![]() The fact that the racial tension of the film remains so powerful 60 years after the release of the original is distressing in and of itself, and Kushner and Spielberg embrace the opportunity to relitigate those themes for all their emotional worth.īeyond the story of the film, the new role for Moreno also carries a weight of personal significance for the actor. Valentina is fully aware of the probability of violence stemming from Tony and Maria’s ( Rachel Zegler) forbidden love, and her opportunity to sing “Somewhere” expresses this gloom as a yearning for a more tolerable future. As for “Somewhere,” none of the lyrics are changed, but the song gains a poignant new interpretation as Valentina is given the song to sing.īeyond the initial impact of hearing the 90-year-old Moreno sing one of the most emotionally affecting songs ever written, a woman from a mixed-race marriage singing about hopeful lovers transforms the song into a lament. The film sees a newly defined location for the turf battle as well as wholly new takes for songs like “Cool” and “Somewhere.” In the case of “Cool,” what was once a call for unison among the Jets is now a plea by Tony to end the senseless violence. Along with this introduction to Valentina, Kushner and Spielberg make other changes that prove they didn’t shy away from the challenge. The idea was pitched to Kushner by his spouse, author Mark Harris, during a conversation about Doc’s role in the story. And as a matter of fact, the genesis of Valentina didn’t come from either Kushner or Spielberg. No one would blame them for feeling overwhelmed by the daunting task of breathing new life into a film that many already consider perfect (excluding the brownface of course). It would have been very easy for Spielberg and Kushner to play it safe in readapting West Side Story. RELATED: Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner & Rita Moreno on ‘West Side Story,’ Using Spanish Without Subtitles, and Stephen Sondheim’s Involvement As screenwriter Tony Kushner gives Moreno a new purpose in the film as Valentina, her mixed-race marriage, and her relationship to Tony ( Ansel Elgort) deepen the racial commentary of the film while never overshadowing Ariana DeBose’s new interpretation of Anita. In Spielberg’s film, Moreno plays Valentina, the Hispanic widow of Doc, the eponymous drug store owner who was close friends with the Jets. Among these changes was a brand-new character for Rita Moreno, the iconic actress who played Anita in the original 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. When the film was finally released, much of the skepticism fizzled as Spielberg’s retelling of the classic story justified its existence with beautifully choreographed numbers and many bold changes to the material. ![]() Unconvinced frowns eventually gave way to reluctant nods when the name Steven Spielberg came attached to that announcement. When a remake of West Side Story was announced, many people questioned the need for its existence.
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