beymer might've played a much stronger role as Tony, despite the way the original script both on stage and for screen, had been written.

Since West Side Story was filmed in Hell's Kitchen, where Lincoln Center now stands, the crew members and cast alike were regularly harassed by street toughs, who showered rocks and bottles, etc., from the rooftops at them. The crew ended up hiring out an actual street gang for security and protection during the filming. Oh, the irony in it..especially since West Side Story is about two warring NYC street gangs, as well as love and romance that develops admidst that conflict, only to go up in smoke due to the gangs' hatred for each other.

I have attended virtually every screening of West Side Story in our area (the one exception being in mid-March of 2001, when an afternoon screening of WSS conflicted directly with my late dad's memorial, so I didn't go that afternoon!), which have been well-attended. Boston-area audiences, while more reserved than NY audiences, enjoy it about as much as New Yorkers, and West Side Story is especially wonderful in a real movie theatre, on a great big, wide screen, with the lights down low, and with a slew of other people whether one knows them or not.

I can't wait for the next screening of West Side Story, which I've even made road trips to the opposite end of the Bay State as well as to neighboring states to see, over the years. I attended the 40th year anniversary screening of WSS at NYC's Radio City Music hall with friends, a special event of the one-night 50th-year anniversary re-release of West Side Story, and a number of other screenings of WSS in our area. West Side Story is a hard film for me to resist, and I'm looking forward to the next movie theatre screening, which I hope will come in the near future.

I sing some of the songs from West Side Story in the shower sometimes too, most notably "Tonight". This film is still great, imho. When there was a 50th-year Anniversary national one-night re-release of the film West Side Story in some 400 selected movie theatres here in the United States, I and a friend/neighbor of mine attended the event here in Boston...and loved every minute of it.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

West Side Story is generally regarded as a classic so I'm not sure where the annoyance is coming from. There's always going to be people who don't like certain films, even if they are classics. The classic status of West Side Story is firm.

Your post is absolutely spot-on, TheGirlWhoHadAlltheLuckx! Thanks. West Side Story is regarded as a classic, not only because it is a classic, but a very, very solid classic, to boot. Therefore, so's West Side Story's status as a classic.

West Side Story is timeless, beautiful, exuberant, sad, tense and violent all at the same time, and it's all combined to form a dynamic package, and therefore the beautiful film that it is. Moreover, especially given the world's affairs in general, West Side Story is as relevant as it was when it first came out, both on stage and on screen more than 50 years ago.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

It's good, but I think The Town is better.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

I remember watching it at school... we had a prject that year that ended with us doing a stage version of it... we had to sing and dance and put on funny accents.
Loved every minute of it.

Was quite surprised at how much I liked it and how much I still do like it... I'm not a fan of musicals.

Re: West Side Story: No matter what anybody says or thinks...
 

West Side Story is all about the music for me; Not even necessarily the words at all, simply the music, it says everything.

Wonderful music.

West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

From the cool multi-colored Overture to the Graffiti-ed credits at the very end, the film West Side Story is a film that I find irresistible. Although I've never really been able to put a finger on why, this is a film that seems to beckon me to come and see it again and again, especially when it comes around to a movie theatre that's either in my general area, or that's within reasonable driving distance from where I reside.

Not only is the very story behind West Side Story extremely dynamic, but the way in which this beautiful musical was translated from stage to screen was exceptional, imho. Since there were no expensive gadgets to create overly graphic special affects on film back then, the cinematic technology was all done by camera, with varying angles, and colors, all of which help to narrate the story behind West Side Story in a very visually telling and illustrious manner. From the warring Jets and Sharks to the romancing Tony and Maria, and from the very beginning to the very end of this great classic film, as well as both the local scenes of filming and the stage settings that were used in the film version of this great musical were uncannily realistic looking, and indicative of a run-down urban area, creating a background that added to the various characters of this movie-musical.

The brilliant Bernstein musical score also adds yet another dimension to this beautiful film, also illustrating the very story behind WSS, and indicates what's coming up next. The dancing in West Side Story, as well as the Jet gang whistles and the finger-snapping, is also an extremely integral part of this great musical. West Side Story, both on film and on stage, is a strong indication of how various emotions, and a story in itself, can be told through dancing. That, imho, makes this movie-musical a rare classic, albeit a very special classic that's in a very special class all by itself.

Unlike most other musicals, which tend to lose at least some of their "kick" when transferred from stage to screen, West Side Story is very successful on both stage and screen for the following reasons:

A) The very story behind West Side Story (i. e. love that grows and develops amid conflict between warring urban street gangs, only to be destroyed by jealousy, violence and death, but, as a story overall, came up again to hint of possible intergroup reconciliation, provided a good backdrop for a successful film made from what was a great musical on stage, as well.

B) Because West Side Story is set in a rough, run-down urban area (NYC's West Side, to be exact (that's how that part of NYC was back then.)!), the resources were right there at hand to make a successful film out of WSS possible. Also, Boris Leven, who designed the stage sets for some scenes of the film version of West Side Story managed, in countless ways, to design and create the sets so that they looked uncannily like run-down, rough sections of a big city.

C) Many of the people who were chosen for the cast in the film version of West Side Story had played in the original Broadway stage productions as well, which helped make this classic film even more 3-dimB) Because West Side Story is set in a rough, run-down urban area (NYC's West Side, to be exact (that's how that part of NYC was back then.)!), the resources were right there at hand to make a successful film out of WSS possible. Also, Boris Leven, who designed the stage sets for some scenes of the film version of West Side Story managed, in countless ways, to design and create the sets so that they looked uncannily like run-down, rough sections of a big city.

C) Many of the people who were chosen for the cast in the film version of West Side Story had played in the original Broadway stage productions as well, which helped make this great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic film even more dynamic and 3-dimensional.

D) The richly-colored costumes and cinematography also added emphasis to an already-great story behind an already-great movie-musical, and added even more dimension to it overall.

E) Excellent actors/actresses, even those who hadn't played in any of the original Broadway stage productions of West Side Story, were chosen for this great classic film. George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Tucker Smith, Russ Tamblyn, Simon Oakland, Ned Glass and Eliot Feld all played their parts fantastically, adding a special 3-dimensionality to this great classic film. Yet, with the exception of Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood, all of the cast was rather strong. I'll also add that David Winters also played the role of A-Rab (a Jet) with much aplomb and greatness, as well.

F) What was also wonderful about this film is that it was not overly graphic, bloody or violent, and the cinematographers were able to create wonderful special affects without the use of expensive gadgetry or computerized, cartoon-like illustrations.

G) Perhaps, in addition to all of the above-mentioned aspects of the film West Side Story put together to create a strong movie, is the fact that when West Side Story was transferred from stage to screen, it was kept as a larger-than-life-sized piece of theatre, which gave additional strength made this film even more three-dimensional. That being said, it doesn't bother me at all that the film West Side Story is also available in a High-definition, remastered, reprinted version that's meant for today's digital projection. In fact, I'm glad of it.


H) After all is said and done, the film West Side Story came to the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA, which is just a stone's throw from downtown Boston, a week ago. I purchased online tickets (on the theatre's website) for my friend and I well in advance, we went to the screening of WSS, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I) Having said all of the above, the MGM quote "Unlike other Classics, West Side Story grows younger." rings so true!

Afterthought: I've posted the following afterthought on other threads, on here and on other forums, but it bears repeating here: West Side Story is a film that I never tire of seeing over and over again. The exuberance, the story, and the overall beat of this great classic, as well as everything else about it is why the film West Side Story beckons me to come and see it every time it comes around, especially on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, and a sharing of the whole experience with a bunch of other people, whether one knows them or not.

Re: West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

This is a thread I tire of seeing over and over again...

Re: West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

Too bad!!:D

Re: West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

I love West Side Story but seriously, don't you have a million of these threads already?

Re: West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

No she doesn't.

Well, this posts just made me search the OP's threads, and I'm amazed. I wish my love for one film was so great that it made me spam a forum for 7 years. :D

Oh but it's not just the love of one film that she spams the board with, it's also the irrational hatred of another film.

I tried to get her to speak more about that movie today.... and she wouldn't. She said she didn't have any interest, she had "moved on to other things."

3 or 4 of them haven't gained any traction and are sitting with no replies... so I guess it must time to try again.

She makes your Young Guns addiction look normal.

Ah, growth. It is possible.

Re: West Side Story--A Film I Find Irresistible, and Why:
 

She left Town.

WSSlover, West Side Story is also one of my favorites and I cry, somewhat when seeing it. I agree with everything you wrote and I am glad you posted this as being new I would not have read it otherwise. I also appreciate you going into so much detail and as I read your post the scenes from the movie come into my mind. I have also seen it on the stage. Thank you. By the way I just figured out what WSSlover means.

WSSlover, while it is not a musical a movie that reminds me of West Side Story is the 1931 film “Street Scene” staring Sylvia Sidney. It was also taken from a stage production and while the story is not the same as West Side Story the flavor of the movie is similar.

I'm on board as a fan of the film...the choreography is absolutely breathtaking, as is the cinematography and art direction. The leads are acceptable in their roles, even though none of them do their own singing, with the exception of Richard Beymer as Tony. I would have definitely liked to have seen someone else play that role, but if the truth be told, despite the film's problems, the dancing alone makes it worth watching over and over again...I never getting tired of watching "Cool", "America!", "Gee, Officer Krupke", the opening prologue, the dance at the gym, or the rumble...they don't make 'em like this anymore.

Thanks, Gideon.

Your post about the film West Side Story is right on the mark, although pretty much everything about this great classic, including the very story behind it, helped make it the dynamic package that it truly is. It's a work of art, also, and one has to view the film West Side Story on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, in order to really appreciate that.

Natalie Wood's voice is dubbed by Marni Nixon, and Richard Beymer's voice is dubbed by Jimmy Bryant, however. Dubbing was very common back during that period. Due to my intense love for this film, I'm more than willing to overlook the dubbing.

The people who said that there'd never be another film like West Side Story were right on their money!

The MGM quote "Unlike other classics, West Side Story grows younger." rings so true!

Thank you, Tom. i'm glad that my post about West Side Story inspired nice thoughts.
The film West Side Story always feels fresh and new to me, like I'm seeing it for the very first time, and I always notice at least one or two things that I failed to notice in a previous viewing of this movie.

I also wanted to let you know how much I agree with you about something else you said...the film DEMANDS to be seen in an actual theater if possible.

Thanks again for your input, Gideon58. Sure, seeing the film West Side Story on TV, or on an elaborate home theatre system is enjoyable, but it's just not the same kind of experience. Seeing the film West Side Story on a great big, wide movie theatre screen, and sharing the whole experience with a bunch of other people, whether one knows them or not, makes one really appreciate what a dynamic film this really is.

No matter how much many people claim that a home-theatre system is like a regular movie theatre, or how enjoyable West Side Story is on TV, absolutely nothing beats seeing this great classic (or other great classics, for that matter.) in a real movie theatre.

Hmmmm, Street Scene sounds like an interesting film. Thanks for the heads up. I admittedly don't have a DVD player at home, however.

Why the film West Side Story is Best on a Big, Wide Movie Screen:
 

West Side Story, like many other Classic films made during that general period, demands to be seen on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, whenever possible. Sure, seeing the movie West Side Story on TV, or even on a big, elaborate home-theatre system, on a DVD or Blu-Ray DVD player is enjoyable, but, no matter what people may claim about the fantasticalness of such a home-theatre system, or watching it on a big-assed TV at home, absolutely nothing beats seeing the film West Side Story in a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, thus sharing the whole experience with a bunch of other people, whether one knows them or not. If the movie theatre has a balcony, so much the better, imho. Since the film West Side Story is in a special class all by itself, viewing this great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic from the height of a balcony (provided, of course, if the given movie theatre has one, which, unfortunately, most movie theatres no longer have, which, in a way, is too bad.) provides an even more special and spectacular view. Also, movie theatres serve as temporary communities, in which people of virtually all ages, and all walks of life, come together to share the special experience of viewing West Side Story (as well as other great classic films) on the great big, wide movie screen, as they're really and truly meant to be viewed.

As I have pointed out on another thread (but it bears repeating here), I was first introduced to West Side Story through the music to the original Broadway stage version, back in the summer of 1962, prior to entering the sixth grade, while attending day camp out in Tucson, AZ. A girl in my group who'd recently acquired a copy of the LP album of the soundtrack to the original Broadway stage production of West Side Story for her birthday brought it to camp one morning and played it for the group. My love for the music and the very story behind West Side Story took off instantly, although, due to my relative social isolation, and to the fact that neither of my parents regarded the film West Side Story as a kids' movie (My sister and I were still pre-teens when the film version first came out.)

I first saw the film version of West Side Story at around Christmastime of 1968, as a high school Senior, during a national re-release of this movie, at a now-defunct cinema north of the town where my younger siblings and I grew up. I fell in love with the film version of West Side Story instantly. Little did I, my family, or even my friends know that my seeing this great classic film for the first time would begin a love affair with West Side Story that would last all the way into the present!

Since I was still a teenager in high school when I saw the movie West Side Story for the very first time, I identified with the Jets, the Sharks, and their girls, regarding kids being kids and so on, but when I got a little older and was out of high school and began seeing the film in (now mostly-defunct) independent repertory movie theatres in and around Boston, I began to also appreciate it more and more for the truly creative work of art that the film West Side [i]Story[/I ]really is, as well as its very story of love (especially across the cultural/racial/ethnic divide), romance, youthful exuberance, anti-immigrant attitudes, arrogance, cockiness, hatred, hubris, sardonic sarcasm, fiery tempers, urban gang warfare, racial/ethnic tensions, violence, death, and, ultimately, the hints of possible intergroup reconciliation.

The fact that so many different emotions, ranging from light to dark, could be expressed so intensely through dance, as well as music that combined Latin, jazz and classical music into one intensely brilliant Leonard Bernstein musical score also helped make this film into the dynamic package that it really is. So did the richly-colored costumes, as well as the wonderful cinematography, which, back in those days, was created through various lighting and angles of the camera, as well as great colors. The fact that all this was created without the kind of expensive gadgetry, computerized sort of animation and constant exploding on the screen, as well as the overly graphic and explicitly sexual content, as well as the excessive amounts of "blue" language that're all too prevalent on many, if not most of today's movies, is also what makes West Side Story very special as a movie. Seeing all of these aspects of the film West Side Story on a great big, wide movie theatre screen really brings all of the above-mentioned aspects of this movie to the forefront, thus creating a real appreciation for West Side Story, overall.

From the multi-colored Overture to the aerial shots of the West Side of 1950's-1960's NYC (Manhattan), to the gradual zeroing in on the finger-snapping Jets on the playground, all the way to the graffiti-ed Credits at the end of the film West Side Story, all of these aspects of the scenery take on an even brighter, bigger and more intense quality when this movie-musical is viewed on a great big, wide movie theatre screen. Even the Jet gang whistle that this film opens up with seems more intense and exciting. Parts of WSS were also filmed on the streets of New York City's West Side, as well as streets in downtown Los Angeles, as well. Some parts of West Side Story were also filmed on a gigantic sound stage. The creatively designed sets by Boris Leven looked uncannily like rough and run-down sections of a big city.

From the warring Jets and Sharks to the romancing Tony and Maria, to the bitter, bigoted and cynical Lt. Schrank and the equally cynical (but quieter) Officer Krupke, to Doc, the Candy Store owner who hoped to steer the Jets and Sharks in a better direction than they were presently headed, the various characters in West Side Story all seem to move much more fluidly and freely, in a much wider, more open space. Even Richard Beymer's Tony (who I've always considered somewhat lackluster) seems much more vital and alive when West Side Story is shown on a great big, wide movie theatre screen. The scenery seems much more expansive, one can see all of everything, and the already-brilliant Leonard Bernstein musical score seems even more intense...and brilliant, to boot. The dancing in all the dance scenes, from the Prologue/Jet Song scene to the Rumble itself, and to the "Cool" scene afterwards, also take on a new vitality and life, on a great, big wide screen. So do the many subtleties in this film, and the various facial expressions of the characters, especially of the warring Jets and Sharks, are also more noticeable.

Seeing the film West Side Story on a great big, wide movie screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low always makes me notice certain aspects of this movie that I failed to notice in a previous viewing of WSS, and it always feels fresh and new to me, like I'm seeing it for the very first time. West Side Story is a very strong movie-musical, and one of its great strengths is the fact that, when West Side Story was transferred from stage to screen, it was preserved as a larger-than-lifesized piece of theatre. Seeing West Side Story on a great big, wide movie screen, especially from a theatre balcony, helps accentuate that aspect of this great classic, as well as the fact that it is such an unusual work of art. Having written all of the above, and after all is said and done, while watching West Side Story on TV or even an expensively elaborate home-theatre system is enjoyable, watching such a special classic at home does not enable one to really see the film West Side Story for the creative work of art that it really and truly is.

As someone on another board said: It's the size that really helps bring this film to life. Nothing beats seeing the movie-musical, West Side Story, on a great big, wide movie theatre screen, with the lights down low, and sharing the experience with a bunch of other people, whether one knows them or not.

Here are some afterthoughts, however, that I wish to mention about Richard Beymer: Not withstanding the fact that the Beymer-bashing in some circles has definitely gotten out of control, I have (fairly) recently learned some things that have made me more willing to give Richard Beymer the benefit of the doubt:

A) Richard Beymer has mentioned that he would've liked to play the role of Tony with a little more of an "edge" to him, but, due to directorial constraints put on him by Robert Wise, and because of the way the original script of both the original Broadway stage production and the film version of West Side Story had been written, he was not able to. Richard Beymer was very upset by that, so he walked out of the Premiere of the film version.

B) Natalie Wood made absolutely no secret of her antipathy towards Richard Beymer during the filming of West Side Story. In fact, Natalie Wood had actually tried to get Richard Beymer kicked off the set on several occasions. Both of the above-mentioned things were painful to Richard Beymer, and it showed, somewhat in the film. Later, however, Richard Beymer saw Natalie Wood in a diner somewhere out in California, he approached her, and was attracted to her, and they subsequently made up thereafter.

Re: Why the Film West Side Story MUST be Viewed on a Big, Wide Screen:
 

Interesting. Can you give us reasons why you love West Side Story so?

Re: Why the Film West Side Story MUST be Viewed on a Big, Wide Screen:
 

the only film that needs to be seen in theatre is the hobbit.

You can't watch 48FPS at home.

To each their own, RealHero, but, I prefer to watch movies on a great big, wide movie theatre screen. How the audience in a given movie theatre(s) behave depends on the location, as well as the quality of movies that're shown in a given movie theatre(s).

Bad behavior, generally, is not nearly as big a problem in movie theatres that show better-quality movies, like the independent, repertory movie theatres, for instance. In such a rare instance, in a theatre that shows better-quality movies, speaking with the offending person generally gets good results....they stop.

I can see where rudeness is a far bigger problem in the really big, antiseptic-looking 10-20 cinema multiplexes that dot the USA's highways and byways, because, for the most part they show crappier movies. As a general rule, I don't go to the big multiplex cinemas, except if a very special event that's taking place.

I no longer have a 15.6 inch TV--mine's twice as large, but I still prefer watching movies in a good movie theatre to watching them at home.

I've never seen The Hobbit, but I still differ with you here.

Re: Why the film West Side Story is Best on a Big, Wide Movie Screen:
 

have a hard time believing that crap about Richard Beymer being forbidden to play Tony with more of an edge by Robert Wise...if that were true, he would have walked during production of the film, not during the premiere.

NBD, you can differ with me after admitting you don't know what you're talking about :lol:

It was such a crushing disappointment that the 48FPS technology didn't catch on.
Coolest theatre experience I've ever had.

Movies themselves were okay.. but HFR 3D had me looking around in wonder.

How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

West Side Story, a wonderfully famous late-1950’s Broadway stage musical about two warring street gangs on NYC’s West Side, and a love that developed, and then went up in smoke amid the conflict between the Ethnic American Jets and the newly-arrived Puerto Rican Sharks, resulting in the deaths of three people, yet also presents hints of possible intergroup reconciliation, as difficult as it can be, has had a powerful grip on my imagination since the summer before I entered the sixth grade. My initial introduction to this musical was through the musical score to the original Broadway stage production of West Side Story, while attending day camp out west (Tucson, AZ, to be exact.).

One girl in the group I was with, who’d just received a copy of the LP Album of the soundtrack to the original Broadway stage production of West Side Story for her birthday, brought the album in and played it for the rest of the group. My love for the music to WSS and the story behind it took off instantly.

West Side Story-mania was in the air that summer, as kids frequently roamed the halls, snapping their fingers and singing the songs from WSS. It was quite cool. The songs from West Side Story regularly rang through the bus to and from day camp five days a week. (My sister and I were staying at our grandparents’ house that summer, as well.

When I got home from day camp, I’d play my parents’ copy of that same West Side Story soundtrack LP album that they had, on their Hi-Fi whenever I could. I also liked to bang around with some of the prominent songs from West Side Story on the piano, much to my parents’ dismay and chagrin.

Four years after its first rendez-vous on stage, West Side Story came out as a spectacular motion picture, in late October of 1961, winning well-earned ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, for that year. Due to my relative social isolation from other kids I grew up going to school with, and to the fact that my parents didn’t consider West Side Story a kids’ movie (I was still a pre-teen back in 1961, when this film first came out.), I did not get to see it until seven years after it was first released, at around Christmastime of 1968, as a high school Senior, during a national re-release of the film West Side Story, at a now-defunct cinema north of where my siblings and I grew up. Little did I or any of my family know that this was the start of a love affair with this film that is still going strong today, much to the amusement, resignation and chagrin of my family!

Since I was still a teenager in high school when I saw the film West Side Story for the first time, I identified with the Jets, the Sharks, and their girls, regarding kids being kids and so on, but when I got a little older and began seeing this film in repertory movie theatres in and around Boston, I still appreciated the story behind this classic film, but I also began to appreciate it as the true work of art that it really is.

I graduated from a large suburban public high school roughly 20 miles due northwest of Boston, back in the spring of 1969, before I sort of put West Side Story on the back burner and saw other films that I liked a great deal.

Three years after I graduated from high school, the movie West Side Story came on TV for the first time, in two separate parts. Someone in my evening Jewelry-making class that I was then taking at the Museum of Fine Arts School here in Boston had brought in a small black-and-white TV, and we all gathered around to watch it, enjoying ourselves and having fun.

That summer, when I went on a six-week trip to Europe, someone in the group had brought a cassette tape of the soundtrack to the film version of West Side Story, which was played almost every evening, during free hours. It was then that my love for this classic film was re-awakened. Shortly after arriving home from Europe, I had a short conversation with my dad over dinner about my wish for West Side Story to come back again. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey! I wish the film West Side Story would come back.

Dad: You never forgot it, did you?

Me: No.

That fall, two days before Thanksgiving, I got my wish. West Side Story came on TV, so I cut my evening Jewelry-making class to stay home and watch it, on our little black-and-white TV. Need I tell everybody that I”ve been hooked on this classic film since? Now, every time it comes to one of the independent, non-profit repertory movie theatres in my area, or at least within reasonable driving distance of me (I’ve even made special road trips to neighboring states to view screenings of the film West Side Story!), I go.

As a devout fan of this Classic film, I’ve seen the film West Side Story more times than I can count, as well as several very good stage productions of the original Broadway stage production of WSS that I’ve liked a great deal. ( The more up-to-date Broadway stage revival of this musical...hmmmm..not so much!)’

Much to the chagrin, amusement and resignation of my family and friends, I love this film still, and see it every time it comes around, especially to a movie theatre. Imho, regardless of what anybody says or thinks about how wonderful these elaborate home theatre systems may be, absolutely nothing beats seeing the classic film West Side Story on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, and sharing the whole experience with a bunch of other people, whether one knows them or not.

All I'm saying, foster, is that I prefer seeing good movies, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low. Seeing them on TV or video is never, ever the same kind of experience, no matter how many people believe otherwise, imho.

I read something somewhere else on the internet that Robert Wise had put directorial constraints on Tony, because Robert Wise wanted Tony to come off somewhat softer, because Robert Wise, as director of the film West Side Story, thought that by having Richard Beymer play a Tony with a softer edge would come off much more like a street-tough gangster who had truly reformed himself. Btw, Beymer did walk out of the Premiere of the film West Side Story.

Hi, Captain Steel!

Please read my posted thread, "How I Came to Love West Side Story", which is two thread titles below this particular thread. Hope I've been of some help here.

He was being sarcastic

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

I thought West Side Story was very cheesy. And the dance moves made me cringe.

To each their own, Apex. I happen to really love this film.

Oh god! I should've known! (eyes rolling to the ceiling)

Yeah, I noticed :p

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

7 3/4 years here at the site, and at least half of the 28 threads you made are about West Side Story. Please stop. Really, Im sorry, but nobody gives a damn. :)

So what if half of my posts are of West Side Story?

That's my prerogative. Thanks.

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._in_Cheers.jpg

Well ysee Normy West Side Story is a cheap spinoff from Romeo & Juliet, and that Shakespeare fella stole that from the egyptians. All the way back your egyptian emperor Tutancomon had longings ysee for a slave girl who was puerto rican.....

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

Tongo has learnt my sense of humor. :)

To West Side Story Lover - my interest would have been genuine had I not know that you make repeated threads over & over about the same topic. Why not do what I do when no one reads my threads (which is all of them), just bump them yourself. Sometimes I even debate myself - which has turned me into a chronic master debater (that joke never gets old).
Why make a new thread on the same topic when you have an existing one already on the board?

What are you talking about? You've never debated yourself here!
Or have I missed some of YOUR posts? If anyone would be aware of YOUR postings, it would be ME. So stop exaggerating, Capt, and trying to gain attention with the Sybil routine!

Re: Why the Film West Side Story MUST be Viewed on a Big, Wide Screen:
 

No, YOU shut up!

Re: Why the Film West Side Story MUST be Viewed on a Big, Wide Screen:
 

Look what youve done WSS!! Youve started an argument in the thread!

Time for a moderator to step in!

Cap, I thought I told you to shut up! No one cares what you think! Why don't you zip it up and go watch West Side Story! (or go play on your stupid list thread and "master debate" over your photos of Asian chicks!) Pervert!

Re: Why the Film West Side Story MUST be Viewed on a Big, Wide Screen:
 

Captains right :yup:

Re: How I Came to Love West Side Story:
 

I...


...like to be in America!

You would take his side!

Tongo's right!