Hit Me With Your Best Shot: WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 5:00PM 
A beautiful shot, full of carnality and color!
Re-watching Spielberg's interpretation of the classic musical made me realize that, beyond the mournful tonalities of Rita Moreno's Valentina, the new West Side Story works mainly as a tragedy of two gang leaders, what they symbolize, and the clashing communities they represent. So, logically, my best shot would have to feature Riff and Bernardo while also showcasing the best aspects of the picture's photographic strategy. Hopefully, it'd also hide some of my personal misgivings with it, too – namely, the overabundance of glaring lens flares...
Despite my distaste for some of Janusz Kaminski's trademarks, his use of hyper-theatrical lighting combined with lived-in textures does bring a refreshingly complicated vitality to this remake's showpieces. Admittedly, it doesn't always work, but when it does, West Side Story's cinematography produces some indelible images.
Three nighttime interior sequences caught my eye – the gymnasium dance, the rumble, and "I Feel Pretty." Since I wanted to focus on the gang leaders, the latter's storm of mirrored surfaces and pastel frou-frou had to go. Furthermore, while I love how Spielberg shoots the combative mambos, it pales in comparison to the 1961's staging. Thankfully, the rumble doesn't suffer from such comparisons, in part because it's so thoroughly restaged. It's now set amid salt deposits and bookended by stark shadows painted over the concrete floor.
The trailer featured the first such image quite prominently, capitalizing on the iconic quality of gang warfare illustrated by juxtaposed shadows. However, I'd argue that the second shot is more impactful and better summarizes the 2021 version's best qualities. There's a sense of grandiose tragedy in the vision of two dead bodies left behind, their pose suggesting a martyred end. Hints of red police lights paint the penumbra with subtle scarlet hues, while the officers arrive like demons covering the fallen heroes in shrouds of darkness.
After the Almost There piece on Mike Faist, I knew that it had to be this shot:
;)
It's a breathtaking sigh – great enough to stand on its own, out of the shadow of the 1961 West Side Story.
Late tonight Nathaniel will share a collection of other Best Shots from this week's participants. Have you posted yours?
NEXT THURSDAY'S FILM: ROMANCING THE STONE (1984)
The classic romantic adventure stars Kathleen Turner as a romance novelist and Michael Douglas as the hero she doesn't expect in the jungles of Colombia. It's streaming on HBOMax and either being homaged or ripped off in The Lost City which opens on March 25th. So, pick a shot before Thursday evening March 17th and we'll link up to your blog, twitter, instagram, tumblr or site.
Reader Comments (2)
This film is so full of stunning shots I wouldn't be surprised if all participants pick different ones. My four aren't any of these five, for example (although one of them is very close).
Excellent shot, Claudio! I almost picked it, but I knew someone else would and I really wanted to highlight Anita/Bernardo with my own pick (which is similar to the top image of your post).