AWFUL in West Side Story
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Richard Beymer
RyanCShowers — 12 years ago(July 15, 2013 05:53 PM)
http://feelthefilms.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/west-side-story/
West Side Story's success can be summed up thanks to three areas: the direction, the choreography, and the music. Though I'm not crazy for the film, I recognize the what it does right and I fully embrace what it masters. Film scholars and novelists say that everything produced in either medium draws ideas from Shakespeare's penned plays. West Side Story not only draws inspiration from Shakespeare's most recognizable play, but it almost acts as a remake of Romeo and Juliet. Too bad it doesn't hold the merit Romeo and Juliet does, but what revamped, modernized remake lives up to the quality of the dated original?
As I stated earlier, the thing that allows West Side Story to be hung in the hall of great movie musicals is the dazzling choreography. It's the best choreographed film of all-time; name any musical or action movie, it doesn't hold a candle to West Side Story's accomplishment in this area. You could see the hours it took to create and polish each dance move; effort is key here. The dancing itself is performed by very talented theatrical actors who hit every mark perfectly. West Side Story bounces from ballads to dance numbers, which maybe is a good thing to allow the audience a moment to breathe from the overwhelming, rich extravaganzas.
The direction by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins is what elevates the movie and shows off the quality within the actors and off the page of the script. It's an insanely watchable movie that never complicates the viewer or makes them squirm. I was completely content because the direction strained out all the feelings I sometimes express during a movie such a discomfort, straying thoughts, and restlessness. Wise and Robbins make sure the audience is with them through every musical note that's played. It's stunning direction that creates a fresh and crisp feeling, consequently leaving the film with a beating pulse long even after you leave the theater or put the DVD back on the shelf.
You may have never seen West Side Story in any form before, neither on stage nor through cinema, but I guarantee you have listened, danced to, or caught songs from the film in your head. "I Feel Pretty" is the classic song, expressing how love first affects a person. "America" succeeds as a strong dance and singing number creating a scene of exuberance. "Gee, Officer Krupke" is a hilarious sequence with intricate staging. Epic, emotional levels are reached in numbers such as "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love." And an adorably romantic scene is crafted in "One Hand, One Heart." Combine catchy, deep music with the extraordinary choreography, West Side Story results in having many show stopping scenes.
Acting in a musical is sometimes judged by how well the actor performs whatever musical number they're faced with. The singing and dancing are what is judged, not the acting. Darker musicals are usually successful in letting actors show their acting abilities as well as perform the songs to the best of they are capable of. West Side Story doesn't sacrifice its actors at the expense of music, yet only shows darkness selectively in the second half. Rita Moreno is the performer of West Side Story that will WOW your eyes out of their sockets. She is outstanding! There is so much of Anita throughout the film at different levels. Moreno creates a complete character if there ever was one, and she places at the near the top of the Supporting Actress list in history. George Chakiris is good in his role, but the real showcase of the supporting actors is Russ Tamblyn, who fires his vitality at you in every scene he's in. Natalie Wood succeeds inconsistently and unfortunately makes the lead character bland at time.
Like I said Natalie Wood's humdrum interpretation halts from the overall quality at times, Richard Beymer who plays her romantic opposite is abysmal. Not only does Beymer detract from what West Side Story has going for it, but distracts the viewer from the greatness that's made around him. Beymer never convinced me once. In fact, the supporting cast trumped the leading actors, which made me dread the moment I knew the story had to switch from ensemble-driven sections to the lead couple scenes.
West Side Story also tes238ts out new methods of storytelling which doesn't support the overall quality it could have going for it. While most of the songs shimmer with greatness, there are the occasional few bad apples. The aspect that really keeps me at arm's length with West Side Story is the lack of affection I have for the source material. Though the direction plows through a lot of my distaste with it, traces of the musical I'm not a fan of obviously must appear. The way West Side Story tries to tear down the ethnic walls of society backfires as well.
West Side Story has an16d0 amazing pace to it, I rarely looked at my watch and the film flew like a newly licensed teenager driving their parents car. Considering how much I actually liked the st -
stellaheff-47314 — 9 years ago(December 03, 2016 04:55 AM)
I thought Richard Beymer acted really well considering Natalie Wood hated his guts and he also felt miss cast in this movie but Beymer did want to act more tough and more like a street kid but was stuck with the role 111cof being the nicest guy in town so he didn't act to his full potential but I still think he did a great job playing tony