list of differences between the Spielberg and the 1961 film

[Mis à jour le 09 décembre 2021 à 9h13] Steven spielberg modernizes West Side Story, a musical classic. More than sixty years after the play premiered on Broadway in 1957 and after a first adaptation in 1961, this new take on Tony and Maria’s troubled romance hit theaters on December 8, 2021. If the story logically doesn’t change , the filmmaker brings his own vision by touch, making his message ever more current.

Before Steven Spielberg, Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins adapted West Side Story for film. Their film, which brought together Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, Richard Beymer and George Chakiris, was released in 1961 and won ten Oscars the following year. In theaters this December 8, 2021, the version of Steven Spielberg has differences with its predecessor of the years 1961, the filmmaker to whom we owe ET or Jurassic Park having chosen to make a remake not of the film, but of the musical comedy original. Below is the list of the differences between the 1961 version and the 2021 version (without major spoilers):

• Doc is replaced by Valentina : The major difference that Steven Spielberg’s film makes compared to the 1961 film, and even the musical, is the disappearance of the character of Doc. The character of the manager of the drugstore in which Tony works is replaced by his widow, a certain Valentina. Rita Moreno (Oscar winner for the role of Anita in the 1961 version) plays this Puerto Rican who took Tony under her wing and serves as his guide and protector throughout his adventure. The objective stated here by Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner was to bridge the 1961 version with the 2021 version, in order to implicitly create a bridge between these two eras.
• Tony’s past is made explicit : in the 1961 version, Tony is a young man of good family, friend of Riff but away from the Jets. In Spielberg’s version, the rift between the protagonist and the gang is made explicit: Tony gets out of prison and tries to stay on the right track, despite his friendship with the leader of the Jets.
• Real actors of Latin American origin play the Sharks: When reviewing the West Side Story from 1961, one thing is particularly dated and disturbing: some white actors were cast to play Puerto Ricans, and were made up for the occasion. This is the case of George Chakiris, American actor with Greek origins, who plays Bernardo. In Steven Spielberg’s film, only actors of Latin American origin play the Sharks. Rachel Zegler (Maria) has Colombian and Polish Jewish origins; Ariana DeBose (Anita) is an American actress of Afro-Puerto Rican descent; David Alvarez (Bernardo) is a Cuban Canadian comedian by his parents.
• A reflection on immigration and the more current place of women. Steven Spielberg has taken the original subject of West Side Story to modernize it and put it in the current context. The social purpose of the musical (immigration, poverty, gentrification, social violence…) is much more supported. Added to this is a more in-depth subject than the 1961 film on misogyny and the place of women in society. We will not tell you more so as not to reveal elements of the plot.
• The order of the songs changes. Fans of the 1961 film might be surprised at the order of songs chosen from Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. If the sequences are all present, they are not all linked in the same order. Spielberg kept the original order of the Broadway musical, not the movie. Another Change that fans of the musical will no doubt notice: “Somewhere” is no longer performed by Maria and Tony, but by Rita Moreno (Valentina). In the press kit, screenwriter Tony Kushner justifies this decision: “I liked the idea of ​​hearing Rita Moreno sing it. I felt that it would create a strong link between the era portrayed by the musical and ours to hear this song of hope and aspiration for a better world sung by a woman who has been a witness and an important actor in the tormented world in which we live “.
• Anybodys character: in the 1957 musical and its 1961 adaptation, Anybodys is a tomboy who wants to join the Jets at all costs. In Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, the transidentity of the characters is assumed. In addition, he is played by non-binary actor Iris Menas.
• Maria’s job has changed. Among the small details changed by Steven Spielberg, we note Maria’s job: she no longer works as a seamstress in a wedding dress store, but as a cleaning lady in a luxury department store.

Should we see West Side Story? The critics

“Enchanting”, “political”, “thrilling”, “upsetting” … Praise is raining down on Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. The American filmmaker has chosen to revisit this musical classic, which won an Oscar in 1962. And according to the first published reviews, this risky bet is a success. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the feature garnered 95% positive ratings. “In this film, we find all the cinema of Spielberg, his obsession for dented youth and a total mastery in the staging …”, emphasizes RTL. More political in its remarks (on gentrification, poverty, withdrawal into oneself which leads to hatred of others and racism, but also on misogyny and violence against women), this new West Side Story offers a A modern rereading which speaks as much of our time as of the 1950s: “Eminently political, West Side Story does just that: to tell the world and hope to give a more beautiful version – through singing, through cinema, through the prism of ‘eye numb with love “, greet Cinemateaser. For LCI, there is no doubt: it is the “film event” of the end of the year 2021.

However, some media did not hide their disappointment with the West Side Story remake with Spielberg sauce. The disappointed do not understand the reason which prompted the director to propose a second remake of this classic of the musical comedy. Le Monde deplores a “dark and frozen adaptation of Robert Wise’s masterpiece” (note, however, that this is an adaptation of the musical, not the film made in 1961 by Wise), while Le Figaro believes that it “is the same” (as the first film), “less well”. As for the Parisian, we regret that this new West Side Story “never reaches the flamboyance of the first version”.

Linternaute.com’s review of Spielberg’s West Side Story

Steven Spielberg offers a real rereading darker, more modern and much more political than the musical of 1957 and the film of 1961. Generous in his show, the staging perfectly matches the text of Arthur Laurents, the words of Stephen Sondheim and the music of Leonard Bernstein. Spielberg above all succeeds in the feat of standing out from the version of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins and offering HIS version of this immense classic. Better: it brings it up to date. West Side Story is as much about the racial hatred of the 1950s as it is about the social violence of the 2010-2020s. Actresses Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose are overwhelming in the more assertive roles of Maria and Anita, while we are moved by the tragic fate of the Jets and the Sharks. Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story stands out as a serious contender for the Oscar for best film in 2022. Sixty-years later, will he achieve the same triumph as the film by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, which left with ten? statuettes on eleven nominations? We can only wish it.

Do you need to know West Side Story before seeing Steven Spielberg’s version?

West Side Story is a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, with a variation on the ending. The story is a timeless classic (we thus find the famous balcony scene for example), to which is added a reflection on immigration, social violence and racism. No need to know the musical, whether it’s the Broadway play or the 1961 feature film, before discovering the remake of it by Steven Spielberg.

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Synopsis- West Side Story is the adaptation of the cult musical in which two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, clash in New York from 1957. Each part of one of two opposing groups, Tony and Maria experience a impossible love story.

See Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Trailer

Which actors in the cast of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story?

With his West Side Story, Steven Spielberg is not content to modernize this musical classic to introduce it to a new audience: he highlights new talents, often unknown to the public. As Tony, moviegoers will recognize actor Ansel Elgort, previously revealed in Fault in Our Stars or Baby Driver. He gives the answer to Rachel Zegler, who finds in Maria her first role in the cinema. She will soon be Snow White in a new live action adaptation of the Disney animated film.

At the casting of West Side Story, the public will also discover Ariana DeBose in the role of Anita. Coming from the world of musicals, she had a role in The Prom on Netflix. David Alvarez plays for his part Bernardo, the brother of Maria and leader of the Sharks: he had obtained a Tony Award for his role of protagonist in the play Billy Elliott. His opponent, Riff, is played by Mike Faist, best known for playing Connor in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. It has also been seen in the films Panic and Wildling. Rare enough to be noted, Rita Moreno appears in this new version of West Side Story as Valentina, almost 60 years after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Anita in the from 1961. Below, the main cast of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story:

• Ansel Elgort: Tony
• Rachel Zeiger: Maria
• Ariana DeBose: Anita
• Mike Faist: Riff
• David Alvarez: Bernardo
• Ezra Menas: Anybodys
• Josh Andres Rivera: Chino
• Brian d’Arcy James: Krupke
• Corey Stoll: Lieutenant Schrank
• Rita Moreno: Valentina

West Side Story streaming?

The Spielberg version of West Side Story will not be immediately visible in streaming: the feature film will be released in France only at the cinema on December 8, 2021. It will be necessary to wait a few months before discovering it for purchase or rental in VOD, and even more on a subscription streaming platform, since the media chronology imposes a period of approximately three years between its release in the cinema and its availability on a platform. However, it is possible, in the meantime, to discover the 1961 version in streaming. While waiting to discover the vision of Steven Spielberg, here is the list of platforms that offer the West Side Story by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise below :

At what age can we see Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story?

Because of its focus on racism, immigration, and a tragic love affair, West Side Story is not a child-friendly story. The remake of Steven Spielberg is therefore not recommended for children under 13 in the United States.