West Side Story Movie Review 1961

Gang rivalry and ethnic tension on New York's West Side erupts in a ground-breaking musical. Loosely based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," the story follows the Jets and the Sharks as they fight for their turf while Tony and Maria fight for love. Features frenetic and brilliant choreography by co-director Robbins, who also directed the original Broadway show, and a high-caliber score by Bernstein and Sondheim. Wood's voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon and Jimmy Bryant dubbed Beymer's.

Distribution

Home Vision Cinema, c/o Image Entertainment, 20525 Nordhoff St., Ste. 200, Chatsworth, CA 91311, URL: http://www.homevision.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 151 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Musical Drama, Gangs, Modern Shakespeare, Top Grossing Films of 1961, Adapted from a Musical, Rebel Without a Cause, Romantic Drama, New York, New York, Obsessive Love, Dance Fever

Screenplay

Ernest Lehman

Cast

Yvonne Wilder, Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Simon Oakland, Ned Glass

Cinematography

Daniel F. Fapp

Director

Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Music

Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim

Producer

United Artists, Robert Wise

Awards

Oscars 1961: Art Dir./Set Dec., Color, Color Cinematog., Costume Des. (C), Director (Wise), Film Editing, Picture, Sound, Support. Actor (Chakiris), Support. Actress (Moreno), Scoring/Musical; AFI 1998: Top 100; Directors Guild 1961: Director (Wise), Director (Robbins); Golden Globes 1962: Film--Mus./Comedy, Support. Actor (Chakiris), Support. Actress (Moreno), Natl. Film Reg. 1997;; N.Y. Film Critics 1961: Film.