West Side Story

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West Side Story

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Index

Adaptation of the play Romeo and Juliette

Synopsis

The Gang War

Steven Spielberg

Differences between the two movies

The Jets

The Sharks

The Lovers

Favorite song

Valentina's role

Summary of the film "West Side Story"

The Sharks and the Jets are two feuding street gangs in 1950's New York, the Jets being White and the Sharks being Puerto Rican. At a dance, Tony falls in love with a Shark's sister, Maria. They know they can't be together because of the gang's war, but that doesn't stop them. Meanwhile, the two gangs prepare for a rumble, and Tony tries to stop it out of love for Maria. During the battle, his best friend and Jet leader, Riff is killed by Maria's brother, Bernardo. In anger, Tony kills Bernardo. Then, he realises his mistake and begs for forgiveness, which, Maria gives him.They decide they have to leave the city. They plan to meet at Valentina's drugstore and take a bus to the country. Maria asks Anita, Bernardo's fiancé, to tell Tony she will be a little late meet him at Valentina's drugstore, but when Anita is mauled by the Jets, she angrily tells them that Maria is dead, murdered by Chino, which is a lie. Valentina overhears this and reluctantly tells Tony. Tony is devastated and furious, and hunts Chino down so he can be killed too.

 Tony runs into Maria at the playground and is overjoyed. As soon as they embrace, Chino runs in with a gun and shoots Tony. Tony tries to stay alive but is overcome by the bullet and dies. Maria bursts into tears, devastated, and when the police come, both Jets and Sharks help carry Tony away. At the end, Maria is the last to walk out.

Directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is an American productor, director and screen-writer. He is one of the wealthiest and most powerful movie-makers in Hollywood. He is undoubtedly the most famous director in the world for the realization of several blockbuster films such as E.T, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park thanks to his film technique.

After having explored many cinematographic genres, Steven Spielberg is today confronting the music comedy, with the release of West Side Story.

Steven Spielberg's biography

a stunning director :

An early vocation for cinema :

The beginning of success :

Directing a few episodes of series, he is quickly noticed at Universal. In 1971, he shot a TV movie Duel which made him known to the general public. Indeed, this film won the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Festival and was adapted into a long version for the cinema. Subsequently, he released his first feature film Sugarland Express which received the prize for the screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. The year 1975 was a turning point in his career because his feature film "Jaws" was a huge success at the box office.

Then, he turned to a fantastic cinematographic universe as demonstrated by these movies with great succes : Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and E.T.. Then, he gave taste to adventure films with the Indiana Jones saga, entertainment films with Jurassic Park, historical films such as Munich or Lincoln, science-fiction films with "War of the Probes", comedy films such as Catch Me If You Can and today he produces musical dramas such as West Side Story.

Born in Ohio in 1946, his father was a computer engineer. Not very interested in studies, he is more passionate about the cinema. At the age of 12, as a self-taught, he directed his first short film, entitled The Last Gun with the camera of his father. At 18, following his parents' divorce, he followed his father to California where he directed, with his friend Allen Daviau, a photographer, Amblin, a short film that won several awards and allowed him to land a seven-year contract with Universal Television Studios.

Adaptation of the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

West Side Story is a story inspired by Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet, and it has a lot in common, such as the plot and the fact that they are both two tragic love story.

West Side Story

Romeo and Juliet

• An impossible love: Tony and Maria
• War: The Jets gang against The Sharks gang
• Symbolic scenes : The balcony scene and the duel between the two gangs
• The ending: Tony died as he thought Maria was killed by Chino and the gangs reconciled

• An impossible love: Romeo and Juliet
• War: The house of Capulet against The house of Montaigu
• Symbolic scenes: The scene in the lovers' balcony and the duel between Romeo and Count Paris
• The ending: Romeo died because he thought Juliet is dead and the families reconciled

The Gang War

The context of this film is above all the feud between the two gangs :

The Sharks : the Puerto Ricans

The Jets : The americans

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These two rival gangs fight over so many trivial things that the real reason for their conflict is forgotten, which is territory. The Jets, young white men, grew up in New York while the Puerto Ricans, Hispanic immigrants, moved to the streets of New York. As a result, the Jets feel threatened by the Puerto Rican community invading the neighbourhood in which they live and which they do not want to share. Therefore, the 2 gangs rule the West Side of New York but distruct leads to conflict between them. Unfortunately, Tony's association with the Jets, and Maria's association with the Sharks, causes conflict when they first fall for each other.

The Jets

The Jets are an American gang made of young Americans with white skin. They are of Polish, Italian and Irish origin. The leader of this gang is Riff, Tony's best friend. They look younger than the Sharks and seem to have a racial hatred towards these immigrants.

The Sharks

The Sharks are an American gang of Puerto Rican immigrants. The leader of this clan is Bernardo, Maria's older brother. There are many of them living in the West Side of New York: entire families. They are not intimidated by the Jets, who never cease to provoke them about their racial genes and their community.

The Lovers

A star-crossed love

During a ball organized by the two gangs, Tony, former leader of the Jets, falls in love with Maria at first sight. After the ball, Tony meets Maria on her apartment balcony where they declare their love in song to each other. However, a series of tragedies comes to harm their love: a fight is planned between the two clans which will lead to the death of Bernardo and Riff. Later, as they plan to escape, Anita tells Valentina that Chino has killed Maria. Believing to hear the truth, Valentina tells Tony who is shot by Chino the moment he realizes that Maria is alive.

Moral of their love

In the end, Tony and Maria's romance reveals the inability of rival gangs to step back from their loyalties to their communities which is the cause of many of the deaths in the film. Nevertheless, the couple shows that love is not chosen, not premeditated and that the color of either of them does not matter for true love.

Differences between the two movies

Although Steven Spielberg's West Side Story is the talk of the town, the film is actually an adaptation of the famous 1961 movie musical.

• Introduction of new details : the only father figure of Maria is her brother, Bernado, a professional boxer. Maria's last name is mentioned for the first time: Vasquez.
• More realistic chracters : in the 1961 film, the lovers organize a fake wedding, while in the 2021 version Tony and Maria consider marriage but first discuss the revolt created by their love story, they are more believable.
• A changing neighborhood : the Jets and the Sharks fight not only for territory but also for the destruction of their buildings which leads to the construction of nicer buildings and bringing in an upscale community.
• The rumble arrangement : in the original, the two gangs plan the fight in Doc's drugstore while in Spielberg's, they plan it in a bathroom.
• More importance to Chino : Chino, Maria's arranged fiancé, has depth in the 2021 version. Indeed, his character is more developed and occupies a very important place.

West Side Story 1961

Differences between the two movies

• Tony's backgroud fleshed out : the 2021 version provides more information about Tony's past. We now know that he is on parole after spending a year in a pen.
• Song order : in the 1961 version, some of the music was placed before the rumble like I feel Pretty but in the 2021 version, it emphasizes the sense of chronological order of the songs. For example, I feel pretty is sung after the rumble in Gimbles which makes the scene more tragic for what follows.
• Valentina fills Doc role : Valentina replaces Doc but has the same character in the film. Furthermore, she understands better what the lovers are going through.
• Spanish language : in the 1961 film, the Spanish language is not very prominent, unlike in the 2021 film where Maria's family communicates in their native language, but Anita constantly tells Maria to practice English.
• More diverse castings : in the original version, the Sharks all wore makeup to look darker. In the 2021 version, real actors of Hispanic origin were added, especially since a black actor participated in the filming. Spielberg wanted to represent the true diversity of New York.

West Side Story 2021

My favorite song

My favorite song is definitely I feel Pretty composed by Leonard Berstein and written by Steven Sondheim. It's the one I like the most because it conveys the joy and goodness caused by love. Sung by Maria, it shows how love takes us to another world like this movie which makes us travel in a romance. In short, this music brings me in joy and good mood for its dynamic rhythm.

Valentina's role in the movie

I love Valentina's role in the film. Her role is very important in the film: she is a peacemaker who doesn't take sides with any of the gangs that are fighting each other. She is a wise woman, very patient and approachable. She is very committed to compassion and hospitality and is the only person who gave Tony a chance after his parole. She is the only mother figure to Tony, who lives and works in her drugstore. She warns Tony about stereotypes and inclusion issues if he and Maria get together, but helps him win the heart of this Puerto Rican woman because she sees the best in everyone regardless of their background. She is also a very moral person, when she sees the Jets hurting Anita, she scolds them for being malicious and demoralizing.

THANKS!