spiderwort
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@spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Nov 7, 2019 3:54:00 GMT
Why on earth would he remake West Side Story? Spielberg of all people knows better than to remake a classic, especially after his disastrous War of the Worlds. Just watched the imdb intro to it, and it looks to me like it's going to be awful. Oh, and Tony Kushner "rewrote" it. I wonder how he would feel is someone rewrote his Angels in America. Sure Arthur Laurents based the original upon Romeo and Juliet, but he completely re-worked it and he owned it.
How incredibly disappointing! I for one will not be seeing this re-do. Shame on you, Steven. Shame on you.
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Post by movielover on Nov 7, 2019 3:55:56 GMT
I agree 100%. West Side Story is already perfect and does not need to be remade.
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Post by marshamae on Nov 7, 2019 12:59:24 GMT
I rêver the bway show and the original film. The best thing was that Jerome Robbins shared the directors chair with Robert Wise and was able to shape the dances so we have a brillant made for film version .
I’ve seen clips of the new one and saw a lot to like. It looks edgier. I have to admit the hoodlums of the 1960 version , while edgy for the time, today look like tge Disney version of New York gangs. It won’t be the Robbins choreography but it will be the Bernstein score . Race and sex will be more prominent, both suitable to the story, and TGE violence will be more violent. I like having Rita Moreno take Over the role of Doc.
It’s an interesting late career challenge Spielberg has set for himself. All the music theater folks I know are hopeful, willing to be enthralled at a new view of a great classic. I don’t think there is any play in The musical theater canon that would get a makeover this substantial.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 7, 2019 13:37:26 GMT
They dared to touch Ben-Hur and it bombed.
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Post by amyghost on Nov 7, 2019 13:44:58 GMT
I'm adopting a wait-and-see stance on this one. To be sure, it holds the potential for being a workout of every trite modern-day PC cliche in the catalogue, given the subject matter; but Spielberg holds the potential for surprise and may pull something startlingly fresh out of the hat. I'm not going to be tremendously surprised or disappointed if he doesn't, but anything's possible (with the caveat that far fewer things are actually probable).
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Post by sostie on Nov 7, 2019 14:04:27 GMT
They dared to touch Ben-Hur and it bombed. Well Ben-Hur dared to touch Ben-Hur so I guess they thought third time lucky
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Nov 7, 2019 14:05:18 GMT
Spielberg needs to give us another Jaws-level suspense thriller, not this.
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Post by sostie on Nov 7, 2019 14:10:14 GMT
Why on earth would he remake West Side Story? Spielberg of all people knows better than to remake a classic, especially after his disastrous War of the Worlds. Just watched the imdb intro to it, and it looks to me like it's going to be awful. Oh, and Tony Kushner "rewrote" it. I wonder how he would feel is someone rewrote his Angels in America. Sure Arthur Laurents based the original upon Romeo and Juliet, but he completely re-worked it and he owned it.
How incredibly disappointing! I for one will not be seeing this re-do. Shame on you, Steven. Shame on you.
Ever since the opening number in Temple Of Doom (the best thing about that film) I've been curious to see how he would handle big musical numbers. I'm quite interested in seeing it. And a little OT...I may be in the minority but I thought his take on War Of The Worlds was way better than the 50's version.
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Eλευθερί
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@eleutheri
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Post by Eλευθερί on Nov 7, 2019 14:26:39 GMT
I may be in the minority but I thought his take on War Of The Worlds was way better than the 50's version. 
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Eλευθερί
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@eleutheri
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Post by Eλευθερί on Nov 7, 2019 14:33:23 GMT
Why on earth would he remake West Side Story? Spielberg of all people knows better than to remake a classic, especially after his disastrous War of the Worlds. Just watched the imdb intro to it, and it looks to me like it's going to be awful. Oh, and Tony Kushner "rewrote" it. I wonder how he would feel is someone rewrote his Angels in America. Sure Arthur Laurents based the original upon Romeo and Juliet, but he completely re-worked it and he owned it.
How incredibly disappointing! I for one will not be seeing this re-do. Shame on you, Steven. Shame on you.
There's always room for more interpretations of any artistic piece. Do you know how many people have been born since the 1961 film was released? Over 4 billion! And most of them almost certainly haven't ever seen the original. Of course, the Spielberg production will probably be inferior, but that's just regression to the mean. The cool thing is that people who have already seen the Robbins version and were satisfied with it don't have to watch any new production. Others, who like to experience new things, can watch the new one. Something for everyone to enjoy.
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Post by london777 on Nov 7, 2019 16:47:28 GMT
I would have left in the middle of it if I hadn't been with a friend. You have a friend?
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Post by london777 on Nov 7, 2019 16:56:56 GMT
No, I only say that so I'll seem more important than I am.  Not called Harvey, is he?
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spiderwort
Junior Member
@spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Nov 7, 2019 17:04:43 GMT
No, I only say that so I'll seem more important than I am. Not called Harvey, is he?
How did you know?
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Post by vegalyra on Nov 7, 2019 17:48:19 GMT
I actually re-watched the original a few weeks back on Amazon (or maybe Netflix, can't remember), and I was thinking to myself how on earth Spielberg could top this. I'd rather he used his talent on something unique.
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Post by london777 on Nov 7, 2019 18:42:35 GMT
Nearly every week I watch (usually on YouTube or some bargain-bin DVD) some failed movie. Now someone must have believed in them at some stage, and sometimes I can see why: a clever plot or twist, an interesting character or two, or maybe an unusual setting. Yet the film as a whole flopped through lack of talent or funding.
These are the sorts of films which should be remade. A lot of the work has already been done and possible pitfalls identified. Build on the good aspects, purge the bad.
But Spielberg is crusin' for a brusin' with West Side Story. I actually do not think it is that great a movie. Too long, a dull leading man, and racially stereotyped. But it has become an untouchable national icon over and above its artistic merit.
So to answer the OP's question."lost his mind" is a bit harsh, but "sold on his own hype" is probably correct. We all go a bit funny in our old age.
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spiderwort
Junior Member
@spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Nov 9, 2019 15:58:22 GMT
But Speilberg is crusin' for a brusin' with West Side Story. I actually do not think it is that great a movie. Too long, a dull leading man, and racially stereotyped. But it has become an untouchable national icon over and above its artistic merit.So to answer the OP's question."lost his mind" is a bit harsh, but "sold on his own hype" is probably correct. We all go a bit funny in our old age. Yes, London, I have to confess I think I was a bit harsh. I believe Steven's intentions are good - using Hispanic talent for the appropriate roles, in particular. And I know that Rita Moreno had something to do with initiating the project for that reason. But you are right in your comment above, and I think that is really what I was getting at more than anything else in my OP. Thanks for encouraging me to set the record straight.
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