West Side Story main backdrop
West Side Story main poster

West Side Story

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7.2/10 • 1.9K

1961-12-132h 33m

CrimeDramaRomance

The screen achieves one of the great entertainments in the history of motion pictures.

In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, tensions are high as a gang of Polish-Americans compete against a gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, but this doesn't stop two romantics from each gang falling in love.

Directors
Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Editors
Thomas Stanford

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Natalie Wood

    Natalie Wood

    Maria

  2. Richard Beymer

    Richard Beymer

    Tony

  3. Russ Tamblyn

    Russ Tamblyn

    Riff

  4. Rita Moreno

    Rita Moreno

    Anita

  5. George Chakiris

    George Chakiris

    Bernardo

  6. Simon Oakland

    Simon Oakland

    Lieutenant Schrank

  7. Ned Glass

    Ned Glass

    Doc

  8. William Bramley

    William Bramley

    Officer Krupke

  9. Tucker Smith

    Tucker Smith

    Ice

Reviews3

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

May 9, 2020

8/10

Why do you kids live like there's a war on? West Side Story is directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Simon Oakland and Ned Glass. Music is by Leonard Bernstein (lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) and cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp. In the less affluent areas of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called "The Jets" are in conflict with a rival gang of immigrated Puerto Ricans called "The Sharks". They each thirst to own the neighborhood streets, but with tensions reaching peak point, two kids, one from each rival gang, fall in love... A Multi Oscar winner, West Side Story is a musical update of Romeo & Juliet. Set in the 50s in a steamy gangland New York, pic unfurls in a blaze of booming colour and scintillating choreography (Robbins). It has very much become a film that musical lovers can rejoice in, for even though it has problems, when it soars it soars far and away. Problems come with the crossed gang lovers played by Wood and Beymer, the actors dubbing is poor, their dialogue delivery also itchy. It doesn't help that the film's quality noticeably dips when this fall in love axis of the story (as key as it is) shows up - stretching the run time to a nearly unbearable and unjustified length. Yet it remains a joyous experience even today, you can forgive it for its ills when you get songs like "America" (Moreno the best thing in the film by far) that transport you up there on the screen. Or that the choreography is like a ballet version of circus acrobatics in full effect. In short, if you have any kink for musicals in filmic form, this is a must see. 8/10

Media

  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster
  • West Side Story poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$6,000,000.00
Revenue
$43,700,000.00
Keywords
immigrantshowdownstreet gangslumlove at first sightpuerto ricohighwayforbidden lovemusicalbased on play or musicalrivalryfeudinterracial relationshiptragic loveattempted rapepolicemanobsessive lovelifting female in airyoung lovemodern day adaptationshakespeare in modern dressromeo & julietromantictragic