West Side Story

The landmark 1957 Broadway musical "West Side Story" was turned into a Hollywood musical in 1961 and that movie in turn has now been remade by director Steven Spielberg. HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano sure have a lot to talk about in this podcast episode, as they make comparisons between the 1961 and 2021 screen versions. One thing they admire is that Rita Moreno appears in both versions. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Anita in the 1961 version, and now, at age 90, she is wonderful as a newly invented character in Spielberg's version. For this and many other reasons, this latest "West Side Story" is well worth seeing.