West Side Story is a title that was not part of my Blindspot films this year, but I still was very curious about it. A musical from the sixties that won no less than ten Oscars and that I never came around to watching. When I saw this film was available on the inflight entertainment system this past summer I thought it was a good choice to kill some time.
The story is about two rival gangs in New York, the Jets and the Sharks. While the tensions rise, Tony (Jets) meet the beautiful Maria (Sharks) and there is some chemistry. It is a forbidden love that they try to keep a secret.
“geen straf om te kijken…”
One thing is certain, although the story has of course already been told many times (Romeo & Juliet, Black), the gangs in this film would probably be laughed at when they would encounter a real gang. These are not men that at first glance will come across as intimidating, dancing around the street. But since this is a musical, it is part of it. However, with the necessary tragedy and a number of classic songs, it isn’t a bad movie to watch as long as you keep in mind that this is a film from 1961. The tempo is quite different and some situations tend to feel overly dramatic.
Just by coincidence, I posted on the same subject on the same day.
http://kirkhamclass.blogspot.com/2017/11/west-side-storylaphilharmonic.html
Wow, sounds like an awesome way to see the film!
I feel it’s a musical I ought to watch at least once in my life, if for no other reason than the classic songs. Hopefully I’ll get to it soon and then we can compare notes.
That’s the exact feeling I had as well. I must be honest that I was expecting more from it, but I’m glad I’ve seen it once 🙂