Filmspotting - #851: West Side Story / Red Rocket

#851: West Side Story / Red Rocket

12/03/21 • 82 min

1 Listener

When it was announced that Steven Spielberg was mounting a new film adaptation of the classic Broadway musical WEST SIDE STORY, it was entirely reasonable to ask, "Why?" Why a new film adaptation and why Spielberg. The 1961 "West Side," directed by Robert Wise, was a Best Picture-winner and is regarded as one of the great movie musicals of all time. Also? Spielberg has never directed a musical. And yet, as revered as that 1961 adaptation is, it is not without its faults, notably the casting of white actors as Latinx characters and a pair of romantic leads (Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer) who don't sing and are arguably the weakest members of an otherwise ace cast. Adam and Josh make the case that with his thrilling new adaptation, Spielberg more than answers the why, without necessarily fixing all of the earlier film's weaknesses. Plus, a review of Sean Baker's latest, RED ROCKET, which has Simon Rex's former adult film star making an ignominious return to his Texas hometown.

0:00 - Billboard

1:06 - Review: "West Side Story"

"Cool" ("West Side Story," Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

41:44 - Next Week / Notes

47:22 - Polls

57:02 - Review: "Red Rocket"

1:14:36 - Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

0:00 - Billboard

1:06 - Review: "West Side Story"

"Cool" ("West Side Story," Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

41:44 - Next Week / Notes

47:22 - Polls

57:02 - Review: "Red Rocket"

1:14:36 - Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

#850: House of Gucci / tick, tick... BOOM! / Spencer / Golden Brick Noms

'Tis the season for awards-bait movies based on real lives, so for this week's holiday review roundup, Adam and Josh discuss Ridley Scott's true-crime drama HOUSE OF GUCCI (aka House of Accents), the Lin-Manuel Miranda biographical musical drama TICK, TICK...BOOM!, Kristen Stewart's turn as Lady Di in Pablo Larrain's biopic-as-horror-film SPENCER, and the new bio-doc KURT VONNEGUT: STUCK IN TIME. Plus, the final list of nominees for the 2021 Golden Brick Award, including recommendations for THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS, TEST PATTERN, SHIVA BABY, and NINE DAYS.

0:00 - Billboard

1:03 - Review Roundup

Original Broadway Cast, "Rent"

31:36 - Next Week / Notes

44:25 - Massacre Theater

51:39 - Golden Brick Nominees

1:12:29 - Outro / Outtake

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

#852: The Power of the Dog / Campion Oeuvre-view Awards

Jane Campion’s filmography is one of the greatest collections of woman-led features in the history of the medium, which makes her latest - THE POWER OF THE DOG - such a startling exception. Set in 1925 against a forbidding Montana landscape, Campion’s film takes place in an utterly masculine domain, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s snarling rancher as the film’s primary focus. But armed with the just-completed Campion Oeuvre-view, Adam and Josh see what is undoubtedly a Campion movie, with its attention finely tuned to gender power dynamics and competing displays of masculinity. They also agree that Campion’s latest is a masterpiece. The Campion love continues in the second half of the show with “We Are The Campions,” the end of Oeuvre-view awards for favorite performances and scenes—and Adam and Josh’s ranked lists of the director’s eight features.

0:00 - Billboard

1:04 - Review: "The Power of the Dog"

Michael Nyman, "The Sacrifice"

36:04 - Next Week / Notes

49:41 - Massacre Theatre

55:58 - Jane Campion Oeuvre-view: Awards

1:29:58 - Outro

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices