West Side Story (A or 4/4 stars)
With weeping romance, sobering tragedy, bursts of violence, amazing dancing, & lovely singing ... 'West Side Story' is one of the most popular musicals of all-time (in company with the likes of Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma, The King & I, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, & The Sound of Music). It offers what I call cinematic magic. Women swoon over it. Men love the machismo of it. Win-win for all. Co-directed by Robert Wise & choreographer Jerome Robbins, the film tells a Romeo & Juliet story set in contemporary NYC; and it begins with a fantastic shot which has the camera swinging down (this would be echoed 4 yrs. later in the Alps opening for Wise's The Sound of Music) out of the wonderful Manhattan skyline to show us the 'Jets', a tough gang of 2nd-generation immigrant white teens, restlessly hanging around in a park; their bodies spontaneously bursting into dance.
Their bitter rivals are Puerto Rican immigrants who belong to the gang called the 'Sharks'. Fighting over the same specific turf, Jets leader Riff (the nimble Russ Tamblyn) challenges the Sharks to a rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war meeting at a gymnasium dance; Riff wants his old buddy Tony (a toothy Richard Beymer), co-founder of the Jets, to come along with them. But Tony has changed & has moved on from the neighborhood battles because of his love for Bernardo's sister Maria (the pretty, but very non-Puerto Rican Natalie Wood), a love that specifically mimics Romeo & Juliet in tragic scope. These 2 defy conventions & risk everything to be one another. Their love is played out against the backdrop of the hatred btwn. the gangs (like the Montagues & the Capulets) & their races. Rita Moreno is vivacious as Maria's fiery friend Anita, who warns her about falling for Tony, a Polish boy.
'WSS' won a staggering 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Supp. Actor, & Supp. Actress. All the great songs written by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim are from the original Broadway production in 1957. Of those 10 Oscars, 3 also went to how 'WSS' looked. The cinematography & elaborate soundstage sets (to replicate Manhattan's Upper West Side) aids the story from beginning to end. At the helm of it all, Jerome Robbins was originally hired as the main director but was relegated to co-director when the budget ran too high & because he wasn't as adept with coaching the actors in the hefty dramatic scenes; hence the addition of Robert Wise. But problems continued for Robbins & he was eventually fired from the rest of the picture.
I can't say that Beymer & Wood exhibit superb thespian skills here, but they do have good chemistry - which is all that is needed for the romance aspect of the film to work. I enjoyed Russ Tamblyn's Riff; the only performer who did all of his own super dancing AND singing. Better than the performances is the phenomenal dancing & the high-octane songs (dubbed for the most part; good 'ole Marni Nixon sang for Wood). The 4 song sequences accomplished by Jerome Robbins: "The Jet Song", "America", "Cool" (which I love), & "I Feel Pretty" are awesome. Leonard Bernstein excels with romantic ballads "Tonight" & "Somewhere", songs that instantly became part of pop culture. 'WSS' should be commended for its fair-minded take on the gangs (calling attention to the prejudices of the time, 1950s).
Until 1961, musicals really weren't too concerned with tackling issues of the day. It explores the senselessness of gang life as well as the prejudice faced by immigrants. As evidenced in the song "America", we hear from a give-&-take btwn. the Puerto Rican woman who long for the dream of America: "Skyscrapers bloom in America, Cadillacs zoom in America, Industry booms in America," only to be answered by the disillusioned Puerto Rican men with "Twelve in a room in America!". And again from the women: "Life is all right in America" followed by the men ... "If you're all white in America!". And so, while 'West Side Story' has the occasional flaw (casting, a campy scene), it offers exceptional overall entertainment while also having something to say about the rebellious youth of the times.
Their bitter rivals are Puerto Rican immigrants who belong to the gang called the 'Sharks'. Fighting over the same specific turf, Jets leader Riff (the nimble Russ Tamblyn) challenges the Sharks to a rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war meeting at a gymnasium dance; Riff wants his old buddy Tony (a toothy Richard Beymer), co-founder of the Jets, to come along with them. But Tony has changed & has moved on from the neighborhood battles because of his love for Bernardo's sister Maria (the pretty, but very non-Puerto Rican Natalie Wood), a love that specifically mimics Romeo & Juliet in tragic scope. These 2 defy conventions & risk everything to be one another. Their love is played out against the backdrop of the hatred btwn. the gangs (like the Montagues & the Capulets) & their races. Rita Moreno is vivacious as Maria's fiery friend Anita, who warns her about falling for Tony, a Polish boy.
'WSS' won a staggering 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Supp. Actor, & Supp. Actress. All the great songs written by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim are from the original Broadway production in 1957. Of those 10 Oscars, 3 also went to how 'WSS' looked. The cinematography & elaborate soundstage sets (to replicate Manhattan's Upper West Side) aids the story from beginning to end. At the helm of it all, Jerome Robbins was originally hired as the main director but was relegated to co-director when the budget ran too high & because he wasn't as adept with coaching the actors in the hefty dramatic scenes; hence the addition of Robert Wise. But problems continued for Robbins & he was eventually fired from the rest of the picture.
I can't say that Beymer & Wood exhibit superb thespian skills here, but they do have good chemistry - which is all that is needed for the romance aspect of the film to work. I enjoyed Russ Tamblyn's Riff; the only performer who did all of his own super dancing AND singing. Better than the performances is the phenomenal dancing & the high-octane songs (dubbed for the most part; good 'ole Marni Nixon sang for Wood). The 4 song sequences accomplished by Jerome Robbins: "The Jet Song", "America", "Cool" (which I love), & "I Feel Pretty" are awesome. Leonard Bernstein excels with romantic ballads "Tonight" & "Somewhere", songs that instantly became part of pop culture. 'WSS' should be commended for its fair-minded take on the gangs (calling attention to the prejudices of the time, 1950s).
Until 1961, musicals really weren't too concerned with tackling issues of the day. It explores the senselessness of gang life as well as the prejudice faced by immigrants. As evidenced in the song "America", we hear from a give-&-take btwn. the Puerto Rican woman who long for the dream of America: "Skyscrapers bloom in America, Cadillacs zoom in America, Industry booms in America," only to be answered by the disillusioned Puerto Rican men with "Twelve in a room in America!". And again from the women: "Life is all right in America" followed by the men ... "If you're all white in America!". And so, while 'West Side Story' has the occasional flaw (casting, a campy scene), it offers exceptional overall entertainment while also having something to say about the rebellious youth of the times.