West Side Story
Dir: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
1961
*****
I hear ‘I hate musicals’ quite a bit from friends. I do understand the puzzlement of watching people suddenly burst into song for no apparent reason but I would argue that when done well it can be a magical experience. I generally remind them that Little Shop of Horrors, The Muppet Movie, Meet the Feebles and The Rocky Horror Show are all musicals and they relent a bit. I then tie them to a chair and make them watch All That Jazz, Fiddler on the Roof, Once and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In all honesty I’d much rather watch The Great Race (technically a musical) over Singing in the Rain and to be honest there are musicals that really do nothing for me, such as My Fair Lady, Moulin Rouge and Meet Me in St Louis. I won’t get into Mama Mia because I will get upset and angry and will most likely use rude words. West Side Story on the other hand is something else. Musicals are very much about personal taste – some people like one and not the other and vice-versa – but everyone loves West Side Story. The idea itself works because it is a familiar story (William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet) but more than that, it’s a brilliantly contemporary adaptation. Modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays are generally awful and West Side Story still remains the most successful over fifty years later. I would hazard a guess that more people know more about West Side Story then they do about Romeo & Juliet but then a lot of that has to do with the other thing the film gets right – the songs. While many of the original songs were changed for the film for legal reasons (In the scene on the roof before the musical number "America", when the girls are mocking Bernardo's speech, one of the girls say ,"We came with our hearts open", one of the Sharks says, "You came with your pants open!" This line had to be changed to "You came with your mouth open," for the movie because of censorship standards) they mostly remained in tact and in the case of ‘America’ they were changed for the better as there had been complaints that the Broadway version was too belittling to Puerto Ricans, in that the song mainly ridiculed Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans. The movie lyrics emphasize the racism and discrimination that Puerto Ricans were subjected to in America, making the film a remarkable social piece as well as a great musical. I struggle to think of a musical with as many well-known and much-love songs in it than West Side Story. Songs include; ‘America’, ‘I Feel Pretty’, ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘Cool’ and ‘Something’s Coming’. My personal favorite is ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’ but they changed all the good bits. Stephen Sondheim (who wrote the lyrics) said in a 2010 interview that while he was writing the stage musical, he originally wanted the show to be the first one in Broadway history to use the words "fuck" and "shit" in its song lyrics. He wanted the end of the song "Gee, Officer Krupke" to be "Gee, Officer Krupke/Fuck you!" (instead of what it became, which is "Gee, Officer Krupke/Krup you!"), and he wanted the lyrics in "The Jets Song" to be "When you're a Jet/If the shit hits the fan" instead of "When you're a Jet/If the spit hits the fan". However, the show's writers were informed that if the Original Cast Album contained those profanities, it would have been illegal to ship the record across state lines. So Sondheim made the substitutions for those words that appear in both the stage show and the movie. The dance-sequences and choreography is something else. West Side Story isn’t my favorite musical in terms of song (but it’s up there) but in terms of movement and dance it has got to be one of the greatest contemporary pieces of all time. Turning a street fight into a dance is a weird thing to do but an amazing thing to watch. The ‘Cool’ sequence in particular has to be one of the coolest scenes in the history of cinema – it’s just phenomenal. I also think a big part of the film’s success is down to the fact that it had two directors. Veteran director Robert Wise was brought in for the serious scenes thanks to his work on Odds Against Tomorrow and other gritty New York films. Jerome Robbins, who directed the stage version, was brought in to work on the musical numbers, although he over-ran quite a bit costing the studio a lot of money, so he was let go and his assistant director finished the scenes he hadn’t done. It is a shame that Robbins was cut from the film, he was clearly a perfectionist and I do think there is a clear difference between the dance scenes he did shoot and those he didn’t. Both directors won Best Director at the Academy Awards, making them the first to ever share an Oscar. The awards and praise were well deserved as the direction and cinematography were sensational. The composition in every shot is stunning and the colours pop magnificently. The use of then modern effects was pretty neat too, the look of the film now being iconic. It’s not just great musical direction but great cinematic direction, one of the best of all time. The original stage actors were controversially overlooked for the film version but West Side Story wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful Natalie Wood. Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris were all great but Wood stole every scene she was in. None of them sung but they almost all danced themselves. Pretty much every element of the film is perfect, from the costumes to the social comment on immigration and diversity. It’s a stunning film and you can only imagine just how much work was involved while watching it. If you still don’t like musicals after watching it then you don’t deserves eyes or ears.

Blood on the Moon

Dir: Robert Wise

1948

****

Blood on the Moon is one of the most underrated Westerns of all time. While the story isn't particularly unique for the genre, the performances are impressive and the visuals are nothing short of stunning. Robert Wise is one of the greatest unsung directors in my opinion, his films are always original and way ahead of their time. Visually he was one of the best in the business, in 1948's Blood on the Moon (based on Luke Short's 1941 novel Gunman's Chance) he is teamed up with one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, the brilliant Nicholas Musurace (Cat People, I Remember Mama, Stranger on the Third Floor). This darkly rich black and white noir is a million miles away from the usual formulaic western of the era and is just as good as the classics of the time. Robert Mitchum's performance is intense and uncompromising, he's the cool and calm drifter you expect from films of this ilk but he remains mysterious, and more importantly, unpredictable. 1948 was also a good year for young Barbara Bel Geddes, between Blood on the Moon and I Remember Mama, there was no questioning her acting repertoire. The pair are brilliant together on screen and share some scenes that I'm surprised have never been considered classics. Robert Mitchum was always the go-to guy for psychological tension but I really can't think of any other western made within twenty years of Blood on the Moon that reaches the same level of intensity. Its influence is vast and not just within the western genre either. The film drips class at every turn, it's stunning to watch and backs up the visuals with real depth and intrigue.

The Andromeda Strain
Dir: Robert Wise
1971
*****
Robert Wise's The Andromeda Strain is one of the most faithful adaptations I can think of, with only a few minor changes being made from Michael Crichton's thrilling 1969 novel. When one hears Michael Crichton's name mentioned with regards to film, Jurassic Park is usually the first film that will pop into their heads. This is understandable, it's a fantastic and successful film but I would argue that 1971's The Andromeda Strain is the best of his stories to be adapted for the big screen. Robert Wise started out as a renowned film editor before becoming director, working on greats such as Citizen Kane and The Devil and Daniel Webster. His big step into directing came when the studio asked him to re-cut Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons. His changes to the original were so different he was credited with a co-director title and he soon became involved with a now infamous argument over lost footage, final cuts and what was essentially the event that lead to Welles' reputation of being a difficult person to work with. Although the two were good friends, Welles took a swipe at Wise by saying that the film had "been edited by a lawnmower". The two men reconciled their friendship 42 years later a year before Welles' death. Wise always stated that the re-edited version was just as good as the original and when you look at the films he edited and directed compared to Welles', I can't help but believe him. The direction in The Andromeda Strain is stunning and a real game-changer. It boasts one of the best examples of split-screen filming ever, with only Norman Jewson (The Thomas Crown Affair) and Richard Fleischer (The Boston Strangler) giving the method any real credit before 1971 but in two very different genres. Wise incorporates the split-screen scenes perfectly in projecting the film's overall clinical style. There is very little action within the film, the crippling suspense comes purely from the clever writing and realistic performances. It was one of the first films to feature advanced computerised photographic visual effects by the now legendary pioneer Douglas Trumbull. These effects are integral to the adaptation, they are both subtle and effective. The direction is wonderfully stark, with great contrasting long shots and scenes of pure claustrophobia, each framed beautifully with bold and rich colour. It's an intriguing and intelligent sci-fi classic and the first of its kind in many respects. The soundtrack is suitably haunting and really adds an extra dimension of the overall production. It's the perfect thriller and one of my absolute favorites of all time.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Dir: Robert Wise
1979
*****
Robert Wise was an interesting choice of director for the motion picture re-launch of the popular 60s sci-fi TV series that had already reached cult status and had never lost momentum even after it was axed by the networks. Wise's CV matched Star Treks intense sci-fi themes and so the first and arguably most original of the films was born. Wise's classic is one long psychedelic dream sequence with brilliantly subtle but surprising lines, such as when discussing their situation against a foe of extreme force that goes by the name V'Ger, Spock states that  "V-Ger is a child" which intrigues, surprises and feeds all the curiosities that sci-fi fans have. It's got a 2001: A space odyssey feel about it, that I'm sure was intentional due to its popularity and yet it exceeds it in many ways and really stands alone in its bizarre but beautiful structure. This really was boldly going where Star Trek had never been before and it was brilliant! A classic that I never tire of but I guess it helps if your already a Trekkie! - Can you see Darth Vader and Miss Piggy in this shot that was part of a gloriously long scene that focuses on the center of the enemy named V'Ger?

The Hindenburg
Dir: Robert Wise
1975
****
The Hindenburg has been heavily critisied and in my view, unfairly treated since its release in 1975. Among the countless disaster films of the mid 70s, The Hindenburg is probably one of the best. It takes liberties with history, playing on the fact that it has never been 100% proven as to why the Hindenburg exploded but none of the scenarios are unrealistic or without merit. It's formulaic, much like the other disaster films of the era and it has its fair share of misleading sub-plots but the ensemble cast make it very enjoyable. With films like this it is all about the big build up and then the pay off and for my money Robert Wise achieved both. Maybe it was rejected as being too clever, 'The thinking mans disaster film' possibly. The sad truth is that people just want to see it burn at the end of the day. I'll take this over Titanic, Towering Inferno and the rest of them any day. Robert Wise is one of the unappreciated directors of all time too, he deserves much more credit than he is remembered for.