West Side Story-1961
Director Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Starring Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood
Top 100 Films #64
Scott’s Review #188
Reviewed November 3, 2014
Grade: A
West Side Story is a musical from 1961 (based on the Broadway stage production from the 1950s), during a period in Hollywood where every other film released seemed to be a version of an enchanting musical.
This particular film version is much darker than most contemporaries within this genre. The dreary ending, fantastic and compelling in its dramatic elements, does not dour the rest of the musical and its hum-along tunes.
West Side Story was crowned the 1961 Best Picture Oscar winner.
West Side Story is certainly based on the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet- the Capulets and Montagues becoming rival teen street gangs of the Puerto Rican “Sharks” and the Polish”Jets”, with the lovesick teens Tony and Maria serving as Romeo and Juliet.
And yes, spoiler alert, the story does not end happily ever after fashion.
Loads of suspension of disbelief must be taken- How many gangs sing and dance to each other, snapping their fingers in unison to perfectly choreographed beats?
Additionally, some gang characters are not so authentic looking- either in clearly dyed hair, bronzed with tan or some other phony-looking get-up.
The film is a cherished friend and these can be overlooked for my enjoyment of the film.
The story, set in 1950s New York City, pits the Sharks (a gang led by Bernardo) against the Jets (led by Riff), who have been bitter rivals for the turfs of the rough streets of Manhattan’s west side for many years.
In tow are the gang’s girlfriends, and one female, named “Anybodys”- who longs for the day when she will be allowed to join the Jets and fight alongside the boys.
The other supporting characters largely include various policemen (Lieutenant Schrank and Officer Krupke) attempting to keep the gangs apart, as well as a local shopkeeper, Doc, who is the moral compass of the story, encouraging the gangs to get along with each other and questioning the logic of gang fights.
After a scuffle, the gangs decide to have at it after an upcoming dance and the Jets elect Tony to square off against Bernardo.
The story is surprisingly dark- especially in the inevitable final act. Amid all this darkness, however, lies a musical with cheery and catchy numbers (I Feel Pretty, Jet Song) and love-struck tunes (Maria and Somewhere).
A musical about diversity and rivalry, the story centers on lovesick Maria and Tony, a la Romeo and Juliet, and their struggle to be together despite adversity from their friends and family due to their extremely different backgrounds.
Throughout the film we get to know other characters well- Anita, the girlfriend of Bernardo, for example, played by Rita Moreno, is the stubborn yet likable, best friend of Maria, who thinks that Maria and Tony are wrong for each other and that things just are not supposed to be that way when you mix cultural diversity.
The film moves along quickly with standoffs, fights, and plots to get the other gang, a failed attempt at a dance to co-mingle the two groups and girlfriends, and Tony and Maria sneaking off to meet.
The lack of chemistry between Natalie Wood (Maria) and Richard Beymer (Tony) is quite noticeable, especially upon multiple viewings but decades later it is also tough to imagine anyone else in either role- so ingrained are the duo in film culture.
The cultural diversity of much of the cast (Rita Moreno was the only Puerto Rican) is interesting, as is the fact that most of the singing was dubbed by other singers.
Yet, the film still somehow works very well.
Oscar Nominations: 10 wins-Best Motion Picture (won), Best Director-Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (won), Best Supporting Actor-George Chakiris (won), Best Supporting Actress-Rita Moreno (won), Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (won), Best Sound (won), Best Art Direction, Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color (won), Best Costume Design, Color (won), Best Film Editing (won)