West Side Story is a musical set in 1950s NYC with ties to Romeo & Juliet. It’s based around Maria and Tony, a young Puerto Rican girl and a reformed gang member, falling in love in the Upper West Side while there is a war raging on between the Puerto Rican gang the “Sharks” and an American gang “The Jets”.
Spoiler free TLDR;
SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️⚠️⚠️
West Side Story (1961)
The 1961 version starts off pretty slow, the opening credits last five minutes. During these five minutes, the only other thing on screen is a bunch of lines that eventually turn into the skyline of Manhattan. So if you don’t want your time wasted, skip to the five minute mark.
Tony
The main character, Tony, is a former member of the Jets. But other than that, there isn’t any backstory as to why he doesn’t have the same hatred for the Puerto Ricans like the rest of the Jets.
Tony is in love with Maria from the moment they met, but actor Richard Beymer isn’t all in it. He doesn’t make us feel, he’s in love with Maria. He tries to show it, but that’s only half the battle.
Choreography
The choreography throughout the entire film is excellent. Every move is timed perfectly, like that of a well-oiled machine. The leader of the Jets, Riff, also performs back flips left and right.
My favorite scene, is when the cast sings “Gee, Officer Krupke!”. Each cast member takes on a new role, to which they explain to “Officer Krupke” why these gang members shouldn’t be locked up.
Effects
Obviously, the effects in this movie are dated but some just shouldn’t have been used at all. Throughout the movie, there lots of red hues, but they’re not there to invoke emotion. It just seems like the filmmakers wanted the color red in the film, a lot.
There is one scene that makes a transition with Maria dancing by herself, to dancing with other people. But this transition is very slow and plethora of colors are shown in the process. However, this entire transition, comes out weird like, “okay that was a thing”.
When Maria and Tony meet at the dance, the rest of the cast becomes blurry. This is to symbolize they only see each other in this very crowded room, but I think they could’ve utilized some spotlights in addition to make this more clear.
This movie definitely has some quirks, but most of that is just due to its age. Overall it’s an enjoyable film, which in the end is the only thing that truly matters.
3/5
West Side Story (2021)
Opposed the the 1961 version, this version jumps straight into the Jets opening number. There is no need to skip to the five minute mark in this one. The actors and acting in this adaptation are a lot more skilled.
This representation of the musical relies heavily on the use of Spanish, but there’s no subtitles. Although Shark leader, Bernardo has a girlfriend insisting he and his sister Maria speak English. This happens throughout the entire movie unfortunately.
Performance
The performances from these actors were almost flawless as well. Riff was played by MIke Faist, a Broadway actor, and it shows. The way he danced and sang was amazing. Ansel Elgort is cast as Tony, and this infinitely makes the movie better. His performance of delivering his lines and how passionate he is while he is singing almost brought me to tears. Regarding the rest of the cast, you’d really think each member is from New York or Puerto Rico. The accents are thick and on point.
Similarly to the 1961 version, my favorite scene is “Gee, Officer Krupke!”. However, this movie had a few of the Jets in the police station for the song. The crew kept playing with the objets in the court room as they sang. This story is very tragic, and these actors make you feel their lows and highs. The Rachel Zegler’s performance as Maria in the final scene sent chills up my spine.
Wardrobe / Setting
The wardrobe the cast wears is very nice, and corresponds with the entire group. This is in total contrast to the 1961 film, Riff wore bright yellow in that version and stood out too much. There were also a lot of different sets used throughout this adaptation in comparison to the previous. Although, this is due to the previous filmmakers having a smaller budget than a Spielberg production.
Key Differences
There’s only a few real differences within the story of this adaptation of the famous musical. Although the original film has the scene “Cool” after the rumble, this interpretation has it before the rumble and Tony wants to make sure Riff doesn’t bring the gun he just bought.
The song “I Feel Pretty” takes place when Maria has to clean a large building with her fellow workers, whereas in the previous installment it took place in a bridal shop. The bridal shop also has a cute scene between Maria and Tony, they pretend the dressed mannequins are members of their family. I really wish the 2021 version tackled this scene, it would’ve been real fun to watch.
This adaptation is phenomenal as well. It would only be better if they added subtitles the accompany the many Spanish-speaking scenes.
4/5
TLDR;
Both of these films are pretty good. Personally, I enjoyed the 2021 version more. Mainly it’s due to the skills of the actors and the sets are more of a spectacle to look at. If you are more of a hardcore Broadway fan, I recommend watching the 1961 version. The choreography in that version takes more risks, flips etc. If you have the chance though I’d recommend watching both these films, they’re a good time.
West Side Story (2021) only in theaters! Watch the (1961) version here!
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