Movie "West Side Story" (1961)

At a recent live show, the master of Himeji Lyla said, "You really need to know in what scenes the music is used, especially in movies," so I went to watch it.
"Morning Movie Festival." It brings back memories. I used to go there often when I was a student.
(Back then, students could watch for 500 yen.)
I will omit the detailed plot and summarize it focusing on the music.
(Since it is based on Romeo and Juliet, as you all know the story, but please be aware of spoilers just in case.)

Movie "West Side Story" 1961 version
Directors: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Composer: Leonard Bernstein
Lyricist: Stephen Sondheim

Beginning to First Half

1. Overture

・Countless mysterious lines on a bright red title background. Whistling, followed by a medley of the main themes. Performed by the orchestra only. When I tried to watch it at home, I couldn't endure the length of this overture and the bold visual of the lines, so I gave up.
I'm glad I came to the movie theater. They wrote "(4 minutes)" so I could watch the lines with peace of mind.

2. Prologue

・Oh, the lines were a motif of aerial shots of Manhattan streets, I felt relieved.
The standoff between the white gang, the Jets, and the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks.
Finger snapping creates a sense of tension.
It's innovative that the fight is depicted through dance set to swing-style music.

3. Jet Song

・At their hangout, the Jets sing about their unity, "We are the Jets."

4. Something’s Coming

・Behind Doc's drugstore.
・After Riff invites Tony to the dance, Tony, left alone in the shop, sings with sparkling eyes about his premonition that "something good is coming."
I wonder how he uses that cola bottle opener.

5. Dance at the Gym

・A dance party at the gym at night. The Jets and Sharks dance.
The adults try to keep things friendly with rules like a game of Maimu Maimu.
Mambo is fun, isn't it.
・In a slow-motion-like scene in the middle, Tony and Maria lock eyes for the first time, and the surroundings disappear, leaving them in a world of their own.
It's like they can only see each other in the whole universe, staring at each other in the darkness where glitter dances. A pizzicato arrangement of "Maria" plays.
The conversation is also romantic, a very wonderful scene.

6. Maria

・On the way home from the party, as Tony walks through the night streets,
he sings happily in a dreamlike state, calling the name of Maria, whom he just met, over and over. What a great song.

7. America

・The rooftop of the apartment where the Sharks members and their girlfriends live.
・Anita and the girls vs. Bernardo and the others sing back and forth about the pros and cons of living in America (it reminded me of the game Hana Ichi Monme),
depicting the reality of immigrants from the perspectives of young men and women respectively.
Anita's wisteria-colored frilly dress and her Puerto Rican-accented English are very cute.

8. Tonight (Balcony Scene)

・The fire escape behind Maria's apartment.
・Tony appears under the window of Maria's room, and they sing a duet, vowing their love while embracing, saying "life will change from tonight."

9. Gee, Officer Krupke

- After being chased away by the police, the Jets sing in front of Doc's store, sarcastically mocking the "adult society that labels us as troublemakers."

Intermission - Second Half

10. I Feel Pretty

- Before the bridal shop closes. She has a date with Tony later.
- Maria dances while holding a dress up to herself in front of a mirror, singing to her coworkers about the happiness of being in love.
"I feel so pretty, being loved by such a wonderful person! Look! At this pretty girl in the mirror!"
Her coworkers are noisy, saying this girl is acting strange as she dances wildly.

I often listen to Sarah Vaughan's version, and it really is such a cute song.
I feel like there are few standards with such high self-esteem (well, not in the true sense, but still).

11. One Hand, One Heart

- At the bridal shop. As if it were a church chapel.
- A duet where Tony and Maria, all alone, pledge their eternal love to each other as if holding an "imaginary wedding."
It is impressive how the melody of Somewhere is subtly hinted at the beginning of this song.
The scene where they greet mannequins as if they were their parents is adorable.
"Till death do us part," the standard vow.
-> They sing, "Even death will not part us."
The ending features the ominous Maria motif.

12. Tonight Quintet

- Simultaneously, like an opera finale:

• Jets and Sharks: Heading to tonight's rumble

• Anita: Looking forward to the night with Bernardo

• Tony and Maria: Wishing for the fighting to end
  - Each of their thoughts on "tonight" overlap into one grand ensemble.

13. Rumble (Duel Scene)

- A red sunset. (The title background, Bernardo's clothes, and Maria's dress at the end are all red. Perhaps a motif for the blood that will flow.) Depicted only through orchestra and dance. After the knife fight, Bernardo and Riff fall one after another, and Tony stabs Bernardo.

14. Somewhere

- Tony comes to Maria's room while she is praying, and they embrace.
- Tony and Maria's duet: "There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us."
Does the line "We'll find a way of forgiving" in this song also imply that he is the one who killed her brother?
There are parts where the plot differs from Romeo and Juliet, so I'm on edge wondering how it will reach that ending.

15. Cool

- After the rumble.
- Ice gathers the Jets in the underground parking lot, singing and dancing about "keeping your head cool" and not panicking. It's great how they turn on the car lights themselves.

16. A Boy Like That / I Have a Love

- Maria's room.
- Anita sings, fiercely scolding Maria for loving Tony, who killed her brother Bernardo, saying "Forget that boy" (A Boy Like That). That makes sense. He is the enemy.
- Maria sings back, "Even so, I love him, you should understand too" (I Have a Love), singing that "if love is strong, there is no right or wrong. Your love is your life," and in the end, their emotions overlap.
After this, Anita goes to see Doc to deliver a message, but she is attacked by the Jets, which changes her heart and leads to the wrong message being delivered.
I see, this is the scene of the undelivered letter.

17. Somewhere - Finale

・Tony is shot by Chino, and as Maria cradles the dying Tony, she sings the "hold my hand" part of "Somewhere."
・Maria points the gun, shouting that "hate kills people," but she cannot bring herself to fire and collapses.
・The Jets and the Sharks carry Tony's body away together, and the story ends as the melody of "Somewhere" plays in the background once more.
In the darkness of the night, Maria's red dress and black scarf are striking.

And so, for some reason, I ended up writing this with a lot of passion!
I'm sure I'll remember this every time I hear "Somewhere."
The two of them gazing at each other amidst the glitter. The two of them parted by death.
The two of them whom not even death can part.
However, unlike Juliet, Maria must go on living.

I also want to rewatch "Maestro," the film about Bernstein.
I'm sure Carey Mulligan will make me cry again anyway.