I don't know what any of the rest of you are thinking, but she was AWFUL!!! And Richard Beymer wasn't much better. And George Chakiris was too slight, pretty, and effeminate to be convincing. After Jimmy Dean died -- aside from Brando, Clift, McQueen and Beatty -- all that was left were lightweights.
shareI disagree. I think Natalie Wood and George Chakiris were excellent. Richard Beymer also did a great job, but keep in mind that Robert Wise limited what he could do in his role.
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I JUST IGNORE WILL COMMENT BUT I AGREE WIT U
STRONG .
have it again on 2nite showtime cinemax i luv her
as my grandma and mom..
so cute.adore her
RIP beautiful NATALIE WOOD
died way too young,too tragic.but left us with a GREAT FILM for a lifetime
Why are you so illiterate?
'Then' and 'than' are different words - stop confusing them.
This is a Broadway musical translated to the big screen. It needed a movie big "name" in the role of Maria, hence Natalie Wood, the hottest young actress in the 1960s who could pull off the innocent look. Everyone else in the film is either a professional dancer, from the stage cast, or relatively unknowns who would make their name through the film, e.g., Rita Moreno (remember her from the King and I with Yul Brenner and Debora Kerr), and Russ Tamblyn, e.g., "Tom Thumb". Natalie Wood was bankable and despite her inability to sing, she was believable in the role of the Juliet characterization.
-- Ew lover, you gonna make me clutch my pearls --
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To the OP: you may not have liked Natalie in this film, but her acting (not singing) was fine for the role.
The ensemble cast ALL contributed to this film winning 10 Oscars. Call it what you will, but it was the finest movie of the year. And it was up against some tough films in all categories.
http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000003/1962
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:-) Great to hear from you.
I just watched it 2x in a row. I too, had the 2am "feeding" last night. dvr'd it, and watched again. sick, aren't we!?
Wishing you a very happy new year -- with all the love, laughter, and good health you deserve, and with all the friends and family to share them with.
Ms. Wood, one of my favorite actresses, was miscast for this film. The producers also wanted Audrey Hepburn for the role; even worse. They had to darken Natalie's skin and made her speak in an annoying speech pattern. Poor casting ruined the film for me despite the great songs and choreography.
shareWhile her voice may not have been as polished as Marni Nixon's, Natalie Wood did have a decent singing voice. Using Wood's own voice instead of Nixon's would have added realism to the film.
shareby willbrax (Mon Jul 9 2012 15:57:30)
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I don't know what any of the rest of you are thinking, but she was AWFUL!!! And Richard Beymer wasn't much better. And George Chakiris was too slight, pretty, and effeminate to be convincing. After Jimmy Dean died -- aside from Brando, Clift, McQueen and Beatty -- all that was left were lightweights.
I still think Natalie Wood did a good job in this film. I mean Rita Moreno ran circles around everyone but Wood was still good.
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WSSlover, I heard that Natalie resented Richard because of the whole Rebel Without a Cause audition. Wasn't Richard made to audition by his agent for Sal Mineo's role? And didn't Natalie, James Dean, and the director make fun of him because he was so much taller than Dean?
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This:
WSSlover, I heard that Natalie resented Richard because of the whole Rebel Without a Cause audition. Wasn't Richard made to audition by his agent for Sal Mineo's role? And didn't Natalie, James Dean, and the director make fun of him because he was so much taller than Dean?
Are you really claiming that Jimmy Dean *wasn't* slight, pretty and effeminate? Really?? He was a brilliant actor, but come on ...
Anyway. I thought Natalie Wood was a great choice for the role. True, she didn't look Puerto Rican, she was noticeably less physically assured than most of the others in the cast, and her accent sounded like an actor's voice exercise rather than a real person speaking, but she handled the role well, she was sweet and appealing but still with an underlying strength, her emotions were convincing and she probably bridged the gap adequately for the predominantly-white audience between them and the Puerto Rican characters.
George Chakiris ... all I can say is that his dancing and singing were spot on, I thought his accent was mostly good, and I had no trouble believing they would have accepted him as a leader of the gang. What he lacked in physical menace he made up for in commanding presence and auhtoritative bearing. To be honest, I thought the most lacking thing about his performance was his makeup.
And Richard Beymer ... yes, he was wet. But to be fair, so has every Tony I've ever seen been wet and (honestly) more than a little annoying ... as was Romeo before him, in fact. I've never warmed to the character of Tony in any production, so I figure that's just the way it is with him. Maybe that's what draws Maria to him, as a contrast to all the dripping, steaming machismo that surrounds her every day.
You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.
Maybe that's what draws Maria to him, as a contrast to all the dripping, steaming machismo that surrounds her every day.
You are spot on.
natalie was perfect for this -- the right amount of demure, shy, naive. And she didn't have to be a dancer, so her one dance sequence was easily choreographed for the young girl she portrayed (the rooftop meeting). So what if her singing was dubbed? In those days, Marnie Nixon had a great job... filling in for so many of Hollywood's actresses whose roles required it but they didn't have the skill (Deborah Kerr, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe.)
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agreed.
evidently, one of Marnie's great skills was being able to mirror the voice she was dubbing. Listening closely, it totally sounds like Wood. Ditto, her dubbing of Kerr in "King and I" and for An Affair to Remember. And she nailed Hepburn.
?who is imdb-vits, anyway? what a silly review. did you click on the link? ridiculous!
Marni Nixon did not dub Marilyn Monroe. This is one of the claims she has made in her old age, but it's bogus. Marilyn did her own singing, always.
I'm amazed at the length of this thread! Why do so any people respond to the posts of trolls?
I think YOU are entitled to YOUR opinion, but I also think YOU are totally nuts!
Natalie WAS out of her element (musicals were NOT her forte), but she WAS a big star and this movie didn't HAVE any other big names. They NEEDED her name above the title in order to put fannies into seats.
NOTICE TO MITT ROMNEY: A BAD DAY FREELOADING, IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK.
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"I thought she (Natalie Wood) carried the part of Maria off quite well."
So did I, but NOT as well as Carol Lawrence did on Broadway. Natalie just had a bigger name, is all.
NOTICE TO MITT ROMNEY: A BAD DAY FREELOADING, IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK.
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"I never saw the original Broadway stage production of "West Side Story" that had Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert in it..."
Well, THAT makes two of us! I was TOO young! I missed Carol Lawrence in "West Side Story," Julie Andrews in "Camelot" and "My Fair Lady" and Mary Martin in "South Pacific." Whatever happened to American musical theatre?
NOTICE TO MITT ROMNEY: A BAD DAY FREELOADING, IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK.
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the whole movie stinks
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