West Side Story (2021)

West Side Story (marketed as West Side Story: The Movie in other territories) is a 2021 American dancing musical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg with screenplay by Tony Kushner. This film is the second to be based on the stage musical of the same name by Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein, after the 1961 film directed by Robert Wise. It stars Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana Debose, Mike Faist, with Rita Moreno and David Alvarez. 
The film started development in 2014 by 20th Century Fox, and Kushner was writing the screenplay by 2017. In January 2018, Spielberg was hired, and casting began by September 2018. Filming began in July 2019 and wrapped up two months later. Shooting occurred in New York and New Jersey.
West Side Story was released on December 10, 2021 to positive reviews. 
==Summary==
Teenagers Tony and Maria, despite having affiliations with rival street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, fall in love in 1950s New York City.
== Plot ==
In 1957, the Jets are a gang of white youths that fight the Puerto Rican Sharks for control of San Juan Hill on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Officer Krupke and Lieutenant Schrank break up the brief skirmish, telling the gangs that their conflict is pointless since the neighborhood will be imminently demolished to make way for Lincoln Center. The gangs are too proud to care, and Jet leader Riff proposes a "rumble" (fight) between the two gangs. He approaches his friend Tony, who is on parole, for help. Tony refuses, wishing to turn over a new leaf with the help of Valentina, the Puerto Rican owner of Doc's general store. Meanwhile, Maria, Shark leader Bernardo's sister, is betrothed to his friend Chino but yearns for independence. At a local dance, Tony and Maria meet and fall in love. This angers Bernardo, who agrees to Riff's terms for a rumble if Tony attends. Tony voices his love for Maria and the couple meets on Maria's fire escape, promising to see each other the next day.
Bernardo and his girlfriend Anita argue about life in New York compared to Puerto Rico, with Anita believing in the American Dream in spite of the pessimistic Bernardo. The police interrogate the Jets about the rumble, but they deny any knowledge. Tony takes Maria on a date to the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. He reveals he was imprisoned for a year after he nearly beat a rival gang member to death, which scared him into reforming. Maria makes Tony promise to stop the rumble, and they pledge their love to one another. Tony tries to convince Riff to call off the rumble by stealing his newly-bought gun, but the Jets steal it back. Schrank orders Krupke and the police to stop the rumble. Despite their and Tony's efforts, the rumble continues and Bernardo fatally stabs Riff. Tony, in a fit of rage, stabs Bernardo and kills him. The gangs flee when the police arrive, while Chino finds Riff's gun.
Maria gushes about her love for Tony at work, but Chino arrives and reveals Tony killed Bernardo. Maria is distraught, but meeting Tony later she refuses to let him turn himself in as it would mean losing him as well, and they plot to run away together. Valentina learns of Bernardo's death and reflects on her interracial relationship with the late Doc. Meanwhile, Chino plots to kill Tony against the Sharks' protests. After identifying Bernardo's body at the morgue, Anita returns home to see Maria with Tony as he leaves the apartment. Anita argues with Maria but accepts that she and Tony are in love. While Schrank interrogates Maria about Tony's whereabouts, she sends Anita to warn him about Chino. However, Anita encounters the Jets, who shout racial slurs and attempt to gang rape her, but Valentina intervenes. Traumatized, Anita spitefully claims Chino killed Maria and vows to return to Puerto Rico, giving up all hope on her American dream. Valentina condemns the Jets, who disperse in shame.
Valentina informs Tony of Anita's claims, and he runs into the streets begging for Chino to kill him. Maria arrives to his relief, but Chino emerges and shoots Tony; he dies in Maria's arms. Devastated, Maria takes the gun and aims it at the gathered Jets and Sharks, berating them for the senseless deaths their conflict caused, before tearfully dropping the gun. As the police arrive to arrest Chino, the gangs assemble together to carry Tony's body into Doc's with Maria following, the feud finally over.
==Cast==
*Rachel Zegler as Maria
*Ansel Elgort as Tony
*Ariana DeBose as Anita 
*David Alvarez as Bernando
*Rita Moreno as Valentina
*Mike Faist as Riff
*Josh Andrés Rivera as Chino
*Corey Stoll as Police Lieutenant Schrank
*Brian d'Arcy James as Police Sergeant Krupke
*Ana Isabelle as Rosalia
*Curtiss Cook as Abe
*Kevin Csolak as Diesel
*Ezra Menas as Anybodys
*Ben Cook as Mouthpiece
*Sean Harrison Jones as Action
*Patrick Higgins as Baby John
*Paloma Garcia-Lee as Graziella
*Maddie Ziegler as Velma
*Julius Anthony Rubio as Quique
*Ricardo Zayas as Chago
*Sebastian Serra as Braulio
*Carlos Sánchez Falú as Pipo
Two of the Jets from the 1961 film, Harvey Evans, who portrayed Mouthpiece, and Bert Michaels, who played Snowboy, appear as extras.
==Production==
=== Development ===
In March 2014, Steven Spielberg first expressed interest in directing an adaptation of West Side Story. This prompted 20th Century Fox to acquire the rights to the project. Tony Kushner, who previously worked with Spielberg on 2005's Munich and 2012's Lincoln, revealed in a July 2017 interview that he was writing the screenplay for the film, stating he would be leaving the musical numbers intact, and that the story would be more similar to the original musical than to the 1961 film. In a 2020 interview, Spielberg told Vanity Fair: "West Side Story was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I... fell completely in love with it as a kid."
=== Pre-production ===
In January 2018, it was announced that Spielberg would likely direct the film following completion of filming for a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. This was followed a few days later with an open casting call issued for the characters Maria, Tony, Anita and Bernardo. Additional open casting calls were hosted in New York City in April, and in Orlando, Florida in May. In July, the fifth Indiana Jones film was pushed back, allowing Spielberg to begin pre-production on West Side Story.
Justin Peck was hired to choreograph the film in September 2018, with Ansel Elgort cast in the film as Tony. In November, Eiza González emerged as a contender for the role of Anita. Rita Moreno, who played Anita in the 1961 film, plays Valentina, a reworked version of the character Doc, and also serves as an executive producer for the film. In January 2019, newcomer Rachel Zegler was cast in the lead role of Maria, with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, and Josh Andrés Rivera also cast as Anita, Bernardo, and Chino, respectively. In March 2019, Corey Stoll and Brian d'Arcy James joined the cast. A month later, the rest of the ensemble comprising the Jets and Sharks factions was announced.
=== Filming ===
Filming took place in Harlem and other Manhattan locations and in Flatlands, Brooklyn in New York City in July 2019. There were ten days of shooting in Paterson, New Jersey, where an outdoor set was built, in August 2019. Filming also took place in Newark and other parts of Essex County, New Jersey. It wrapped on September 27, 2019.
=== Music ===
Composer David Newman arranged and adapted Bernstein's original score for the film. Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted the orchestra during the film's recording sessions, with Jeanine Tesori serving as vocal coach.
== Differences from the Original ==
* According to Spielberg, he wanted to make the film closer to original stage production but he did keep the '61 version of America in the film.
* In the '61 film Tony left the Jets because he was growing up, while here he left because he was arrested for shooting a boy and is on parole and didn't want to get in trouble again.
* Doc is replaced by Valentina who was married to the original Doc
* "Someday" was sung by Valentina and it was supposed to reflect how everyone is not in a good place now.
* In the '61 version Maria and Bernardo's parents came with them to America, but they are only heard or mentioned, in this film their parents are not with them but they now have a last name and Bernardo is now a boxer (Boxing is a big sport in Puerto Rico).
== Release ==
West Side Story was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on December 18, 2020 by 20th Century Studios. In September 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parent company Disney delayed the release date to December 10, 2021, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the release of the original 1961 film. The film had an exclusive 45-day theatrical run.
=== Marketing ===
On April 25, 2021, during the 93rd Academy Awards telecast, DeBose introduced the film's teaser trailer, and Moreno later presented the Academy Award for Best Picture, commemorating the 1961 film's release and awards wins.
=== Home Media ===
This film released on digital will be March 2, 2022. Available on BluRay, DVD, and 4K Ultra Hd on March 25, 2022 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 
Category:Films
Category:English-language films
Category:Films directed by Steven Spielberg
Category:2021 films
Category:2021 American films
Category:Drama films
Category:Musical drama films
Category:Musical films
Category:Dance films
Category:2020s films
Category:2020s American films
Category:2020s drama films
Category:2020s American drama films
Category:2021 in film
Category:20th Century Studios films
Category:Amblin Entertainment films
Category:Amblin Partners films
Category:Steven Spielberg films
Category:Rated PG
Category:2:35:1 Aspect Ratio Films
Category:Amblin Entertainment
Category:Rated PG-13