MovieChat Forums > West Side Story (2021) Discussion > Bay vs. Spielberg as director?

Bay vs. Spielberg as director?

posted 5 years ago by CheekyMonkey (584)
17 replies | jump to latest

Michael Bay is a huge West Side Story fan and is an incredibly capable visual director... I wonder if he would have been a better choice to remake West Side Story instead of Spielberg...

He has a lengthy, and interesting, interview with the NYTimes about how West Side Story inspired him and it's visual style anc concepts... https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/18/movies/watching-movies-with-michael-bay-a-connoisseur-of-illusions.html

If you don't have NYTimes, or prefer watching a video, Every Frame A Painting has a great summary of Bay's visual capabilities... Worth watching in it's entirety, but the West Side Story part is from 4:10 onwards...
https://vimeo.com/99798626
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THVvshvq0Q

Would you guys have rather had Bay direct this remake?

[–] StrongRex (1319) 5 years ago

For me it's not the fact that it's Steven Spielberg directing the remake of West Side Story. It's the fact that West Side Story is even being remade at all. I was, and still am, a firm believer that West Side Story is one of those movies that should be left alone when it comes to remakes. It doesn't matter to me who's directing it.

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

Hi again, StrongRex! I agree wholeheartedly with you that it's not Steven Spielberg per se who's remaking/rebooting the film West Side Story, but the fact that this great, golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie-musical is even being re-made---period! Ever heard the expression "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? That applies here-perfectly! It doesn't matter who's directing it, or writing the script for it, or who's in it...period!

[–] StrongRex (1319) 5 years ago

Ditto on that expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Oh, but Richard Beymer was a horrible Tony!" No he wasn't.

"Oh, but most of the Puerto Ricans were played by white people!" And your point is?...

"Natalie Wood looked much too white!" No she didn't.

"Most of the actors had their singing dubbed!" So what?

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

Thank you very much again, StrongRex! I agree with all your sentiments on your above post! Bravo.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] CheekyMonkey (584) 5 years ago

I don't think it's going to be a good remake... The most we can hope for is that it will be well directed and shot... But the artistic and thematic elements will probably change significantly to appeal to today's sensibilities in Hollywood...

It's partly why I thought Bay would be an interesting choice... He clearly has the technical chops and is a visual master... would leave the thematic elements alone and would focus on the aesthetic...

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

I've never heard of Bay. No matter who's remaking and directing the reboot/remake of the film West Side Story, I do not have the least interest in going out to see the remake of it. I'm not optimistic that the upcoming reboot/remake of the film West Side Story will be any good, either. The original 1961 film version of West Side Story is a timeless masterpiece that should never, ever be remade. It's also one of the few classic films that is not frayed around the edges at all, either.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 5 years ago

Michael Bay is best known for directing the Transformers movies.

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

Oh, okay. Thanks for the heads up, StrongRex. I never saw any of the Transformers movies, so I have nothing to compare them with. Interesting info.

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

Dalton, if you call "Singin in the Rain" an untouchable classic, that's your prerogative. I feel strongly likewise about the original 1961 film version of West Side Story. I think the original 1961 film version of West Side Story is more than a borderline classic film that won ten well-deserved Academy Awards, including Best Picture, when it came out into the movie theatres in late October of 1961. I have zero confidence that Spielberg's remake/reboot of the original 1961 film version of West Side Story will be any good. I've seen photos of it, and I've seen photos of the cast members, and I'm not the least bit impressed or convinced that this will be worth seeing. To be truthful, I'm not going to run out and see the reboot/remake of the film West Side Story when it comes out. I've always been dead set against remakes of great, golden oldie but keeper classic films, especially something like West Side Story, and I stand by my position.

[–] exithereplease (3553) 5 years ago

This has to be a troll post.

Spielberg.

[–] CheekyMonkey (584) 5 years ago

Why do you think it's trolling?

Because Bay makes action movies? He's a very visual director and could handle such a big production... Did you read the NY Times article? He clearly has thought deeply about West Side Story...

[–] StrongRex (1319) 5 years ago

Sharing an opinion different from yours =/= Trolling.

[–] modica (4169) 5 years ago

Bay isn't suited for West Side Story. Really no one is. This should not be remade. It isn't going to be better than the original.

[–] mplo (2372) 5 years ago

Based on what I've seen regarding Spielberg's upcoming reboot/remake of the film version of "West Side Story", and given the fact that I'm an ultra-conservative when it comes to reboots/remakes of great older classic films, generally, especially such an iconic, special classic movie-musical as the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, I strongly agree with you on this, modica. The people who said that there would never ever be a film like the original 1961 film version of West Side Story again were 100% right on their money.

[–] kungfulord (957) 4 years ago

Bay is great at directing tv comercials and music videos but somehow i feel he is not capable to use that talent in long story telling like in movies his visual and narrative style work very well in short pieces so i agreed he is very talented.

But i wouldn't considered him a talented movie director he lack the sensibility nessesary to understand drama Pearl Harbor is a good example of that, all those action sequences are cool and bad ass and totally miss the point of his own story, that was a tragedy people died that day the director should be capable to convey the weight of the tragedy, instead Bay make the dead of soldiers and civilians an spectacle, i like he represent the jappanese side respectfuly in both sides are patriots sacrificing their live for their nations but beyond that the movie is an emotionally empty mess

Just compared the attack to pearl harbor the colorful explosions and bad ass angles showing all the action and making the action the main protagonist of the scene with the gritty and sometimes confusing scene of normandy beach in private Ryan or other movies like Hacksaw ridge or even Fury

I dont see him making a good version of this

[–] mplo (2372) 4 years ago

I just saw the West Side Story teaser trail of Spielberg's upcoming reboot/remake of the film version. It seems that spielberg's film rendition of West Side Story is very overdone! It feels all wrong for the musical score, which, in this teaser, is rather brassy, course, and too punchy, and very overdone, if one gets the drift. West Side Story is a musical, so it's also supposed to have some lightness to it, and Spielberg's version seems way too dark, violent and intense. I think that the jets, the sharks and their girls look far more like a bunch of wealthy suburban prep school kids who are dressed to the nines for partying all over town, rather than two street gangs who're at war with each other.