tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post7364014945577662661..comments2024-03-28T10:18:52.493-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: West Side StoryBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-38252648192278018722014-09-20T15:15:13.858-04:002014-09-20T15:15:13.858-04:00I'm a musician, and this is one of the few pie...I'm a musician, and this is one of the few pieces that I'm confident that no matter how many times I play it I will never get tired of it. As much as I like the dancing, it's the music that gets me every time, especially Marni Nixon's singing.Mariannahttp://www.mariannahorn.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-36447353354658365602014-09-20T03:17:01.922-04:002014-09-20T03:17:01.922-04:00I also wouldn't have liked Elvis in this. I li...I also wouldn't have liked Elvis in this. I like him well enough, but his star power would have made it Elvis, not Tony.<br />Sweet story about Rita Moreno. Poor thing.<br />I'll always remember her Muppet show episode as well.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-33965944960524847512014-09-17T19:17:27.817-04:002014-09-17T19:17:27.817-04:00Guess I'll have to watch it again and find out...Guess I'll have to watch it again and find out. Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-72901625610101934182014-09-17T17:06:16.025-04:002014-09-17T17:06:16.025-04:00Oh, dear. I hope the knowledge enhances the exper...Oh, dear. I hope the knowledge enhances the experience for you, Mark. Or, at the very least, I hope it doesn't lessen the joy of the direction, score, lyrics, and choreography!Jess Lyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165015932507376656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-69172863720270920662014-09-17T15:20:19.057-04:002014-09-17T15:20:19.057-04:00Jess, I did not know that, and now I'll never ...Jess, I did not know that, and now I'll never be able to watch the film in the same way again. Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-464951965616318262014-09-17T14:13:10.376-04:002014-09-17T14:13:10.376-04:00I probably should have put a comma in that last se...I probably should have put a comma in that last sentence. I didn't mean to imply they got their roles on <i>Twin Peaks</i> because they were both in <i>West Side Story</i>. It just amused me that Tony and Riff were Mr. Horne and Dr. Jacoby.Jess Lyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165015932507376656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-80319967728221343902014-09-17T14:08:16.657-04:002014-09-17T14:08:16.657-04:00I think it was 'Gee Officer Krupke' and &#...I think it was 'Gee Officer Krupke' and 'Cool.' I like the movie order better, too. If memory serves, they moved them around because the "moods" of the songs integrated better around the death of Riff in the movie order. Certainly "Cool" plays better as an emotional response to that death.<br /><br />Like many others, I adore this movie, no matter its weaknesses. The songs and dancing are so great that they more than compensate for everything else. I sometimes pull out the DVDs just to watch the musical numbers.<br /><br />And even though I didn't really watch the series all that much, I always got a huge kick out of Russ Tamblyn and Richard Beymer both being on <i>Twin Peaks</i> because of their roles in this film. :)Jess Lyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165015932507376656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-19828163968410645662014-09-17T13:07:23.452-04:002014-09-17T13:07:23.452-04:00I was going to make what I'm sure would have b...I was going to make what I'm sure would have been a truly fascinating comment about one or two of the songs being moved for the movie and preferring the movie's order, but I've forgotten which ones they were. I Feel Pretty and Gee Officer Krupke maybe? Anyway, I love the film, especially the dancing street gangs in the opening. How they ever made that work, I don't know, but they did.Juliettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-36642323910661461972014-09-17T12:51:16.422-04:002014-09-17T12:51:16.422-04:00I think the word I was groping for there was "...I think the word I was groping for there was "vehicle". :)Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-48771295566261821172014-09-17T12:22:32.651-04:002014-09-17T12:22:32.651-04:00I guess so, if you like Elvis Presley. I never lik...I guess so, if you like Elvis Presley. I never liked Elvis Presley. For me, casting Elvis in <i>West Side Story</i> would have been like casting Shirley Temple in <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>. It would have made it into "an Elvis Presley movie".<br /><br />There's no question that Richard Beymer was poorly cast, though.Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-17056562543352235462014-09-17T12:04:37.882-04:002014-09-17T12:04:37.882-04:00What a wonderful story, Kat. Thanks for posting t...What a wonderful story, Kat. Thanks for posting that.<br /><br />Elvis and Maria may have been an improvement, Billie.<br /><br />:-)ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10843864158239536750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-19639054375903907752014-09-17T10:35:58.257-04:002014-09-17T10:35:58.257-04:00ChrisB, thanks for this terrific review. And Kat, ...ChrisB, thanks for this terrific review. And Kat, thanks for that Rita Moreno story. <br /><br />This is a wonderful movie (my mother was deeply into musicals, so I think I've seen them all) even though it most certainly has flaws. The opening number with the finger snaps still gives me chills -- the dancing throughout the entire movie is world class, and I've always been fond of Russ Tamblyn for some reason. Rita Moreno deserved her Oscar. <br /><br />I've always liked Natalie Wood in pretty much anything. Yes, her accent is pretty bad and she didn't do her own singing (that was Marni Nixon, who also did Audrey Hepburn's singing in <i>My Fair Lady</i>), but she could act. I can't quite picture Elvis Presley as Tony, but hey, at least he could sing. One of the problems with Elvis was that he was always Elvis. It would have been Elvis and Maria, not Tony and Maria.<br />Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-79933394672892359732014-09-17T10:21:29.183-04:002014-09-17T10:21:29.183-04:00I like this movie, and I think it's because of...I like this movie, and I think it's because of what you point out--<br /><br />I love Natalie Wood, but, yeah, she's incredibly wooden and the accent she's attempting is atrocious. The lead actor is so unmemorable that I've already forgotten what his name is.<br /><br />But, I absolutely LOVE Rita Moreno in this one. And George Chakiris is awesome. The dancing is wonderful (I love dancing!)<br /><br />But, I do like this one, probably because I like the stage musical. The songs! Oh, the songs! "Tonight" is unbelievably wonderful. Especially the reprise. Man...<br /><br />(I have this movie, and one of my hobbies is to look up trivia on IMDb and Wikipedia and anywhere else I can find trivia about movies that I have. And there's a very sad story in Rita Moreno's background that I'm not going to relate here. Let's just say that she was reduced to tears in the taunting scene, and the actors playing the Jets immediately ruined the take by hugging her and assuring her that the audience would hate them for what they were doing in the movie to her. Which I kind of think is so sweet!)<br /><br />KatKathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00609424771874961444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-84909941052798600372014-09-17T04:38:41.546-04:002014-09-17T04:38:41.546-04:00Yes. One of my favorite movies despite the weak le...Yes. One of my favorite movies despite the weak leads. Rita Moreno easily steals the show. And the music makes the story work. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-72719622869666473242014-09-16T18:13:34.815-04:002014-09-16T18:13:34.815-04:00Agree with everything you said, Chris. The leads a...Agree with everything you said, Chris. The leads are cardboard and the script isn't that great, but this is still a classic thanks to Wise's direction, Bernstein’s score, Sondheim’s lyrics and Robbins' choreography. Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.com