![]() ![]() Critics complain that the audience doesn’t make the right choices, then attempt to shred them when they actually do. It drew attention away from the critics of color who had something to say about this movie, and it made me wonder why I was still doing this job. My final word on this soapbox: For several critics to be on Twitter acting as if Spielberg was being disrespected by the minuscule box office was embarrassing at best, infuriating at worst. Pandemic Movies Have Reached Their Awkward, In-Between Phase Recapping 2021’s Most Memorable Movie Moments, in Sonnet Form Podcast Episode Station Eleven Features a Pandemic, but Thankfully Not Our Pandemic.Brody tweeted of Spielberg, “He has found his true audience: critics who want Old Hollywood to live again, zombie-like, and he’s doing his best to make it do so.” He also answered the burning question of who the audience is for this movie. Richard and I rarely agree on anything, but he articulated everything I felt about this remake. Thank heavens for Richard Brody, who cut through all the nonsense with his fantastic review. At least the Gershwins had the wherewithal to ensure their work wasn’t going to be cast with a bunch of white people in blackface. Sure, it has some great songs, but so does Porgy and Bess, the even more racist opera that also keeps getting restaged. When Spielberg announced he was remaking the 1961 Oscar-winning musical, my first and consistent reaction was “WHO IS THIS FOR?” It’s a dusty, outdated, racist musical that hit the Great White Way when my mother was in grammar school. ![]() Unlike West Side Story, Bonnie and Clyde still feels fresh and new, 54 years after its release. Crowther, you may recall, was considered “out of touch” after his numerous pans of Bonnie and Clyde. Or so I thought! Spielberg’s Folly brought out a whole slew of our colleagues on Twitter rending their garments, crying white tears, and doing their best Bosley Crowther impressions while trying to make this particular fetch happen. Send me updates about Slate special offers.īut really, we’re critics, and we’re not supposed to care about box office. I think West Side Story would have fared better with this release model, but Lord help us if the creator of Amazing Stories and the director of Duel had his work premiere on TV! I don’t think the colorism issue (a legitimate argument, I may add) hurt the film’s box office I do think its simultaneous appearance on HBO Max gave people an alternate, cheaper avenue to see it. Is it just me, or was Miranda everywhere this year? There was the superb Encanto, the very bad Vivo, his directorial debut Tick, Tick… Boom!-and hell, he even turned up as an interview subject in Summer of Soul! But the most fun I had with him was his cameo on the streets of Washington Heights. I saw the musical on Broadway, so I was familiar with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre- Hamilton triumph. We had a good crowd, despite it being the early days of vaxxing and chillaxing. What say you about your experiences on the nonfiction side of the fence?īilge and I had In the Heights on our Top 10 lists, a movie that marked my first post-March 2020 IMAX screening. ![]() I reviewed quite a few of them, and outside of the absolutely dismal Mayor Pete and the Spago ad that was Wolfgang, my assignments fell on the positive side of the scale for me. Alison, you mentioned that you did not think this was a good year for docs. While on a walk in the Bronx, her old neighborhood, the actress recalled telling her "West Side Story" co-star George Chakiris that she expected people wouldn't go to see the movie.I have three documentaries in my Top 10 list-you can see all my picks at the bottom of this entry-so I’d like to ask Alison to expand on something she said during our preliminary discussions. Both won an Oscar for their roles in West Side Story. Rita Moreno and George Chakiris at the 1962 Academy Awards. The actress was profiled on Sunday's broadcast. "I didn't even think the movie was going do that well," Moreno told 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker. It was an honor that she did not expect to win, and her acceptance speech lasted less than 10 seconds. Moreno's performance as Anita in the 1961 musical earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress. The venerable actress returned to the silver screen last December in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of "West Side Story," the same story that made her famous more than 60 years ago. The soundtrack is faultless, the score is stunning, and Spielbergs nuanced direction allows the 150 minutes to pass in a few breaths. ![]() Why Rita Moreno thought the original "West Side Story" film wouldn't do well at the box office 01:32Īt 90-years-old, Rita Moreno is showing no signs of slowing down. This film is mostly faithful to the original musical, and oh boy, it delivers on the music. ![]()
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