West Side Story (PG)

Film

Musicals

West Side Story.jpg

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says

Tue Sep 13 2011

This beautifully restored fiftieth anniversary version of ‘West Side Story’ is being re-released ahead of the BFI’s major survey of the Hollywood musical this autumn.

Re-heating ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the distressed, red-brick pressure cooker of late-’50s New York City, cine-chameleon Robert Wise and choreographer Jerome Robbins made a fine fist of transplanting the Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim Broadway behemoth to the screen. Set in a world populated by finger-clicking, stoop-dwelling greasers, a senseless turf war between rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, complicates a star-crossed romance between Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer).

The sins of the father take a back seat to race and gender tensions, as this version examines the notion of dangerously overzealous family pride via the internal dynamics of roving street gangs. A mercurial opening salvo delivers ominous aerial shots of the NYC skyline that are worthy of Antonioni. The camera then dips down on to a basketball court and introduces a beef between Russ Tamblyn’s charismatic Riff and George Chakiris’s highfalutin Bernardo (replete with dodgy Shinola suntan).

Although it’s impossible to fault the euphoric dance sequences and ultra-melodic tunes, the dramatic scenes linking the big numbers all fall flat and the illicit affair at the film’s core remains fatally underdeveloped until its fudged finale. Special mention, though, should go to Boris Leven’s neo-expressionist production design and Daniel L Fapp’s forceful cinematography: the crooked angles, pointed shadows and great swashes of red all heighten the mood of rabid fury. David Jenkins

Author: David Jenkins

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Release details

Rated:

PG

UK release:

Fri Sep 16 2011

Duration:

151 mins

Cast and crew

Director:

Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

Cast:

Tucker Smith, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, Simon Oakland

Songs:

Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein

Production Designer:

Boris Leven

Editor:

Marshall M Borden, Thomas Stanford

Cinematography:

Daniel L Fapp

Screenwriter:

Ernest Lehman

Producer:

Robert Wise

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 5/5 (4 ratings)

  • West Side Story, for me, is the classic that never grows old! I never get tired of seeing this great film, whether it be on TV, or on the great big, wide movie theatre screen, in a darkened movie theatre with tons of other people, whether I know them or not. The MGM adage "Unlike other Classics, West Side Story grows younger" is so true!

    mplo Sun Apr 22 2012
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • Can't believe some of the comments I'm readiong-"anaemic"? have we been watching the same film?I first saw this film in 1964,when I was 16 years old ,and was afraid when I went back 47 years later in 2011, that I could never feel again the heightened emotions of a 16 year old girl- but I did ; that is thanks to the timeless quality of the story of the young lovers, about which it's impossible to be cynical, against a background of the adrenaline -fuelled rivalries of daft macho youngsters, with the added ingredient of immigrant hopes disappointed and local racism. The music is superb, the lyrics fantastic ,from the heartbreaking,"There's a Place for Us", to the all- too -relevant -still satire of "Officer Krupke.." and "I Like to be in America", the songs are an artistic triumph in themseves, but fit perfectly into the action. Lastly, the choreography is amazing, particularly in the opening scenes . Nothing about the film has dated: it's the best film I've ever seen..

    Ailsa Ferguson Sat Mar 3 2012
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  • this is the best musical film i ever seen.the lyrisc,dancing and everything is perfect.It´s a classic for ever

    bartolome schiattino Mon Jul 5 2010
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • West Side Story: The Classic that Never Grows Old.

    independentminded Sun Jul 12 2009
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • West Side Story is the best musical i have ever seen!!!!!!!! I love Riff!!1

    Gemma Mon Apr 21 2008
    Rated as: 5/5
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