West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story (1961) Movie Reviews
Watch Trailer

Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn

Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Rating: NR

Running Time: 151 min.

Synopsis: +Romeo and Juliet is updated to the tenements of New York City in this Oscar-winning musical landmark. Adapted by Ernest Lehman from the Broadway production, the movie opens with an overhead shot of Manhattan, an effect that director Robert Wise would repeat over the Alps in The Sound of Music four years later. We are introduced to two rival street gangs: the Jets, second-generation American teens, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. When the war between the Jets and Sharks reaches a fever pitch, Jets leader Riff (Russ Tamblyn) decides to challenge the Sharks to one last "winner take all" rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war council at a gymnasium dance; to bolster his argument, Riff wants his old pal Tony (Richard Beymer), the cofounder of the Jets, to come along. But Tony has set his sights on vistas beyond the neighborhood and has fallen in love with Bernardo's sister, Maria (Natalie Wood), a love that, as in +Romeo and Juliet, will eventually end in tragedy. In contrast to the usual slash-and-burn policy of Hollywood musical adaptations, all the songs written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the original Broadway production of West Side Story were retained for the film version, although some alterations were made to appease the Hollywood censors, and the original order of two songs was reversed for stronger dramatic impact. The movie more than retains the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, which is recreated in some of the most startling and balletic dance sequences ever recorded on film. West Side Story won an almost-record ten Oscars, including Best Picture, supporting awards to Chakiris and Rita Moreno as Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, and Best Director to Robbins and Wise. Richard Beymer's singing was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant, Natalie Wood's by Marni Nixon (who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady), and Rita Moreno's by Betty Wand. The film's New York tenement locations were later razed to make room for Lincoln Center.

User Rating

User Reviews

Rate it!
Critic Rating

Critic Reviews

About the Graph & Metric

Reviews

Sort by:

User Reviews

  • May 24, 2011 02:56 pm

    Amanda said: B

    The choreography is fabulous, especially the Cool number and the music and lyrics are timeless. While it doesn't quite live up to the stage version, it's nice to have immortalized the choreography of Jerome Robbins on film.

  • Nov 21, 2011 09:08 pm

    Tub Ger said: A

    Loved It!

Rate This Movie!

Please sign in or sign up to rate this movie.