Buy the DVD:

Sponsored Links:

West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story is the modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet. Instead of feuding Montagues and Capulets, there are feuding Americans (The Jets) and Puerto Ricans (The Sharks). (During the 1960s, when the movie was filmed, there was a large influx of Puerto Ricans into the United States.) The beautiful Natalie Wood plays Maria, a recent immigrant to the United States, and handsome Richard Beymer plays Tony, a member of the gang, The Jets. The two are star-crossed lovers who fight hard to keep their love alive.

Maria and Tony initially find each other, and love, at a local dance. But their love could never be because Tony is a Jet and Maria's brother is the leader of the Sharks. She is Puerto Rican and he is American, but they don't care. The burning question is: can their love unite bitter enemies fighting over the same turf? Or will it fuel the fire of hatred and ultimately lead to catastrophe?
This is a wonderful story as old as time, revamped with an ethnic twist, jazzy characters, and phenomenal song and dance numbers. The vivacious and phenomenal Rita Moreno plays the sassy Anita, who dances like fire and speaks her mind. She tries to convince her love, Bernardo (also Maria's brother), of the wonderful life in America. "America" becomes one of the best song and dance numbers in the movie. It reveals conflicting views of opportunities for immigrants in the United States while adding humor. It represents the clash of old and new, native and foreign, which is the crucial factor on the movie.

There are other popular numbers such as "I Feel Pretty" and "Play it Cool," which brings to mind the recent Gap ad that used the same song and dance sequence for their commercial.

West Side Story was nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1961, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise), Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), and Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris). It won in all these categories as well as in six others, bringing the total to 10 wins out of 11 nominations.

West Side Story is definitely a movie worth seeing. You'll feel cooler, feel like snapping, feel like dancing, feel like falling in love.

Written by: V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
Reader's Rating: 7.60
Reader's Votes: 5

Rate It