![]() When Spielberg announced he was remaking the 1961 Oscar-winning musical, my first and consistent reaction was “WHO IS THIS FOR?” It’s a dusty, outdated, racist musical that hit the Great White Way when my mother was in grammar school. Unlike West Side Story, Bonnie and Clyde still feels fresh and new, 54 years after its release. Crowther, you may recall, was considered “out of touch” after his numerous pans of Bonnie and Clyde. Or so I thought! Spielberg’s Folly brought out a whole slew of our colleagues on Twitter rending their garments, crying white tears, and doing their best Bosley Crowther impressions while trying to make this particular fetch happen. Send me updates about Slate special offers.īut really, we’re critics, and we’re not supposed to care about box office. ![]() I think West Side Story would have fared better with this release model, but Lord help us if the creator of Amazing Stories and the director of Duel had his work premiere on TV! I don’t think the colorism issue (a legitimate argument, I may add) hurt the film’s box office I do think its simultaneous appearance on HBO Max gave people an alternate, cheaper avenue to see it. Is it just me, or was Miranda everywhere this year? There was the superb Encanto, the very bad Vivo, his directorial debut Tick, Tick… Boom!-and hell, he even turned up as an interview subject in Summer of Soul! But the most fun I had with him was his cameo on the streets of Washington Heights. I saw the musical on Broadway, so I was familiar with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre- Hamilton triumph. We had a good crowd, despite it being the early days of vaxxing and chillaxing. What say you about your experiences on the nonfiction side of the fence?īilge and I had In the Heights on our Top 10 lists, a movie that marked my first post-March 2020 IMAX screening. I reviewed quite a few of them, and outside of the absolutely dismal Mayor Pete and the Spago ad that was Wolfgang, my assignments fell on the positive side of the scale for me. Alison, you mentioned that you did not think this was a good year for docs. Add to this musical numbers that have entered into the cultural lexicon, and you have a near flawless film.I have three documentaries in my Top 10 list-you can see all my picks at the bottom of this entry-so I’d like to ask Alison to expand on something she said during our preliminary discussions. Whatever your feelings about singing, prancing gang members, it would be impossible to ignore the artistry of the film on display. It's a great piece of direction and artistry, undeniable artistry. I'm sure the film version has technical advantages over the stage version, and the "first meeting" scene is a perfect example of this. So Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) find themselves falling in love at first sight when they meet at a dance, oblivious to the world around them. hispanic, the barriers separating the two factions are distinct and seemingly uncrossable. The premise of the film (and I assume of the stage version) is simple: what if Romeo and Juliet took place in modern (1961) New York, and instead of rival families separating the two lovers, it was rival gangs? The Jets vs. Obviously a film of this caliber doesn't need me or my praise, but I will share my opinion regardless. ![]() The American Film Institute placed it second on it's list of the greatest film Musicals of all Time, right after "Singin' In the Rain" (and above The Wizard of Oz). In 1962, the film version of the popular musical "West Side Story" won not one, not two, but ten academy awards. Overall, it's fun and good, but it's certainly not perfect. As I said, I think I need to develop this thought more, but I'm still convinced there's something fishy about this film vis a vis race relations. ![]() It is as though the film, in a strain of racism, won't permit its minority characters any reasonable revolt. They feel honored to be here despite the racial realities with which they are faced. Here is a thought that is as yet only a germ in my brain: I find it odd that the white characters' complaints about their environment are social and economic - big world issues - whereas the Latinas embrace the social and economic realities of American life. In and of themselves, the dances are fun and enticing, but there is a true disconnect between them and the story. Set against the rough and tumble backdrop of New York City slums, these dancers are performing balletic and graceful moves the majesty of which belie the film's themes and social and economic realities. What I don't like about the film is the choreography. The film's highlights are the music and songs that give resonance to Shakespeare's classic tale and the wonderfully arresting performance by Natalie Wood. The story is Romeo and Juliet set to music.
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