West Side Story (1961)
Is there a more iconic musical?
Presentation:
The definitive musical everyone associates with, and for good reason. West Side Story likely has the most dazzling cinematography in the history of musicals due to its wonderful choreography, color, and style. The wardrobe is lavishly rich especially since there are so many talented dancers on screen at the same time. This runtime is slightly long because there are so many musical numbers. To be honest, too many, which might have been tolerable if they sounded any good. But at least they looked amazing, even among technicolor classics like The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka.
Conclusion:
Although the cinematography for this musical is legendary, I didn’t really like the story. The Shakespearean love interest felt forced to me and I couldn’t connect with any characters. I tried really hard and did love it at first, but my boredom with the genre took over after the novelty wore off. The themes are serious, but the acting and dialogue is cartoonish. People fight through dance and are comically hot blooded, then we’re then expected to take the drama seriously. Ultimately it’s the music that prevents this film from being rated higher. I didn’t like the singing or soundtrack, which should always be the hero of a musical. But not everyone hates musicals, and you should probably watch this anyway for its iconic cinematography.
Recommendations
Is there a more iconic musical?