Just watched your Quintet Supercut about four times. Excellent. I still have to say I much prefer the 1961 original. It was genius. The heads moving to point out the other gang "well they began it, well they began it" stands out as well as Riff singing to Ice "We'll be backing you boy". Ice also stood out in the original but in the Spielberg version I felt like he was just one of the Jets, not second in charge. Ansel, however, was a pleasant surprise. Loved his singing and acting.

@@troyannbladsacker1811 I thought the new movie added a lot of unnecessary backstory, I liked the Spanish though, and the new Maria was angelic. I really liked the Shark girl’s horizontal striped dress and thought it stood out in the 1961 version of America. I also miss the hairspray and purples of the Shark’s 1961 looks.

I am x

Great job Max, Kudos!

I love that Music

Spielbergs version uses more Spanish and Spanglish, which is more realistic to how Puerto Rican immigrants would communicate with each other. Also, Spielberg cast REAL Puerto Rican actors vs 1961 version with white actors in bronze face paint (dispicable)!!!

@@cesnav7593 Kinda wished they went with the dancing from 1961 with the actors from 2021. The dancing and singing in the 2021 one just felt so lifeless to me.

Er...there was only one Chita Rivera, & the part of Anita was largely written for her, in particular ‘A Boy Like That’ I had the pleasure of working at Her Majesty’s Theatre, quite soon after the cast arrived from New York; every performance, many students paying to stand at the back of the stalls... I found the movie disappointing; the stage sets were minimalist, even surreal; the movie couldn’t make up its mind whether to go for realism, or - as in ‘America’- something like a filmed play. Actually, the number that was better in the movie was ‘Cool’, which was absolutely marvellous (you didn’t have the proscenium arch, so everything was condensed down) - was it the model for Scorsese’s video with MJ? Now, we have a new version which doesn’t attempt to be a remake....I loved the differences in scale, the brutalist scenery that conveys the hopelessness of the ‘turf wars’ - fighting for what? gaining what? Spielberg was right in the way that he handled the action taking place on the streets...& the wide open spaces in ‘America’, the way the cameras were given room to follow the dance, well, that is wonderful! Very well acted by all the cast, & Ms de Bose, just brilliant dance & acting...yes, I’ll definitely watch the movie again! But, there was only one Chita Rivera.....❤️

@@cesnav7593 Not all Puertorricans or Latin are "bronze". Begin to vanish your own preconceptions before bashing others' ;)

It's kind of like what they did with the two big full cast numbers in "In The Heights," the title song and "96,000." In the play they had limited stage space to work with, but in the movie they made them bigger, more cinematic numbers with tons of dancers and stuff because, well, they could. The grander scale allowed it. They kinda did the same thing when they adapted "Newsies" for Broadway. The movie has big musical numbers like "Carrying The Banner," "Seize The Day," and "King of New York," that are practically made for Broadway, and they took those numbers and added acrobatics and all sort of craziness to the choreography cause you can do stuff like that in stage shows and it's not considered over the top. I also like how they made use of the fire escape backdrop in various different ways that made the stage seem larger (Hamilton does a similar thing with its backdrop). Though to be fair I have not seen that show live (just the filmed version that is on Disney+).

George is more dancer-like, David does a Gene Kelly athletic movement.

All the dancers! This video makes it possible for me to watch some of the supporting players and appreciate their work.

Won Oscar

Chakiris was amply rewarded for his work. :)

I think Chakiris was more balletic, he was taller and longer legs. David Alvarez was excellent, but Chakiris was outstanding.

How funny. I can remember drama club meetings in high school where we sometimes sang bits of different show tunes, including this one and including that line.

That was actress Yvonne Wilder in the 1961 film.

Wait can you put a time stamp I didn’t hear that part 😂

@@sincerely_sana5 Right at 00:46

always noticed it

Not impossible! The original cannot be out done. You cannot duplicate the interaction between the women and men on the top roof. The look, the feel, the dance, the choreography, the synergy, cannot be duplicated from the original. You can only try your best to copy it. Let Spielberg movie be what it is but it is not the original. Dancing out in the streets is not comparable.

AHAH. But the 1961 film ISN'T original. It's an adaptation of a pre-existing work, which the 2021 film is also an adaptation of. It ain't fair to make the comparison, true, the two films are trying to do different things. But it's also not fair to talk up the original as if it's the definitive version. Particularly when its own creators kept making changes to the original original over the years.

@@kilimenjiro3753 ok take out original. 1961 movie cannot be duplicated to be better. 1961 movie, actors, dance, music, characters, are the apex. Steven did a wonderful job to make a film for the Gen Z and Millennials.

@@kcorpora1 OK, not saying one is better than the other, but if you are talking about the singing, some of the actors didn't do their own singing in the 1961 movie, but were dubbed. In the 2021 movie everyone did their own singing. Also, the new choreography pays a good "hommage" to the 1961's, but is also a lot more complex. With that being said both choreos are beautiful and serve the story well, but the level of difficulty/complexity is quite higher in the more recent one objectively speaking.

@@celinel.844 well written by you but I will now be brief. It does not matter if 1961 did not do their own singing. No one did not know until it was told. No way the dancing is better than 1961. The characters are not better than 1961. Again do you think the producer could find puerto Ricans who could sing, act, and dance, no. This new one is good for today but not better than 1961. That is not Bernardo or Anita or Tony or Marie or Riff, or Ice, or Action, or etc. They cannot recreate "Cool" or "High school dance" or "America on top of roof" or the grand finally of them all "All singing together for the fight."

And yet, much of it was filmed in New Jersey!

So what!!!!!!.

I think just the opposite! The 1961 version was filmed in NYC in a Puerto Rican neighborhood that was torn down after the filming of Westside Story. Spielberg's version seems very phony as if it were filmed in Hollywood.

First of all . Spielberg work is always genuine. He is a perfectionist. You r entitled to your opinion. As everyone is . I liked both the 1961 Version, and the 2021 version. Both were great in their own way .

Thank you for saying so. Besides, this musical is a stage play performed thousands of times on thousands of stages in thousands of ways. Would be boring to copy the original outright. Both have their merit, in their time.

Exactly! It’s better to do its own thing than trying to copy the original, which is what the new West Side Story does.

@@paza65 I agree. Here's a funny (and true) story... About 20 years ago, I had the gig of musical-directing a high school version of WSS in the Philly suburbs. Our cast was mostly girls, except for the 2 or 3 male leads. (In other words, all the gang members were girls dressed as boys.) Doesn't that sound like it would be lame? Well, let me tell you, these girls totally kicked butt! They just completely re-invented the show, and it was absolutely great. Every production of a broadway show is totally different, and (as you said) should be judged (or just enjoyed) "on its own merits." Thanks for loving my favorite piece of American Musical Theatre!.

The essence of the Robbins choreography remains - and it's timeless - but the original gives more chance to focus on the especially brilliant work for the men. Panoramic or close focus - personally I prefer the latter, but there are gorgeous colours in the remake.

That is 100% the truth...times change and so do the things we know

I partially agree but I think Ariana outshines Rita in "A Boy Like That". Not just singing, but from the slap and onward

Rita Morenos' Anita scene at the soda fountain it came front deep inside.

Yeah. The part where she breaks down leaning over the bed she and Bernardo used to sleep in added much more emotion to the scene as Rachel sang "I Have a Love."

@@DDarkestKnight But Rita did not sing “A Boy Like That”. They used another singer.

Ariana did a better job.

And what song can encompass a whole immigration experience in one tuneful editorial ... AMERICA!

Please don’t forget Jerome Robbins. The choreography in the original is astoundingly great

I'm glad somebody remembered to credit Leonard Bernstein. It's his rapid-fire intercutting 3x2 vs 2x3 rhythms that drive the entire number, forcing the dancers to pull out the max in physical energy to fly along with the music.

Yes. Steven, Leonard, and Jerome.---They made it happen with a great great spectacular & talented Cast.(!)

Yes I agree. Sondheim descended pretty fast in my opinion. Sweeny Todd was unbearably screechy!

I agree. Hard act to follow

Rita is a force of nature.. She tamed Animal the drummer..

Started my day very nicely!

I loved the little details that were included from each version showing off their unique charm 💙

I agree, so write your own damn musical. I’m so tired of people rehashing Disney musicals especially the TV people it makes me want to scream.

Yours is the first comment to include mention of Bernstein. Sondheim's words are awesome, but it's Bernstein's music where the energy is.

+Robbins

Then I guess I am dead. I felt happy watching original, I feel nothing with new version.

@@winter_s_44 WOW, really? I hadn't seen any of them before, but the rhythm alone in either one is so exhilarating that I was speechless for some time....

The one thing I fault the Spielberg version for is to also cut the Ballet Dream sequence in Act 2. I mean it's a movie. You can do a dream sequence much more convincing than on stage. And instead both films cut that sequence. Spielberg's to be able to give Rita Moreno "Somewhere", Wise's because he moved "Cool" into Act 2.

@@Quotenwagnerianer I so regret this "unkindest cut of all!"

@@Quotenwagnerianer The interesting thing is that in the new movie after the Tonight sequence, we see Maria the next morning in her room. She says nothing but the music being played is a portion of the Ballet music. She then leaves her room and joins Anita and Bernardo. I've played in the orchestra for performances of WWS and immediately recognized it.

Sondheim was indeed a fan of the original film which truly launched his career!

@@Quotenwagnerianer the original was closer to the stage version

Bernardo smiles at Anita multiple times in the remake too. You can see it at 2:32, 2:44, 3:34 (this one's a bit cut off because of the switching back and forth; if you watch the full 2021 version you can see he's smiling quite widely), 4:43, etc. At the same time (in both versions), I think he needs to look serious sometimes or it doesn't look like he actually means the points he's making about how terrible life in America can be for immigrants. After all, if he's singing about how it's awful but he looks like he's having the time of his life throughout 100% of the song, why would we take anything he says seriously? It's already a very delicate balance because it's such a playful, lighthearted song and dance, and yet Bernardo's lines bring up some very serious things and I think we *are* meant to take that seriously. So you have to strike this balance where it looks like he means what he's saying and his points have weight, but at the same time he can't help being charmed by Anita and it's a playful argument not an angry one. (For the record, I think both versions do a great job of this!)

Yes but I think the remake was meant to be more tense in order intensify the conflict of the plot.

@@Luanna801 The original cannot be out done. You cannot duplicate the interaction on the top roof. The look, the feel, the dance, the choreography, the synergy, cannot be duplicated from the original. You can only try your best to copy it. Let Spielberg movie be what it is but it is not the original. Dancing out in the streets is not comparable to the original. The chemistry between Bernardo and Anita in the original is unmatched. They look like they belong together. That is because they do. You can take anyone to duplicate all of Bruce Lee's moves, but it is still not Bruce Lee!

Both are excellent. It’s a reimagined version with actual Latinos in key roles and a more accurate portrayals.

@@lasbagman1 real Latinos does not change the performance. there were no Latino stars to create the original, to perform the original, etc. no one on earth even knew that they were not latino. so being latino does not make this version anywhere near the original.

But the '61 film isn't an original work, it is an adaption of the musical that came out in 1957. So no the '61 film is in no way shape or form nor will ever be the source material for any adaption of West Side Story that came after '61 just because you people are too stupid to realize it is a film version of a stage musical.

Exceptionally well said but still love the 1961 version best.💖

​@@Esotericintense

The visuals were edited in Adobe Premiere while the audio was all mixed in Final Cut Pro X.

@@MaxHechtman Amazing job, keep up the good work!

@@MaxHechtman Could you have done the whole thing in Adobe Premiere ? Adobe Premiere. Good cutting

@@MaxHechtman How do you (and others) get a hold of various movies to use in your videos!??

You were witness to something that had never been seen before and has never happened since. The stage version of WSS defies description. I have been envious of many people in my life, but you have just risen to the top of the list! I'm so pleased that the memory of that experience holds such a place in your heart. You are one exceptionally lucky man, Mr Reilly.

@@iwasglad122 The second Broadway production in the 1980's was not that great. I am sure that the original one was really fantastic!

Lol I think you're the first person I've ever seen appreciate the angel of the north xD

When you say that the original is on the level of the Mona Lisa, you agree that the original is only hyped for nostalgic reasons and isn't as good as everyone wants to believe? Don't get me wrong: The original version (and the Mona Lisa) are fantastic pieces of art but I am pretty sure most people only say that it is better than the remake because it is older.

The original Version was the best, a joy to watch

From the wiki: The alternating bars of 6/8 (six eighth-notes in two groups of three) with 3/4 (three quarter-notes) (similar to a guajira) is a distinctive characteristic of the song. This rhythm has been called both a hemiola and a habanera but is not really either. The two bar-types alternate and are not superposed, as in a hemiola. The alternation is comparable with the “Habanera” from “Carmen”, but “America” lacks the distinctive characteristic underlying rhythm of the habanera form. Stephen Sondheim claims that Bernstein returned from a holiday in Puerto Rico and told him he had come across a wonderful dance rhythm called Huapango which gave him the idea for the song. Many years later, a friend of Sondheim's found, in a box of Bernstein's papers, an unproduced ballet called Conch Town which contained the tune. Sondheim concludes that Bernstein had invented the story of finding the rhythm on holiday simply so he could reuse an old tune. The composer's tempo instruction is “Tempo di Huapango”.

Every time I would watch this movie and then when it was over I would grab my West Side Story record album, run down stairs in my basement with my jazz shoes put on the songs 🎵 that I loved dancing to and I would be dancing away!

It is actually Unforgettable.

No one.

This! Me and my dad would find any excuse to watch the original west side story. It’s a classic for a reason. No need for big names or cinema-tics. But apparently I’m stuck in my ways and don’t appreciate development. I’m 31 and a musical obsessive. But I appreciate musicals as the best they can be

@@sophieirwin3497 right you can’t just throw big names in our face and expect us to love it just because.. when the first WSS is just a better production with less fluff .. all facts no cap

Yes totally agree. The 1961 version is unequalled.

I have never seen either movie, but I agree there seemed to be more soul in the original version. I think it is due to the glamourised 'mold' that is put over every movie these days. Everything is a little too perfect, and a little too 'sexed up'. The original focused more on a flirty and ironic/funny vibe between the actors, whereas the modern one focused more on a girl being sexy, and a guy chasing her around.

Nice try, Spielberg... But not necessary.

Thank you I Agree 💯

You got it!

Same !

The difference is called Jerome Robbins.

Agreed 💯❤️

Peter Gennaro deserves credit for the choreography of the '61 number. Robbins has stated this and the choreography is significantly different (and better IMO) than the original choreography in the stage version.

It's the casting of 61.

Nah, not really. I like the dancing in the new movie more, and seeing the city makes you understand that both sides have a point.

Thanks! Had a lot of fun editing it.

Agreed .. great comparison and very helpful as well. Sorry but I personally much prefer the original 1961 version of the dancing and the singing. But then again 1961 was so exceptional that it even Spielberg cannot top it.

But the 1961 version was filmed in an actual Puerto Rican neighborhood which was torn down afterwards to make room for the Lincoln Center. The Spielberg version was probably just a set.

Yes the original can't be beat!

Exactly, the song can be the same, but everything else feels so different from the choreography, the performances, even that color palette: purple and blues for the 60’s version v/s warm and yellow for the 20’s

Even though you know the answer. 😉

TOTALLY agree with you on that!

Steven Spielberg directed the movie with his choreographer Justin Peck and his assistants. There are BTS clips about it and the Dance At The Gym proves the genius of the direction of the dance sequences

Robert Wise directed the movie and Robbins was let go because he was taking so much time.

Spielberg is no Jerome Robbins.

Dance on rooftop was the thing that the teenagers in the 60's does,Dance on the street is unreal lol

As a Bollywood fan, I absolutely ADORED the new version! The sorta unrealistic aspect of it has long been familiar to me, and I enjoyed suspending my disbelief!

1961 version is better of course! Great choreography...and Rita!

Huh?

You should still check out the 2021 version. Spielberg did wonders with other scenes like the prologue (wait til you see that opening crane/drone shot), the dance at the gym, the spectacular and god-like lighting during "One Hand, One Heart" and a much grittier and more realistically violent rumble.

De acuerdo. La version original mueve mas lento, y por eso se puede ver la coreografia. Los expresiones y movimientos de Rita Moreno son geniales.

Ben detto! Sono assolutamente d'accordo con te.