SteveMc

Imagine being these kids' other grandpa.  

I don't quite understand what the issue is here -
 
As TheUlyssesian said this was a vanity project for Spielberg.  Something he did for himself.  If that's the case what's the problem?  Everyone is getting paid, it's not going to kill Disney's bottom line, and maybe they'll get a few awards out of it.  What's the problem if Spielberg wanted to make it simply because he wanted to make it?  Do we forget that musicals have revivals all the time on Broadway and elsewhere?  Would you have the same criticism for the umpteenth revival of WSS or Les Misersables on Broadway?  Who asked for a new revival of The Music Man to be staged with stunt casting in place like Hugh Jackman (who is probably doing a great job).  
 
There's no reason to complain about these things, they exist and people will find something to enjoy about them.  Sometimes you'll get lucky and find a large audience, sometimes it'll be a small one.  I can tell you as a music teacher I LOVED this interpretation of West Side Story and it has received near universal praise and good word of mouth within our music education communities.  Even if it was ONLY us that derived pleasure from this film I would say it was worth it.

I’m firmly with @The Illustrious Jerry and @WampaRat about Spielberg’s WSS. Just came out of the theater and I loved every single second of it. Jerry’s review is spot-on—this was a labor of love for Spielberg and it shows. Every camera movement perfect, every actor luminous, every visible piece of the set an utterly convincing work of art. The New York Phil played like their lives depended on it. And this is the first film I’ve seen in a long time where the violence looks real (like the actors really are being punched in the face or smashed over the head with a chain). It absolutely grieves me that the film isn’t doing well at the box office and I really hope that the industry (or industry watchers/commentators) does not interpret this to mean Spielberg’s passé. He absolutely is not. The film business needs him more than ever, as far as I’m concerned.

Saw the film last night and it’s a definite lock for my favourite of the year.
 
It's strange to think that but a few months ago I could not have been less pressed over the arrival of this adaptation, and was largely skeptical about Spielberg's decision to "waste his time" on it from the start. Sure, the original is almost certainly in my holy trinity of movie musicals, but recognizing that any comparisons would be null was actually the easiest part of the whole ordeal. I don’t consider that film to be untouchable, because what does that even mean and why does it matter? Besides, there have been hundreds of performances of West Side Story, and if Steven Spielberg wants to make a grand foray into the musical genre by leaning on a surefire pick like this, his adaptation is more than welcome and certainly deserves to be realized. I didn’t expect, however, that the now 75-year-old director would end up outdoing himself in every possible way. Then again, I guess I should have known I would end up eating my own words.
 
This is unequivocally a Steven Spielberg production of West Side Story, and while the story and score are always going to be tremendously powerful and resonant, it is nothing short of enlivening and refreshing to see one of the greatest directors of all time take the opportunity to swing for the fences like this, breathing a surge of electric energy and seemingly boundless creativity into a tragic romance I thought I was already more than familiar with.
 
Every review I've read in advance of seeing the film has made it abundantly clear just how much Spielberg wanted to direct this, but my goodness that passion really is just dripping right off the screen. It's not even fair how good everyone is here. Kushner is doing summersaults with the material, and Dudamel's hitting dinger after dinger with the orchestra. The performances squeeze everything out of Newman's adapted score, and the recording is fittingly stunning.
 
This is also Kaminski's best work since Munich. Nobody has a visual language like this anymore. Heck, nobody even blocks a scene or moves the camera like Spielberg does either. This is most obviously a film full of life and energy and movement, but even when the characters aren't dancing, something else is. The script, the camera, the production design- it's all there and working in perfect synthesis. That being said, the choreography itself remains amazing. Only a master could find such thrilling new ways to stage Bernstein and Sondheim’s classic numbers like this. The signature long takes and wide shots only accentuate just how well Spielberg's cinematic toolbox translates to this genre. 
 
I'll further posit that every single casting decision is on-point. I'm well aware that it's going to be a minority opinion but I think Elgort is excellent, and if you're not convinced and still think he's the latest in a long line of woeful Spielbergian miscasts (allegations aside, of course), at least throw a bone for the discovery of Rachel Zegler, who was last seen soaring past Jupiter. I mean, talk about a movie star in the making! Other major stand-outs include Mike Faist in the role of Riff and Ariana DeBose as Anita. I also liked seeing Corey Stoll and Brian D'Arcy James as Schrank and Krupke, respectively. All in all, everyone's on their A-game, whether it be in the background or foreground.
 
I'm well aware the reception of some of the vocal performances on the album was a little lukewarm, but I'll just say it helps immensely to see it all on screen. In fact, watching the film only makes the album more accessible, and I say this as someone who has practically known these songs by heart for years.
 
Anyway, I'm overjoyed and elated and absolutely spoiled to have been able to take in such rich filmmaking as this. I suppose I should probably say something about how people are really missing this in favour of catching Spider-Man 8: Kevin Feige Needs Thirty New Homes or whatever they've called their latest money printer, but what's the point? If this is the last big-budget movie musical we ever get I think I can live with that. Without a doubt, Spielberg and company have knocked it out of the stratosphere.

Musicals, like operas,plays,  are designed to be " remade". It's what keeps them alive.
A better term might be ",reinterpreted"

I just came back from seeing the film. I have to applaud Steven Spielberg and all involved with this adaptation. This was moving; I was in tears at the end. The production, the music, the acting, the choreography, everything. In my opinion, this in a lot of ways is better than the 1961 film. This adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical captures the spirit of the original Broadway book while breathing new life into this story that is, while timeless, as relevant today as it was when it first came out, going back to its Shakespearean roots. This was very well done, and I cannot wait to get this when it comes out on 4K Blu-Ray; I want to see how this was made. I’m going to get the soundtrack too. Steven Spielberg and crew did a fantastic job.  

Conceivably, it places you in the context of one of the communities in this film which is all about communities in conflict, depending on which languages you do or do not understand.

I think it's an interesting creative choice and I think the people online who are trying to make it into some kind of political choice have culture war induced brain-rot

Something Wild (1986)
This Jonathan Demme film was and still is marketed as a sex comedy, but I think it is more Yuppie Noir, if that genre even exists.  It's also quite fantastic.  It seems to say that panache of the 70s, the free spirit of the 60s and the ideal of the 50s all come together to form an America and Americans that are actually, under the go and glow of the 80s, all brokenness and danger, and yet from the jagged pieces some unique and individual romance and domesticity can be formed. 
The film certainly does start in a free, fast paced sexual style that recalls 60s and 70s movies in approach, but Demme snuffs out that candle about half way and lights the slower burning other end, which starts to burn pretty intensely come the third act, getting warmed up for his most celebrated effort in '92.
Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels were never better, both very effectively playing stock character types here who keep shedding layers until they reach the core of who they really are as people and as societal reflections.  Ray Liotta brings menacing psychosis to a breakout antagonist turn.  Score is full of alt needle drops that help contribute to the "other side of the 80s" feeling.  
 
I saw the movie on Amazon Prime, which has the deteriorated and somewhat discolored theatrical cut.  Apparently, Demme oversaw a Criterion restoration and dvd/blu-ray release, which is probably the way to go.  Screencaps show it really brings out the cinematographic choices.  
 
At any rate, a pretty good way to start 2022 moviewise.  
3.5/4
 
edit: the original post midnight post had me say '93 instead of '92 and Jeff Bridges instead of Jeff Daniels.  

It’s a shame that Leonard Slatkin wasn’t able to obtain the music for this and perhaps Seven for Luck to add to his existing excellent series of recordings of JW’s concert works on Naxos. I kinda guess that series has gone as far as it will go at the moment alas. 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

I've never heard this piece For Seiji before! It's an interesting work. It definitely sounds like JW, meaning reminiscent of his film music, in a way his concert works often are not. I'm gonna have to listen to it many times over to get a proper feel for it. Initially it seems a little disjointed.

This has been in my top three concert pieces by Williams since I first heard it.  Accessible, yet fresh and true to Williams's concert voice.  I do not understand Williams or the concert world.  Why is there not a signature edition and why isn't it programmed with any regularity?  

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Tributes! (For Seiji!) (1999)
 
This is a mature occasional piece that is substantial in length, postmodern-accessible in character, and virtuosic in nature, to the point of being described by some as almost a concerto for orchestra.  Written to commemorate Seiji Ozawa's 25th year with the Boston Symphony,  it is one of Williams's most interesting concert work achievements. 
It seems to blend some of his concert sensibilities with his 90s action style and a touch of 70s era grandeur.  The work consists of sections that highlight different segments of the orchestra, in a celebration of the form and how it interacts with its surroundings, all culminating in more false endings than can be numbered!   
Some program notes by Williams for the piece can be read here:
 http://www.jw-collection.de/classical/seiji.htm
Here is a concert recording of the BSO performing it.  I believe a CSO concert recording boot also exists, hopefully it surfaces on YT.
 

Congratulations to @MrJosh for winning the 2021 JWFan composition competition! 
 

 
Thanks to all who voted.

Something Wild (1986)
This Jonathan Demme film was and still is marketed as a sex comedy, but I think it is more Yuppie Noir, if that genre even exists.  It's also quite fantastic.  It seems to say that panache of the 70s, the free spirit of the 60s and the ideal of the 50s all come together to form an America and Americans that are actually, under the go and glow of the 80s, all brokenness and danger, and yet from the jagged pieces some unique and individual romance and domesticity can be formed. 
The film certainly does start in a free, fast paced sexual style that recalls 60s and 70s movies in approach, but Demme snuffs out that candle about half way and lights the slower burning other end, which starts to burn pretty intensely come the third act, getting warmed up for his most celebrated effort in '92.
Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels were never better, both very effectively playing stock character types here who keep shedding layers until they reach the core of who they really are as people and as societal reflections.  Ray Liotta brings menacing psychosis to a breakout antagonist turn.  Score is full of alt needle drops that help contribute to the "other side of the 80s" feeling.  
 
I saw the movie on Amazon Prime, which has the deteriorated and somewhat discolored theatrical cut.  Apparently, Demme oversaw a Criterion restoration and dvd/blu-ray release, which is probably the way to go.  Screencaps show it really brings out the cinematographic choices.  
 
At any rate, a pretty good way to start 2022 moviewise.  
3.5/4
 
edit: the original post midnight post had me say '93 instead of '92 and Jeff Bridges instead of Jeff Daniels.  

Nice work everyone!
Hopefully my time management will be better next year, but grad school is grad school.  

Seven For Luck (1998)
Well, it has been far, far too long.  No promises this time, just getting back where I left off, with this most unique piece in Williams's concert output.  A song cycle for soprano and orchestra with words by American poet Rita Dove, with the subject being seasons in a woman's life.  It was premiered by the BSO, but apparently the only widely listenable version is a reduction for soprano and piano, which is up on YT.
The compositional language is postmodern, marked by angular lyricism, soloist writing that varies between operatic leaps and conversational expression, and a sense of drama, rhythm, motion and mood that seems to state, in a different way, a lot of the musical choices JW was making in his film work at the time.  
It would be a treat to hear it in full form, the BSO and one would hope others evidently have it in their archives.
 

Seven For Luck (1998)
Well, it has been far, far too long.  No promises this time, just getting back where I left off, with this most unique piece in Williams's concert output.  A song cycle for soprano and orchestra with words by American poet Rita Dove, with the subject being seasons in a woman's life.  It was premiered by the BSO, but apparently the only widely listenable version is a reduction for soprano and piano, which is up on YT.
The compositional language is postmodern, marked by angular lyricism, soloist writing that varies between operatic leaps and conversational expression, and a sense of drama, rhythm, motion and mood that seems to state, in a different way, a lot of the musical choices JW was making in his film work at the time.  
It would be a treat to hear it in full form, the BSO and one would hope others evidently have it in their archives.
 

This performance comes to mind