“[to Tony] Life matters even more than love.” – Valentina
Number of Times Seen – Twice (13 Dec 2021 and 25 Feb 2022)
Link to original review – Here
Brief Synopsis – Two youngsters from different backgrounds fall in love and start a feud between the Americans and Puerto Ricans in New York during the late 1950’s.
My Take on it – Such an amazing adaptation that works so well despite the fact that it’s a remake of the Oscar winning and Tony Winning story.
Steven Spielberg does a superb job making a new and exciting story based on the material already used in the past.
The film is able to feel fresh and unique despite this and that has much to do with the way this production is done.
The script adds in some more background to some of the characters and that helps flesh them out even more.
The film uses great choreography throughout and they chose to change some of the venues of the songs which enhances the songs so much more.
Both ‘America’ and ‘Office Krupke’ are so much better in this new way.
The cast is great and they help make us care so much about these characters.
This is one of my favorite films of 2021 and really hope that it is able to break thru at the Oscar next month and win most of its 7 nominations including Director and Picture, even though I am skeptical that the Voters will boost this film higher.
regardless, it is a wonder to watch and makes me actually rethink my hatred of remakes because if done right and in the right hands, a remake can enhance the original just like Spielberg did here!
Highly Highly Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Considering the relatively large 60-year time span between the original and this production, three actors who appeared in the 1961 release reprise different roles in this 2021 production, including, Rita Moreno, Harvey Evans and David Bean. Evans and Bean were both members of “The Jets” in the original, respectively playing Mouthpiece and Tiger. (From IMDB)
Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (upgrade from original review)
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