I like the remake slightly more than the original, in large part due to Ariana DeBose. She was incredible

When you know that Rita Moreno was in the original West Side Story (where she was the only actual Puerto Rican actress), her singing "Somewhere" becomes so much more emotional (by the way, that's her singing live on set - with a cold!). There weren't a lot of people in the theater but they were all crying during that song.

“You gonna arrest them for singing?” A little bit of context for that scene: They are singing an older revolution version of the Puerto Rican anthem(La Borinqueña), and you could actually get arrested for singing that on the street in the 1950’s, which this takes place in.

The original film version of this movie is iconic and really elevated movie musicals, no doubt. I watched it so many times when I was a kid and through college. Still, the original had its issues, and I’m glad this remake was done. There were some phenomenal things about this movie all on its own. Mike Faist’s performance as Riff was the first where I felt I understood him as a character. Tony Kushner’s updated book put a lot of things into context and was beautiful and sharp. Spielberg’s genius understanding of visual story telling added a great deal, even though many of the shots were homages of the first movie. The way he took the opening crane shot from the first movie and put it over a demolition scene full of destroyed and shattered balconies as a form of foreshadowing was amaze balls. I also liked that they flipped “Cool” and “I Feel Pretty” more inline with the original Broadway production. Having her sing that after the rumble adds so much more impact when she finds out what happens.

Westside Story is phenomenal and should've won Best Picture at the Oscars! Steven Spielberg was on fire with this film! And it's so much better written than the original.

I'm glad you liked Riff! The actor had his big breakout when he played Connor Murphy in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen! The actress that played Anita also had her breakout on Broadway! She played "the Bullet" in the original cast of Hamilton :) You were correct about Maria's actress; this was her first movie role, and she was even the same age as Maria when she was cast! She's so young and talented Last bit of cast trivia, the woman who played Valentina (the shop owner,) played Anita in the 1961 movie! The shopkeeper is usually portrayed by a man, but they switched the role to a woman so Rita Moreno could be in the movie :) In the musical, Tony just works at Doc's drug store, and he's the one that helps the Jets out. In this one, Rita plays Doc's widowed wife. I like this writing change because it gives Tony a kind of mother figure, which is nice. It really hammers home just how much he's drifted from the rough street life of the Jets

The height of the pandemic caused a lot of 2021 movies to underperform at the box office. Heck, even Encanto suffered that year. Thank goodness we have Streaming Services where these films can have a second chance at success.

Mike Faist really brings out this rawbonned, desperate energy that sings as Riff! This movie is great, and he's one of the best parts of it (and Ariana DeBose)! His dancing is 😘👌 Also, YES the camera work at the dance is INCREDIBLE!!! The Dear Officer Krupke is also great, the chorography is so fun!

Not all musicals are equal. You just chose the best musical in history to start your musical journey with. There are only a few musicals that I love. This one just happened to be at the top of the list! ✨❤️✨

Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture but won for Best Supporting Actress Adriana DeBose, and she was first openly queer actress to win!

The colour coordination is one of my favourite aspects of this film!

So, the characters of WST and their R&J counterparts: Tony - Romeo Maria - Juliet (Those two are obvious) Riff - Combination of Romeo's friend Mercutio, who gets killed by Tybalt, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio, who's a fellow Montague Bernardo - Tybalt, Juliet's brother who kills Mercutio and is killed by Romeo Anita - A mixture of Juliet's nurse who helps her hide her romance with Romeo, and Romeo's friend Balthasar who informs Romeo of Juliet's "death" Chino - Paris, the man Juliet is set to marry and who is ultimately killed by Romeo Valentina - Friar Laurence, Romeo's confidante who hides him and helps him after he kills Tybalt Officer Krupke - Prince Escalus, who makes the laws and keeps the peace, and who banishes Romeo The gun salesman - The apothecary who sells the poison

Tybalt (Bernardo) killed Mercutio (Riff) and Romeo (Tony) killed Tybalt. Chino is Paris. And Anita I guess could be the Nurse/confidant. Such a good film and great reaction. I love all the cinematography.

You're correct. Tybalt kills Mercutio after Romeo tries to prevent the fight and, in a fit of rage, Romeo kills Tybalt-even though they're now related by marriage.

I love that the main actress and the guy that plays Chino, the safe option compared to the main love interest, are actually together in real life. Also, Anitta carries heavily in both renditions

14:45 RIP Stephen Sondheim. 😢

Yes! I am so happy you liked Riff! He gets such a bad rep, because watchers tend to take hím outside of his timeframe and situation. Yes, He is a racist but when taking his Backstory into consideration his character is so tragic. Mike Faist killed this Performance, He is so nuanced and almost always on the brink of tears. You can See the pain and the child in his eyes. I love the scene when they are playing with the guns because it makes you realise, These are just kids and he captured that so so well. They grew into adults on abandonement, not experiences. They were never given the right Tools to strive.

Saw this film 7 times in theaters, usually it was empty but this film was phenomenal to see on the big screen! Last year I went to a screening where Rita Moreno was a guest speaker and she was so damn charming and funny! It was worth it just to hear her call Will Smith "Pendejo" 🤣🤣🤣

I know October is over but a musical you should react to, if you’re okay with dark comedies, blood, and death then Sweeney Todd might be something you want to check out! It stars Johnny Depp and yes he does his own singing.

5:56 the song they sing is la borinqueña written in 1867 it was a song written for the puerto rican independence movement. In the 1950s the us was cracking down on the independence movement so singing this song was taboo. In fact singing it in puerto rico would get you arrested

I loved this one, but the original is magical.

The actress who played Valentina plays Anita in the original West Side Story

31:06 Some say her living is to give the story just a touch of hope (even if it's a bitter kind - still has a touch of "a gloomy peace this morrow with it brings" (think that's the line, not quite sure) - some say that the four creators of the show were advised against actually killing Maria because "she's dead already'. Either way, there's some triumph in her sorrow, and though she may never be the young girl she once was she will go on somehow.

Oh I wish you had watched the original first! Rita Moreno dancing to America is one of the finest things you will ever see! ❤

Thank you! It was great to see a reaction to this amazing revision of the classic play. It was the victim of a lot of unwarrented criticism, and the poor box-office showing says more about the nations atropied tastes than about the film itself. Just FYI, the scene where Maria gets dressed after waking up was indeed choreographed and fans of the play will recognise the music as part of the original score from the play. It was used in a ballet sequence that took place near the end of the play just before "Somewhere", which was originally sung by Tony and Maria. That scene and its music was left out of the 1963 film and Spielberg cleverly repurposed it for this version. (EDIT: I had asked you to check out Spielbergs A.I. but just remembered that you already did... and I watched your recation. D'oh! Getting old haha)

Rita Moreno, who plays Valentina in this version, was amazing as Anita in the original 1961 film. And Yes you should watch the original film!

I love that you're exploring more musicals, there are so many good ones out there. I think you'd really like The Newsies. The movie is ok (Cristian Bale leads), but I prefer the recording of the stage version, currently on Disney + (which I also saw live - amazing). Jeremy Jordan plays the lead - he's a very talented Broadway performer with an amazing voice.

If you are open to a very different kind of musical, every young artist should see Tick Tick Boom. The issues of being an up and coming artist facing growing older and rejection have not changed. It's amazing and the visuals are inventive.

"chicago" is one movie musical you should definitely check out! and there's a professional recording of "into the woods" (1989) if you're interested in a stage musical, it's one of the best.

In the original Romeo and Juliet, Romeo kills Tybalt who is Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt in West Side Story is Bernardo aka Maria’s brother (he also is a bit like lord Capilet is Anita is a mix of Lady Capulet and The Nurse, also Tybalt kills Mercutio not Percutio (Percutio is in Taming Of The Shrew)

Having seen this, in addition to watching the original *West Side Story* (1961), you might want to check out *The Outsiders* (1983), which has some interesting affinities with *WWS.*

I’ve seen the original, but not this version. I am curious to see what you think of it. Mr. Spielberg is 75. I’ve seen nearly all of his work. Definitely see the original. It’s wonderful.

The original west side story is a classic and better imo but maybe just because it's what I was raised with.

Love it thanks!

Subscribed Damn, your recap and analysis of the film at the end was stunning in itself. I was transfixed about what you said about the film. Technically, acting, directing, screenplay are all stellar. I saw the movie in the theater at Christmas time with my family when it was released and there wasn’t a dry eye in the theater at the powerful ending.

Oooh, now that we’re doing musicals, can you maybe do some of the Starkid musicals that James and NTB did?

I Just loved your review! ❤ Brazil here 🇧🇷

In Europe this musical is performed in Opera Houses.

I've always been a fan of the original but I truly loved this version. A stunning piece of work. It suffered unfortunately due to a poor release date. December 2021 was the height of the omicron virus and people again stopped going to films after beginning to go again. I wish Spielberg would have waited like they did with Top Gun Maverick.

YES!!! You must watch the original! It won 10 Academy Awards. Spielberg’s version was nominated for 10 but only won one because of when he released it. I love Ansel Elgort but everyone considers him the weak link. I’m so glad you commented on that shot of the shadows when the two gangs meet. It SO represents the look of knives coming at each other and the brokenness of both groups. That is a beautiful, powerful Spielberg moment. Spielberg expanded on the life of the character, Chino. We learned a lot about him that is not in the original. Applause to Spielberg for using an actual transgender person to play Anybody’s and an openly gay blatino woman to play Anita!!! (Which could never be done back then.) The song “I Feel Pretty” is shot in a very different location. He wanted to have a high end store, which would be Gimbal’s in the early 1960’s, to REALLY bring home the differences of the stations in life of all white people that shop there during the day and the Latino’s that come in after closing to clean it. To make such a bold visual statement that the all-white Mannequins are dressed better than the Puerto Rican women. (Has anything really changed in that aspect today!? There have been strides in that area but not near enough.) Amazing a man of Jewish Faith is brave enough to clearly slap people upside the heads of people that still believe that way!!! With today’s society, in the year 2021-22, it was easier for Spielberg to show things more boldly and use real words that could only be shown by interpretive dance then. The white Jets painting over a mural of the Puerto Rican Flag… and showing the Jets starting to rape Anita. Even the of the word “rape” could not be used back then. I am so PROUD of Rita Moreno, the original film’s Anita, was able to use that word. Such a meaningful statement on so many different levels!! In real life, the original film was filmed where the Lincoln Center is now. Spielberg wanted to show the destruction of the West Side Tenements. Hence, the wrecking balls and the rubble of an actual time going by. There honestly so much more to discuss. Things will make more sense after you have seen the original. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING SUCH AN IMPORTANT FILM! GREAT REACTIONS!

If your favorite part was the visuals, you might want to skip the original which is much more like a stage play. However, I think the original had more energy in the music and dancing and that makes it my preferred version.

I really liked your reaction! I wasn't sure if you knew that the scene with Anita entering the shop surrounded by the Jets is more accurate to the book (where the Jets almost r*pe Anita) than the original West Side Story movie. Also, the actress, Rita Moreno, who plays Valentina, plays Anita in the original West Side Story! Hopefully one day you'll get to react to the broadway 25th anniversary version of Phantom of the Opera (I personally don't like the 2004 film).

Wow! We're getting treated to a musical! Great choice! Next time I suggest watching, "The King and I." I really think you'll enjoy it. Thanks for the reactions, Thor! They're much appreciated. Happy viewing! Have a relaxing and fun weekend ahead... - Francine 🙂

Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson sang "I feel pretty" in Anger Management lol

Yes yes yes! Please do the original west side story, it’s epic with stunning shots and iconic performances! Also I think if you haven’t seen Tick Tick …Boom with Andrew Garfield you would love that too - great musical

Pleaseee watch tick tick boom

no way this should after i just watched it yesterday and i cried a lot 😀

This was spectacular, but wish you would have watched the original first….because that’s Beautiful .

Your reaction was great, so thanks for that. I am loving your reactions more and more, so finally subscribed. As far as musicals go, I'm tossing my cocked hat in for reacting to _Hamilton_ - an incredibly different and exquisite musical. Ariana DeBose is in the show/movie _Hamilton_ (as the Bullet) which was before she won the Oscar (as Anita) for _West Side Story_ ... a beautiful performer and amazing performances, both.

Yes more musicals please

Another famous musical based on Shakespeare is *Kiss Me, Kate* (1953). Two more classics that I think you might enjoy are *Guys and Dolls* (1955) and *The Music Man* (1962 -- be sure to get the original version starring Robert Preston).

I've always thought "Newsies" was underrated. The music is pretty good and cast a young Christian Bale as the lead :)

I would love to see you watch the original! It’s just iconic.

The score is great. The lyrics were by the amazing Stephen Sondheim “A Boy Like That “ is so powerful. Sondheim went on to write lyrics for Gypsy . Later on he did the full score Sweeney Todd .

Where can I find the video of you doing a read along of the hunger games?

My favourite musical is Chicago. great movie!

Thor, thank you for this reaction. This musical is very dear to my heart. Me and my late love performed the stage musical 8 years ago; she was Shark Girl Ensemble ,and I was Officer Krupke. I really would love to see you react to the original with Rita Rivera (Valentina) as Anita. If you want more musical films, I’d recommend The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997), and Hairspray (2007). 🧑🏼👩🏻✈️🦈🔪🔫💘💔

"I like Chino!" Let's see how long that lasts. 😀

I'm super late but finally got to watch this reaction ❤️ i LOVE west side story and it was really cool hearing your opinions about it! btw, i know that disney channel movies aren't really the kind of stuff you react to, but i think you would like Teen Beach Movie. it's a remake of west side story (in the movie, its 'wet side story' since it happens in a beach lol). of course it's made for children but it's a very funny and nice movie (and it's also my favorite hahaha)

Watch La La Land!

You should watch the 1961 version. The choreography and the direction was so much better.

Watch the original 1962 film. Both versions hold up against each other and stand alone. Spielberg's film really addresses the racial divide better.

You might want to watch the comedy movie Rosaline, which is about the girl that Romeo dated before he met Juliet. It's really funny.

makes me wonder, have you watched baz luhrmanns romeo and juliet? i really enjoy the take on the story and so many now really famous actors are really young in it >< (dicaprio, leguizamo and even paul rudd!)

Someday I'll be in a mindset to talk about which bits of the 1961 movie were better and which bits of the 2021 movie were better, but util then I'm just going to enjoy the rush, the joy and the tears that both movies bring. Along with my memories of the 2009 revival that I saw my first trip to New York. I mean either way, Rita Moreno (Valentina in 2021, Anita in 1961) delivers just as strong now as she did 60 years ago. Apparently they held off the demolition and construction work for turning the west side into the Lincoln centre for the 1960s movie. Makes it more interesting that they're making that part of the 2021 movie. The original 50s show and 60s movie broke down a lot of barriers for its time (weren't that shows back then that were set in the slums or dealt with issues like rape, and even though people had died in Broadway shows before they'd never died onstage (ie they were injured onstage, carried off, then someone came back onstage and said they'd died) and even though racism had been addressed in Broadway musicals before (Showboat, South Pacific) it had never been on this level). West Side Story paved the way for a lot of other cutting edge shows to be released, ie Cabaret (the rise of nazism against the backdrop of a cabaret club), Chicago (murder trial presented as a vaudeville show), probably most of the shows Stephen Sondheim later created (he wanted to be a composer as well a a lyricist but he stepped back and allowed himself to learn more from Leonard Bernstein and got his first big break writing the lyrics to this show). And because of all those doors/barriers/walls the original show and movie broke down, newer productions (this movie and the bilingual 2009 production directed by 91 year old Arthur Laurents who wrote the libretto for the original 50s show) that had the Sharks speaking most of their lines in Spanish (they brought in Lin-Manuel Miranda fresh off his 'In The Heights' fame (before his Hamilton fame) to work with Sondheim in translating the lyrics, he introduced the show at the 2009 Tony performances)) can break down even more barriers.

I haven't seen this version, but in the original movie it's implied that Maria might kill herself with the same gun that killed Tony after his body is laid to rest, or she might choose to be the living reminder of why the two sides should never fight again. I lean towards the suicide simply because it's based on Romeo and Juliet and even in this version of the tale the main characters are young enough to get swept away in their feelings(18 vs 14 in the play).

Interestingly enough Rachel Zegler who played Maria is dating the guy who played Chino, they're super cute!

A musical you simply must see if you haven't is Rent. Truly life and mind altering. Cheers!!!

If you want to dive into musicals, I really, really recommend Hamilton. The actress who plays Maria, Rachel Zegler, is going to be starring in the upcoming Hunger Games and Snow White movies. The actor who plays Anybodys is mtf trans in real life but plays ftm in this, and goes by they/them and lower case initials. They are iris menas. The store owner is Rita Moreno, who starred in the original movie, and won an Oscar for it. The actress who plays Anita in this won the Oscar, too. The actor who plays Bernardo starred in the Broadway production of Billy Elliott, and won a Tony Award for it.

22:55 Romeo's best friend Mercutio (the 2013 movie completely missed the point of his character by making him a Montague, the point about him (apart from the million sex jokes he has in his head) is that he's part of neither family but still got killed because of the feud) and Juliet's short-tempered cousin Tybalt.

Personally, I'm surprised that I love this movie, because I don't like the original at all. Not sure if it's because I saw it too early, or because every time it's brought up, my grandpa goes on and on about how he was 'in love' with Natalie Wood when he first saw it, and it gets annoying real fast.

I grew up with the original and I have always loved it, but Spielberg's film gives it a good run for the money and I love both films pretty much equally, though for different reasons. I feel like the main weakness in both films is the casting of Tony... Both Richard Beymer and Ansel Elgort lack a certain fire and I can't believe either one of them would ever lead a street gang. I do appreciate the ethnically appropriate casting and the actors singing in their own voices in the 2021 version, though Natalie Wood did a hell of a job in Maria's final scene. I feel that the opening and closing scenes are both better in the original version.

I would love it if you would do more musicals, if you're open to it. I'd recommend Tick Tick Boom or Hairspray over Greatest Showman or Moulin Rouge just because pop song musicals tend to just "not hit the same" but I'm sure a lot of people disagree.

Something special; not just another classic!

React to Isle of Dogs

The original is SO MUCH better.

Plssss react to Hamilton if you haven’t watched it already

I liked this remake for the most part. I didn't like Ansel Elgort's acting though. It left a lot to be desired. Also the sexual assault allegations against him didn't help as well. I prefer Tony in the original movie. The movie bombed because of the sexual assault allegations. Not because of Steven Spielberg. The movie is actually really good. But they should have recasted Ansel Elgort.

No one's richer than God.

Awww..hoped it was the good one...

Almost always.. watch the original of a movie if possible..

The leads are so much better here than in the original film, but I still prefer the original. Both movies are based on the 1957 classic stage musical, and while there are some dated elements to the 1961 film version -- it comes closer to capturing the essence of the stage classic. The play was created, in part, to illustrate telling a story through movement and music... the play's script is famous for being one of the shortest (in terms of dialogue... not in running time) of the era (this was before the the 1980s and the advent of "Pop/Rock operas" like LES MISERABLES). We are given very little backstory in the play (and first movie), deliberately... so choreographer/director Jerome Robbins (he co-directed the 1961 movie) could flesh out the characters through dance, and composer Leonard Bernstein could do the same through music (even the lyrics by the late Stephen Sondheim took something of a back seat). Spielberg's remake gives some interesting and believable backstories to Tony, Bernardo and Valentina (on stage and in 1961, Doc -- who here is meant to be Valentina's late husband). But by allowing the screenplay to do so much heavy lifting, the choreography is shortchanged (in the original play and movie, both the Prologue and The Rumble are completely "danced" and tell very specific stories ... here they're used closer to background scoring). However, the music and lyrics in this version actually adhere closer to the play than the 1961 film (partly because of censorship issues) -- and I've never heard the score performed more beautifully than in this remake. Ultimately though... I'd go with the remake for its soundtrack, but the original movie for getting what WEST SIDE STORY was all about.

Gotta watch the original movie more of a stage play…and a superior film in my book

I have both versions of the movie Westside story and the first movie done in 61 is really good but 2021 is awesome ansel elgort makes tony better

I liked this version tbh But in my opinion the original movie has just that much more passion and the actors manage to portray emotions more explosive? Especially in the end scene you could really feel Maria’s anguish and anger.

I always thought that small detail at 8:11 of Anita and Maria turning in fear when Bernardo returns home was kind of grim because it signaled that he was likely abusive.

As good as this one is, the original is a perfect movie. Which is one reason I think this one didn't do as well. You should definitely react to it or at least watch it

I’m watching this and I couldn’t even make it through the movie myself. I usually love musicals, but I thought this one was boring.

The original is so much better!!

Yikes! You actually watched this on purpose?

Yes yes yes! Please do the original west side story, it’s epic with stunning shots and iconic performances! Also I think if you haven’t seen Tick Tick …Boom with Andrew Garfield you would love that too - great musical