![UNCUT | West Side Story (1961) Movie Reaction | FIRST TIME WATCHING [Trivia Yet To Be Edited]](https://img5.nokimo.com/storage/10/ua/rm/fb3178-019e84e6-8d6f-7a94-8cf9-6290191cbace.jpg)
UNCUT | West Side Story (1961) Movie Reaction | FIRST TIME WATCHING [Trivia Yet To Be Edited]
Added 2024-07-08 02:15:56 +0000 UTCHi all! I hope you're all well. Today we're watching West Side Story (1961) and I LOVE this one. I've seen the newer 2021 version is already a favourite of mine, so getting to go back and watch this is wonderful. With great cinematography and a beautiful soundtrack (oh and not to mention the incredible lighting usage), it's perfection.
By the way, don't mine me with the thumbnail. I'd wanted to use that photo of me as it's a face I made during Officer Krupke, but it's probably not the face I'll use on the actual thumbnail when it goes out.
Grab your popcorn and enjoy!
P.S. Halfway through there's an Intermission, which I didn't know the length of and thought it was a few minutes so I did skip it. I have left the intermission in there to keep it in line for your sync up, but it just goes full screen for a minute with a timer. I hope that helps!
Comments
An anecdote for you: From 2002 to 2009, I had a little gift shop selling mystical art and jewellery and books and candles and so on. It was in a small 'artsy' mall in downtown Cincinnati, in a historic Art Deco building along with the fanciest hotel in our city. I met or saw a few famous people for that reason. One day, a tiny little old lady, very well-dressed, came into my shop and bought a fairy statue and some herbal soap. Her credit card said Chita Rivera and it sounded familiar... after she left I googled her, and found out she'd played the original Anita in the Broadway production of West Side Story! I gasped because I'd been passionate about WSS since I was eight years old. She came back later and bought some jewellery, and said she liked the shop. I was too shy and tongue-tied to do much more than smile and thank her. I'll never forget that experience!
Tess
2024-07-11 19:04:24 +0000 UTCUnderstandable to dislike white actors for the Puerto Ricans; that is definitely a common artifact of the past. Natalie Wood, the child of Russian parents, was sometimes cast in 'ethnic' roles because of her black hair and dark eyes. And Rita Moreno (Anita), a Puerto Rican, played the Burmese slave girl Tuptim in another famous film adaptation of a musical, The King and I. (The Siamese King was played by the Russian Yul Brinner.) George Chakiris, who played Bernardo in WSS and a Polynesian in Diamond Head, was Greek. The person who played Maria in my grade school's production of WSS was blonde, and had a temporary black dye for the play that turned green as it faded, lol
Tess
2024-07-11 18:37:58 +0000 UTCThank you Tess! I really did, it's so beautiful! Well, hopefully I'll get to see the original musical sometime. I would love to see how it was originally intended. Thank you for watching! I hope you're well
Marty
2024-07-11 18:22:52 +0000 UTCI'm so so happy you loved it. To my mind, West Side Story is the finest musical ever made, and it's not even close.
Tess
2024-07-11 18:10:37 +0000 UTCI'm glad you got to watch the film fully with me David! Yeah this is far better for character and perfect storytelling. The new one is phenomenal, but as you said, this one beats it by a fraction. Yeah I completely agree about not being keen on the choice of white actors playing Puerto Ricans. I wondered if I was seeing that right when I noticed it. I honestly hadn't noticed about Maria though, but then again I was mesmerised by the whole thing. Yeah she is very good. It blows my mind that they were almost all dubbed. They did a brilliant job! Yes as for the cinematography etc, same here! It's wonderful. Most definitely! Well it turns out that the new one was done not as a remake, but apparently as a newly translated to film version of the original theatre production. So that kind of works! Ooh yes a companion piece, most definitely. The newer one almost felt more like the real events as certain story points had more emphasis. Although the new one is a visually stunning piece of cinema, I do agree. You're very welcome, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I was so glad I picked up on the Romeo and Juliet similarities too, as it seems it is in fact somewhat based on R&J! Haha!! That thumbnail was a quick decision as I'd laughed at my face in that shot, but it's definitely getting changed 🤣
Marty
2024-07-10 02:46:58 +0000 UTCOhh! Yes you are so right, I completely missed that meaning. I was just enjoying the song haha. Thanks for watching, I hope you're well!
Marty
2024-07-10 02:25:36 +0000 UTCThis is the first time I've watched the 1961 film all the way through since I've seen the new one a few times. As much as I love Spielberg's version, I have to say after watching this with you that this is the superior film... if only by a nose. Both films were made with such love and care, and I have only 2 criticisms of the 1961 film: 1) the use of white actors to portray Puerto Ricans, such as Natalie Wood playing Maria (she is very good nonetheless) and 2) the dubbing of almost all the main actors by other singers. I absolutely love the cinematography and transitions here, and Jerome Robbins' choreography, especially in the Cool number, is indeed a masterpiece. The newer film makes a good companion piece to this one. It's like watching a different version of a stage show with a different script and repurposed songs, but it is very very good...especially how it gives the characters deeper backstories and tells more of the story from the Puerto Ricans' point of view. After this rewatch though, I would not put it in the classic status that I would still put the 1961 film in. Thank you for your lovely reaction and yeah, that thumbnails got to go! Haha...
David Wayne Fox
2024-07-09 01:17:32 +0000 UTC"No one wants a fellow with a social disease" has a double meaning. Juvenile delinquency was a social problem - But social disease was also a 50's euphemism for sexually transmitted diseases.
Wolfgang Wolf
2024-07-08 21:42:47 +0000 UTCBrilliant to hear Jamie! I was the same, I saw it 3 times at the cinema! Not only a wonderful story, but a beautiful, cinematic experience!
Marty
2024-07-08 11:26:55 +0000 UTCLove West Side Story, went to see the recent movie version 4 times !
Jamie Dodds
2024-07-08 10:06:47 +0000 UTC
