alan kaufman

Having seen the original film at the time and many times since as well as various stage productions of the musical I wondered what was the point of a 21st-century remake . But of course this is a Stephen Spielberg remake and OMG what a film it is. The music ,the dancing , the basic Shakespearean storyline are all the same .However, being Spielberg, this new film packs a much greater emotional punch with what seemed like a much longer post rumble dramatic and constantly tear jerking finale . I have been living with the songs and music of West Side Story for nigh on 60 years and cannot believe how it all sounded so fresh with a lot more edge and believability than the original. The principals , none of whom are household names I believe, sang, danced and acted their socks off and to see Rita Moreno ( one of the dancing stars of the original) giving a beautiful nuanced performance with a solo main song to boot broke my heart . Not to mention how so many years on we are still living in our western world cities , perhaps even more so , with gang warfare, knife crime , inter racial/ethnic problems and gender identity issues - key themes in this and the original version. But love conquers all doesn’t it ! Sadly not when Shakespeare’s involved . Only death does that. Bernstein, Robbins and Sondheim must be looking down from above smiling, clapping and crying at this repeat Oscar winning production .