West Side Story

Release Year: 1961

Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Review: West Side Story is one of the classic musicals and this is exactly what my problem was with it.  I'm not a fan of musicals in general.  I like my dance numbers to stay on the theatre stage.  For me to enjoy a musical (and there are many that I rank among my favorites), there needs to be more to the film than singing.  This was not case for West Side Story.  From the opening sequence, the infamous finger snapping battle, the musical numbers felt very corny and awkward.  The entire film was not very inventive, seeming as though I was simply watching a filmed stage production.  Not for a minute did it feel like I was on the rough streets where the story takes place.  Unlike better musicals, like 'Singin' in the Rain'. there was no compelling plot propping up the musical sequences.  It is just a weakly conceived Romeo and Juliet resetting and it never drew me in emotionally.  If I were a musical lover, then perhaps it would work better, but even then it was contrived, static and emotionally plastic.
Rating: 2/5

 

Judgement at Nuremberg

Release Year: 1961

Director: Stanley Kramer

Review: An emotionally charged fictitious court room drama about the Nuremberg trials.  Specifically this film focuses on the judge trials, in which Nazi judges are put on the stand in front of an American tribunal facing charges of crimes against humanity for their involvement in the Holocaust.  What stands out in this film are the strong acting performances by Spencer Tracy as the impartial American judge, Richard Widmark as the colonel prosecuting the judges and Maximilian Schell as the Nazi judge's defense lawyer.  Although each were phenomenal in their roles, Schell (who won the Academy award for his role), really stands out, giving each one of his speeches an empowered charge and making us feel sympathetic to the condemned judge's cause.  This is key to the entire film.  It tries to paint a picture that is neutral to the German people.  It shows them as people, rather than all evil Nazis. 

Ultimately the atrocities that occurred during the holocaust were too great however, and someone needs to take responsibility.  While there are plenty of impassioned speeches, the trial doesn't offer the same tension as something like '12 Angry Men', which I think is important when the entire movie takes place in the court room.  It's very strong emotionally, but doesn't quite knock it out of the park.  It is certainly more of a court room drama than a suspense or a thriller, which doesn't, however, lessen the impact of its message. The way in which anger and prejudices over the war are handled are great, and this is certainly an important World War II movie and a classic court room drama.
Rating: 4/5