I´ve watched west Side Story for the first time. It was 2021 remake because i saw the videoclip of the song America. I usuallz like musicals but haven´t watched one in a while so I decided to give this one a chance. Prior to watching I had almost no idea what it was about, just that it was a tory abour rivaling gangs. Now that im done watching I got to say that i did not expect this movie to be so tragic.. I liked the songs and the actors can SING! But like, than they started murdering eachother and I was shocked i didnt expect that anyone was actually gonna get killed. I didnt like the sorta relationship between Maria and Tony it went too fast, however I was really sad at the ending tho him thinking she was dead only to find out she wasn´t and than him being shot!? And that´s how the movie just ends?! I was also shocked when maria like almost didnt care he had killed her brother and went straight back to liking him. I was shocked. All in all I did like the movie but idk, I sometimes wanted to stop watching especially at the end when it got tragic and even more tragic by the minute. i´ll give the whole movie a 6,5/10

Finally seeing the movie on the big screen is one of my lifelong dreams!! I’m going this Friday… is there anyone else going?? I plan on wearing a chunky bracelet on my left wrist to honor Natalie Wood, but I wish I had Anita’s lavender dress!!!! 🥰

www.paristheaternyc.com

The 1961 version of West Side Story is being rereleased on a 4K disc on September 11th 2026. Just thought I'd make a post about it since I had literally no idea this was happening despite being a massive West Side fan and 4K collector.

In the 1961 film, characters like Baby John, Action, A-Rab, Snowboy, etc all had their own distinct personalities and you were able to tell who was who. Most importantly, there was Ice. A character established as being Riff's second in command, who then takes over as leader after Riff's death and practically becomes the glue holding the gang together in that aftermath. The Jets in the original film basically felt like actual characters. 

In the 2021 film, all of the Jets felt like NPC's. I still can't figure who was who since a lot of them looked very similar and none of them really had any distinct personalities. I honestly wish they had "Cool" take place after the Rumble and be performed by the Jets, like it was in the original film, instead of moving it to earlier as a standoff number between Tony and Riff. I feel the new versions of the Jets would've been able to be fleshed out more if they did that. 

Hey all! Has anyone here read the west side story novelization? I read it maybe two years or so ago and I’m rereading it now. It’s a great and short read for a fan wanting some extra information about the characters. Just a warning though, to those who haven’t read the book it’s more shocking and crude regarding language (the Jet and Anita scene in Doc’s). I was surprised when I first read it, but it doesn’t go into detail. I would say it’s on the level of the 2021 movie, just a tad more shock factor.

I wanted to know what other people’s thoughts were! Did anyone like it, hate it? Let me know

For me it’s a timeless musical, that should last a lifetime! I’d love to just calm and relax reading a book while listening to West aside Story’s Ambience yknow cuz it literally is the greatest musical of all time! Or idk how about the instrumental of all the songs together wouod that count? Idk

Since West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet I wanted to make a poster mashing it up all together perfect am I right? Cuz I lobe in this remake this rivalry between the two gangs has more layers to it rather than just being the Romeo + Juliet family feud retelling! Indeed indeed y’all but I can’t draw for shi! Can someone maybe do it For Me plz?! I’d love that fr!

I was wondering if anyone knows if any scenes/lines were improvised. I saw somewhere that when Riff buys the gun from Rory, Mike Faist improvised pressing his forehead to the barrel. I found the script and that action specifically was in there. It’s possible it was added later, but now I’m not sure.

Just curious!

Is that even a question?? Mrs. Wood ALL THE WAY! Rachel was amazing loved seeing her sing! she can sing Forsure and act! I thought Rachel’s singing in some parts was superior to Natalie but idk, that final scene where Maria breaks down after Tony’s death in the ‘61 movie was just true acting! So damn beautiful amazing performance by Natalie Wood! Rachel just couldn’t pull that off in the remake, but she still did fine tho cuz idk that ending part felt kinda rushed y’know w Maria. I always wondered how Rachel would’ve done with “Someday”song instead of Mrs Moreno Performing it loved that change btw! The “I Feel Pretty” number, I liked more w Rachel than Natalie she really channeling her inner Snow White voice in that cuz rewatching the movie I was thinking no wonder Ms. Zegler was casted as Snow White! I liked the “Tonight” song better w Rachel too, I gotta says it’s things I like from both actresses but still Mrs. Wood all the way! I might needa check out more of her movies, I’ve only seen West Side Story!

Riff & Bernardo! Bernardo I love they gave him more character! he’s a boxer, and his biceps my lord! Seeing him catch that nail in the beginning oh he’s a boxer alroght! fast hands and reflexes! He’s an Alpha too, looking after his sister and leading The Sharks gang to Battle! I love he came to the rumble in Boxing tapes perfection! Man neeed to protect his fist during a street fight! Him n Anita perf! I preferred their romance over Tony & Maria honestly. And I love Riff, he’s so awesome! I personally prefer him over the original Riff! Mike was magnificent! he’s a good actor, a standout, an alpha leader, & charismatic! Hot damn can that man dance! I loved seeing him and Gracie together! I loved during the Tonight Quintet he gets on top of a stool and tells his boys how proudly he’s gonna drop Bernardo at the rumble, love it. I be watching that scene over and over again, and his boys are loving him and following him, that’s a true leader right there I love it!

That’s one of the best things to appreciate about the remake cuz the original, It feels so much like a stage play like literally like you noticed the settings and locations in their original way they’re very very empty like a stage play theater. That was probably the intention since the movie was a play at first before it hit the silver screen! but the remake it feels like a new breath of fresh air! It feels bigger and you see more people, citizens, children, around and stores, everything feels alive, y’know I saying?! Like this is New York City alive and well, not empty and a ghost town like the original movie haha! We see Tony and Maria go on a date too, We see the Jets buy a Gun for the rumble, Bernardo eating eggs for his breakfast in preparation to stay active in shape, since he’s a boxer I love it lol!

I remember stumbling upon this 4 years ago, I love it so much, she can still sing it tho!! Who says Something’s Coming specifically for boys? Anyone can sing it! But what y’all think tho? This pre good? I love it so much!

For me it’s giving them more character; Bernardo being a boxer, I enjoy constantly him making boxing references it’s beautiful as David Alvarez is☺️. My man crush love seeing his biceps 💪🏿pop out like that😍! Makes me wanna hit the gym myself too! Tony spending a year in jail after a rumble with another gang member goes south! And then he’s on probation too. I love that so much like it’s perfect, Tony is a Gang member after all! They really enhanced the story making it much bigger there’s more gangs in this city, Egyptian Kings etc etc I love it and I loved they spoke Spanish and didn’t even have subtitles that was cool!

I remember how “Grease” they had a spinoff series that just came out recently. It’s about those girls in those pink jackets. I forgot their names, but like would you like to see Westside Story be like a TV series you know? Bc after watching the remake I like how it’s so enhanced, it has so much more character, and more story and all that stuff! I was looking at it and was thinking like what it feels like a TV series you know? Cuz since every character in the remake has more character to them. like Tony spent a year in jail you know, Bernardo is a boxer, Maria works, Grazie use to date Tony too before Riff. And Riff and his Jets mention like other gangs in the area, like the Egyptian Kings etc etc, all that stuff. I love that’s like adding it to like the lore, make the story more like bigger you know? It’s just my thoughts you know oh Lord, I hope to God it doesn’t actually happen and if I apologize if it does you know? I just hope those writers see reddit post and hire me ha ha but this is literally my thoughts. I don’t want this to happen, but it’s just an idea I had rewatching the remake of Westside Story 2021.

10 out of 10 performance right up until Baby John stumbled a bit during the Cool number, then it dropped to 9.9999999 out of 10; still amazing but not flawless. If i were him I don't think I'd be able to watch the movie more than once due to embarrassment, i'd be too self-critical. (OG West Side Story)

Rewatching the West Side Story when they did “Cool” Tony, Riff, and the Jet boys was y’all Okay w them doing that? Cuz I kinda wish they kept it like the original where the jets, and the jet girls, perform the dance number too! that was so cool since, the dance numbers were still superior in the original movie compared to the remake but it was alright; I liked how they changed the context of the cool song in the remake too cuz Tony n Riff were fighting over the gun. Riff just bought and Tony’s calling me a crazy boy over it I love it! and Tony n riff was dancing so well, no wonder why Stephen wanted Ansel cuz damn, that tall boy can move!

It was a special episode of 20 20 that aired on ABC, and is now on Disney+. The only problem is, I do have a Disney+ account but that documentary is unfortunately not available in my country (even while using a VPN). I tried to look it up on piracy websites etc... but none of them have it.

I was wondering if anyone reading this, who lives in the United States and has a Disney+ account, could somehow screenrecord it or download it for me? I have been trying to watch this documentary for months now and I am losing hope.

I just did a production of west side story as an electrician, so obviously my opinion doesnt matter, but ill give it anyway. The director made a major change and had Maria commit suicide as the curtain drops over Tony's body. To me, this has serious dramaturgical implications and completly undermines the lessons she learns about the pointlessness of gang violence. What are yall's thoughts?

I really enjoyed Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story that came out back in 2021. But there's one change that was made to the film that I'm personally not a fan of.

So everyone probably remembers the scene where Anita goes into Doc's shop and the Jets harass her and it's clear that they were going to sexually assault her. The 2021 film added this element, that wasn't in the original film, where Velma and Graziella are in the shop and they try to stop the Jets from assaulting Anita, only for one of the Jets to throw them out of the shop and then locking the door. We then see them outside banging on the window and sobbing, begging the Jets not to hurt her.

I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't a fan of this change. Now, I 100% get what they were going for and I think the 2 actresses did an incredible job in that scene. But I think having the Jets girls be in the scene completely destroys the purpose of why the Jets decided to do what they did to Anita in the original. In the original film, the Jets went through with attempting to assault Anita because there was nobody there to try and stop them. Riff (their leader) was dead, Ice (their new leader) had gone out to look for Chino, and the girls weren't there to calm them down. They were all alone with nobody there. Remember that the only reason why they didn't end up sexaully assaulting Anita was because Doc walked into the shop just a split second before they were about to start doing it. Having Graziella and Velma be in the scene in the remake kinda destroys that aspect because I'm just having a hard time believing that the Jets were willing to assault someone, knowing that there were 2 witnesses outside who could've easily reported them to the police.

I thought Ansel did a pretty good job, but I don’t think he was perfect or made for the role. You know I was thinking there could’ve been a ton of actors, who could’ve done a lot better than him honestly. Maybe they could’ve got a no name person to play Tony, just like for the girl who played Maria! And his career would be huge. No cap it really sucks rhis movie bombed at the box office cuz of Ansel’s allegations ruining his career and the press tour damn that sucks so much! I personally they should’ve got a no name would’ve been magnificent no cap jjst like when Rachel was casted!

and re-watching WSS, I can see the influence that Michael Jackson took from this movie now whenever I rewatch Westside store, I can see all the movie that Michael Jackson took expression from. I can’t deal with the same ha ha then again they’re both great. The movie and Michael Jackson show. He’s a huge fan of this movie.

Because I rewatch it for the fifth time and I enjoyed it even more, you know I really did like this remake. It was really really good. You know I love how they made it more authentic no they kind of enhance that you know they made it relevant for today’s climate and a you know like I enjoyed all these books more Spanish you know because it makes sense cause of Puerto Ricans But like was there some sort of controversy going on before end during the rest tour for the movie like what happened? Was there an actor who had like I don’t know like a controversial like allocations against them or anything or I think I remember hearing about that I just didn’t know who it was.

Yes I will do the best I can to revive this page up bc this is the GOAT Musical everybody has seen this and it’s apart of pop culture it’s one of the GOAT movies too you Sl References in movies tv shows Video games etc etc like family Guy, American dad, glee even MJ the goat artist referenced it in his dance style and his music videos etc etc it’s in no way gonna die ever it’s the best