DVDizzy Forum

I've listened to a lot of the soundtrack and I'm actually pleasantly surprised. The vocals range from not too shabby to pretty great and the orchestrations are superb. Hopefully the rest of the film looks as good as the soundtrack sounds. Though I have heard about some excessive lens flares and that does not excite me...

I wouldn't think a truly good movie could be ruined by mere lens flares.

This is the second Disney film banned in the Middle East this year.

Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Will Not Play In Saudi Arabia, UAE & Other Parts Of Middle East
https://deadline.com/2021/12/west-side- ... 234885442/

‘West Side Story’ Banned in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/west ... 235127263/

‘West Side Story’ Banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Over LGBTQ Character Played by Nonbinary Actor
https://www.thewrap.com/west-side-story ... dys-trans/

‘West Side Story’ Banned in Saudi Arabia, Other Gulf Nations
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235057645/

‘West Side Story’ Team Reacts to Gulf Nations Ban: “This Film Will Overcome Any Border”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235059635/

I watched the 20/20 special. It was nice, but it actually didn't do much to excite me more for the film. I'm still excited for it from what else I have seen and imagined, though, and I have no doubt it will be a masterpiece. Can't wait to see it!

So excited to FINALLY watch it this weekend in both IMAX AND Dolby Cinema! I can't wait!!

The movie could struggle at the box office.

How ‘West Side Story’ Hopes to Defy Box Office Odds
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235058135/

The Underperformance of ‘West Side Story’: No, It’s Not Just Because Gen Z Doesn’t Like Musicals
https://variety.com/2021/film/columns/w ... 235131407/

Why Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Hit the Wrong Box Office Notes
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/west ... 235131598/

Disney Hopes For Long Holiday Dance With Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’; Global Start Could Reach $31M
https://deadline.com/2021/12/disney-hop ... 234887032/

‘West Side Story’ Isn’t Kicking Up With $10M+ Opening
https://deadline.com/2021/12/west-side- ... 234888675/

‘West Side Story’ Goes South In Offshore Debut
https://deadline.com/2021/12/west-side- ... 234889589/

It will definitely struggle. I went to a IMAX screening and there were only 6 people there at opening night.

A $4M Friday (including $800k Thursday previews) and a $100M budget.

Musicals are dead.

So when do you think Universal eventually cancels Wicked?

I saw WSS yesterday at a matinee. My boyfriend and I made it 5 people in the theater.
I absolutely adored it and I wanted to hate it as I hate remakes of classic films. I still prefer the musical sequences in the 1961 original especially Cool and I Feel Pretty. But this version’s Dance at the Gym and America blew me away. I though Ansel was a good Tony and he’s cute as hell. I’m glad they included the Somewhere ballet music in the film and in the closing credits. Rita Moreno was fabulous although I still prefer Somewhere sung by Tony and María. I plan to see it at least 2 more times with different groups of friends. I saw the original film in the theater on December 1 as part of TCM’s Big Screen Classics. Wonderful! Next month is the 80th Anniversary of Casablanca. I wish Disney would bring back their animated classics in theaters for anniversaries besides just in Hollywood and Orlando.i will definitely purchase this WSS on DVD.

Musicals will never die and they will never cancel Wicked. I hope you know, Farerb, I mean no illwill, though. We actually really agreed on "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere" in this new WSS. I didn't like the placement of the former and the character choice of the latter.

I saw this tonight and it was beautiful. The dancing and singing were amazing. Everyone acted well, but I would say the standouts were Rachel Zegler, Mike Faist, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, and Rita Moreno. The singing of "One Hand, One Heart" was so beautiful I almost cried. The ending really got me in the feels. Almost any of the crying towards the end really touched me, especially Adriana's and Ansel's. If I had to say I had a problem with any of it, it's that "Somewhere" wasn't sung by Maria and Tony. Oh well. That change didn"t ruin a really good, beautiful film.

Aside from mostly action movies and horror movies, a lot of movies haven't been pulling in their pre-covid numbers at the box-office. We're still in this pandemic and movies with appeal to older viewers are struggling the most, especially dramas and musicals. Family films also aren't at the grosses they used to make before the pandemic. I think we still have to put an asterisk on many releases for the foreseeable future.

I do think West Side Story will perform really well once it becomes available at home and on Disney+, especially if it receives the Oscar nominations it's expected to.

Thanks, estefan.

https://twitter.com/WestSideMovie/statu ... 0744467459


https://twitter.com/WestSideMovie/statu ... 0744467459

I saw this last night with a friend and neither of us was particularly impressed. We actually both thought it was fairly boring. I'll stick with the 1961 film.

TheSequelOfDisney wrote:I saw this last night with a friend and neither of us was particularly impressed. We actually both thought it was fairly boring. I'll stick with the 1961 film.

I agree, overall a disappointing year for musicals. No wonder the genre is dying.

But the genre isn't dying. There is no evidence of studios letting the genre die. They're still making musicals. Add to that that West Side Story is going to be nominated for many awards including Best Picture, and that is a sign they are very much alive.

Some things I liked:

- Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler. Easily the best acting and voices for me. Definitely the standouts. "America" and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" have always been my favorite songs and I feel like these were done very well vocally.
- Mike Faist. Never super cared about Riff, but I do care about him more in this than the 1961 film. His character certainly has a lot more depth and focus. Instead of a class clown type, there’s definitely more pain and desperation.
- The orchestrations were top-notch. Actually the soundtrack itself is very nice to listen to. I prefer listening to the soundtrack to watching the film.
- The puddle shot. Yeah, everyone else loves it too but it really is a great shot. I wish more of the film looked like that.
- The woman spraying glass cleaner onto the mirror during "I Feel Pretty." A good musical moment! And funny! It's like Spielberg realized he was actually making a musical.

I'll update later with what I didn't enjoy. There's a lot.

Disney Duster wrote:But the genre isn't dying. There is no evidence of studios letting the genre die. They're still making musicals. Add to that that West Side Story is going to be nominated for many awards including Best Picture, and that is a sign they are very much alive.

I agree, plus with streaming services becoming extremely popular, the movie musical isn't going to "die" in the way the genre did in the 1970s-80s because Hollywood will keep making them for both theaters and/or streaming in mind. Netflix is making the film adaptation of Matilda: The Musical for December next year, among countless others in development by other studios as well.

As for West Side Story 2021, I loved it; not only far better than the original which I found to be only decent in comparison to Robert Wise's much superior The Sound of Music, but it's my favorite film of 2021 which is undeniably going to get Oscar love this season. Which is probably another reason why the movie musical genre is going to keep going no matter what.

So yeah, the term: "The movie musical is dead" needs to stop being used. If it was the 80's and 90's then yes, I could understand that, but that term doesn't work anymore in this day and age.

I saw it again yesterday with friends. I cried even more than on the 10th! I ordered the ST CD from Amazon this morning and I’ll preorder the blu-ray when it’s available.
I adore this film and the 1961 original.
I can’t believe it’s leaving our local cinema today. It only had a 2 week run here!
My friends loved it. We all have a crush on Ansel! I’d never heard of him before...

Those are great things to point out, TheSequelOfDisney. Thank you for telling us what you did like. I really, really am glad that puddle shot is getting so much love. That was one of the prettiest shots I have ever seen!

So glad about what you said, Musical Master,! And so glad you also love this movie!

So glad you loved this movie, too, carolinakid! I wish I could cry, but not many movies do these days with my depression. Still, glad to know it is moving so many to tears.