Before The Viewing: Thoughts, Feelings, and Notes
So, when I chose to view West Side Story, I was being a bit selfish. To be honest, I have never seen West Side Story before, and I felt that this would be a great way to see why so many people have raved about it. It has won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture in 1961. Being a complete film fanatic, that really stood out to me. So, naturally, I am curious to what made it so special to win such an honor. I have very high expectations of this film. Let's see if it is everything I hope it will be.
After The Viewing: Thoughts, Feelings, and Notes
In a word, WOW. I simply thought that it would be Romeo and Juliet, but it was so much more than what I expected. The differences between this adaptation and the original is striking. There are many things that can be said about this movie, but I will touch on four key things that stuck out to me as I was watching this movie: the research, the music, the choreography, and the ending.
First, the research. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins obviously researched the subject of gangs thoroughly. The gangs of the 1950s were not what you would expect. I am not talking about 20+ year old men fighting to be the next drug cartel. I am talking about 12-19 year old boys who fought not over drugs, but over "turf" (territory) and girls. Instead of the usual weapon of a gun like we see today, they had rocks, bicycle chains, broom sticks, "zip guns", garrison belts, belt buckles, and switchblades. The gangs of the 1950s were mainly juvenile delinquents who were looking to take the title of the toughest and ruthless people in their cities. They protected their territories with military precision. Fights, which were called rumbles, were organized at war councils, which were held on neutral ground. In West Side Story, neutral territory was Dock's Candy Store. Another thing that struck me was that gangs were ALL MALE. The only time girls featured in gangs were the "Debs", or girlfriends. In West Side Story, there is the character Anybody's, who wishes to be a Jet. Anybody's has the brains and the guts to be a gang member. The only issue is Anybody's is a girl, which automatically bans her from becoming a member. Scared boys, like Baby John, can be members, but because she's a girl, Anybody's can't be. The one thing I did not understand in the film was that my first impression of the gangs was entirely out of character for a gang. I saw them as "cute" and "nice", which I had first pegged to be a 50s things, but since that is COMPLETELY false, I have to wonder: was that the impression Wise and Robbins wanted us to have? Secondly, the music. Many of my Broadway-loving friends say that the music is WSS is phenomenal and "the best thing ever". However, my views are a bit different. While I do believe that the music was beautiful, I do not believe that it was "the best thing ever". But I will say this: Leonard Bernstein definitely knows how to make fun at things, similar to Shakespeare! There is a music interval called the Augmented Fourth Interval or Tritones. It is comprised of three adjacent whole tones. For example, F-B is a tritone because it can be decomposed into three adjacent tones: F-G, G-A, and A-B. It was coined "diabolus in musica", the "Devil in music", in the early 18th century, because of the unstable relationship between the two notes. It was suggested that singers and musicians who used tritones were excommunicated from the Church. Leonard Bernstein must have known this and decided to take a crack at it, since just about EVERY SINGLE SONG in West Side Story have tritones in them: the "Overture", "Maria", "America", "Gee, Officer Krupke", "Something's Coming", "Cool", "The Rumble", just to name a few. We all know that Shakespeare loved to hide little pieces of the real world of his time within his plays; maybe Bernstein wanted to do the same thing in our time. Thirdly, the choreography. I found it odd that the movie began with a dance number. Then again, it was a musical. However, even when the Jets and the Sharks (respectively the Montagues and the Capulets) fought each other, they would still dance. There was no abruptness to the end of one interaction and the beginning of another. Throughout the entirety of the film, I would think "why do they always dance? " Maybe because of the unconventional way gangs operated. Maybe that is what Wise and Robbins wanted to portray to viewers. That there must be an art to gang wars that they wanted us to take note of. But hey, that is my opinion. Finally, the ending. When tragedy began to cloud the play, I thought "OK. The rest of this will be pretty much what I expect it to be". BOY, was I wrong! The fact that Maria DID NOT die with Tony at the end left me thoroughly confused. But, it is undoubtedly my favorite part of the ENTIRE film. Now, do not be mistaken. I don't enjoy other people's misery, but I feel that now Maria is a truly courageous character, worthy of respect. Every time I saw any rendition of Romeo and Juliet and I watch as Juliet kills herself to be with her love, I get angry. To me, that was like taking the easy way out. An act of cowardice. I understand that the love of her life was no longer with her and she wanted to be where he was, but seriously. That is like saying "I don't want to live in a world where you don't exist. I'll join you in the afterlife". But this adaptation was beautiful, because it made the tragedy more pronounced. Rather than have the star-crossed lovers die and have the viewers live with the possibility that they are in a better place together, Wise and Robbins leaves Maria alive...and forever alone. Her love has been eternally taken from her, and she has to live on without him. She has to live FOR him. That is way more tragic than the original. Sorry Shakespeare. All in all, I have enjoyed viewing this movie. The plot was great. The suspense was killer (no pun intended). The characters were very enjoyable to watch. I know that I will definitely watch this one again. |