Best Shot Index: West Side Story (2021)

Thank you to everyone who participated tonight. Next week's film is Romancing The Stone (1984) streaming on HBOMax so we hope you'll join us and pick your own shot. Here were the eight choices from West Side Story (2021) and we're marvelling at the variety and beauty. The film is up for Best Cinematography, Best Picture and more at the Oscars. Click on the image for the article, tweet, or tumblr post...

Ryan on Twitter (thread)

Keisha at Cinema Cities (article)

Cláudio Alves at The Film Experience (article)

Working Stiff at Tumblr (multiple articles)

Intifada on Tumblr (gallery)

Ben Miller at  Ice Cream For Freaks (article)

Steven James on Twitter (capsule)

And finally we love this fascinating choice from Alexander Georgakis on Twitter who writes:

The dissolve from the former Anita to the current one is more than a clever meta moment -- it asks us to consider if over the last sixty years, America has finally become that better time and place Valentina dreams about in “Somewhere”? In some ways, yes; in others, sadly, no.

Comments

[Alexander]

I also did one:

https://twitter.com/alex_georgakis/status/1502005999141408769

[Ryan T.]

Very interesting selection of shots! As I mentioned in his post, I nearly picked Claudio's shot, but I definitely wanted to focus on Anita/Bernardo. I'm actually shocked we don't have ANY Anita shots here (and even in mine she's obscured).

[Frank Zappa]

@ Ryan T.

I think the best Anita shots are ones where she’s moving, which can make it tricky to pick a single frame. But I also think it’s fair to use footage rather than stills in this exercise if it’s an extended take with no cut. Which is why Anita is featured in two of my honorable mentions, one mid-gesture single frame and one extended take with most of the ensemble in it.

[NATHANIEL R]

working stiff... a shot can be more than a single frame of course. I remmember my best shot from BRING IT ON involved a movement that looked like a cut that wasn't since one face replaces another on the screen due to one of the characters moving.