Since my last years' students enjoyed the film and it led us to an interesting debate in class. We've done the same this course. Thus, after reading Romeo and Juliet and before you all start preparing your version of the play to be performed, we've watched the film and again it's been a pleasure to listen to many of you, even the shiest ones, commenting on the film.
Let me tell you a few things about the film. As you all know, it is based on the play by Shakespeare, but adapted to describe the conflicts between two rival gangs in New York in the 1950's. The film was awarded with ten Oscars in 1961, included "Best film Award" and it was a real turning point in the hsitory of musical films. It was directed by Robert Wise and the music, famous all over the world, was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Jerome Robbins was in charge of the coreography and Ernest Lehman was the scipt writer.
As some of you has pointed in class, this version doesn't exactly follow Shakespeare's drama, that's why we describe it as a version of the play. There are many similarities though. I would like you all to leave your comments on the film. Include your opinion but, please, mention any other details like the differences with the play Romeo and Juliet, the topics on the film, the actors and actresses, the sceneries, and especially, the meaning and sense of the song "I want to live in America".
Marcos said that the film would be better if it didn't have music. I agree with him because I don't like the musicals and this is too dramatic. Moreover, the caracters are most of the time singing, I mean, the story is mainly told in songs and it's difficult to understand a film in English even more difficult if, like in this case, the film is a musical.
ResponderEliminarI remember that someone said that, like in Romeo and Juliet, if Tony dies Maria should die too. I agree with that. In this version of Romeo and Juliet a lot of things have been changed : the scenery, the names, places, social class, etc . That is OK but the story should be the same because it's a VERSION, it isn't a different story.
I would have liked other version more than this one, but I like this one more than the original play.
West Side Story is a version of Romeo and Juliet's play, but it isn't exactly equal. In this version there are some differences, for example, the era, Tony's death or that Maria doesn't die. But the biggest one is that the play isn't a musical, and the film is. This is one of the reasons why I liked the film, but sometimes it was a bit heavy... As I've said, I liked the film, but there is a special moment that I didn't like: when Anita told the Jets that Maria had died. I don't agree with that, because it made me see that she thought on her own, and she didn't mind what Maria had told her and the consequences for Tony and the Jets.
ResponderEliminarAbout the song ''I want to live in America'', I think that Shark's girls wanted to say that America is a really nice place to live in, because there is freedom, more money, jobs... But they didn't understand what Shark's boys wanted to say: it wasn't like they said at all, not for them, the Puerto Ricans. That's why, girls and boys started to provide their opinions about life in America. However, neither boys nor girls, liked American people: the Jets.
I have liked this movie quite a lot. I admit that it is a bit heavy because they are singing constantly and dancing but it is fun to watch them doing it. The song "I want to live in America" was the one that I liked the most even before reading the lyrics because it has a very catchy pace and the refrain is easy to learn. I think the main characters were a bit rough. They were always fighting a group against the other one but nevertheless they were doing it dancing. The landscape seemed to me to be very sad; it was often at night, in dark alleys or in the theatre and it does not make happy the movie.
ResponderEliminarI liked this movie, it was very entertaining and funny. I found it a bit heavy at times. I did not like that they were singing for so long. This movie is a version of the play of Romeo and Juliet and I liked it a lot, because it is another way to approach the play and it is a lot more fun. Some of the songs from this musical have been good, its content was very happy but I didn’t like others a lot.
ResponderEliminar"I want to live in America" was good.
The song defends the wonders of living in America. It is a dialogue between two girls, migrants from Puerto Rico. One of them very much loves the U.S., and others prefer their country of origin. This song offends Puerto Ricans a lot in some lines:
Always the hurricanes blowing
Always on the growing population
And the money you owing
And the natives steaming
María Ortega Moreno
I liked this movie, it was very entertaining and funny. it is a bit heavy because they are always singing but it is fun to watch them. The song I want to live in America was the one that I liked beause this song made me feel very good. This movie is like Romeo and Juliet but the landscape and characters change a lot. I did not like the end, I would like it to be a happy end.
ResponderEliminar