West Side Story (2021 Version) (4½ Stars)

This is the first film that Steven Spielberg has remade in his long career. If he had to remake any film, it was a bold move to pick this one. The 1961 version won 10 Oscars, so it's difficult to live up to the original. On the other hand, I trust Steven Spielberg to make good films. He's not my favourite director, but he's never made a bad film. If I go to see one of his films in the cinema I won't be disappointed, whatever it's about.

I can't comment on whether the new version as good as the original. I vaguely remember seeing it on television when I lived with my parents, but I can barely remember it. If it had been available on a streaming service I would have watched it in preparation. So I went to the cinema to see "West Side Story" as a new film. Except it wasn't completely new to me. As the film ran I realised that I knew all the songs. This must have been from hearing them on the radio as I grew up. My parents listened to BBC's Radio 2 for hours every day as background music. I didn't consciously pay attention to the radio, but the songs that I heard a lot were imprinted in my memory.

The film is overwhelming. It has a deep emotional depth. The dance numbers are nothing short of amazing. As a social commentary, the story is just as relevant today as it was in 1961. Racism and bigotry abounded then, and it still exists today. Maybe the difference is that racism was more acceptable then. I mean it was more acceptable on an institutional level. Nobody was arrested for making racist utterances. Today's racists have to be more careful where they utter their disgusting words.

My main problem is the lack of subtitles for the Spanish dialogue. On the way home I read an interview with Steven Spielberg in which he said that this was deliberate. He wanted typical English speaking Americans to feel excluded, the same way that the characters in the film feel excluded. I think this is a mistake, and I hope that subtitles will be added when the film is released on disc.

The film's story takes place in 1957, but there's a serious blunder in the props used. In a shop that sells comics we see an issue of X-Men. Oops! The first issue of X-Men wasn't released until September 1963.