Short Stories, Irish literature, Classics, Modern Fiction, Contemporary Literary Fiction, The Japanese Novel, Post Colonial Asian Fiction, The Legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and quality Historical Novels are Among my Interests








Monday, February 12, 2024

Westside Story - A Movie Musical - !961 - Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins - Starring Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno



Available on Tubi and YouTube 

Westside Story - A Movie Musical - !961 - Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins - Starring Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno

 This electrifying musical, winner of ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, reimagines “Romeo and Juliet,” is set during gang warfare in 1950s New York City.

Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood), who belong to rival gangs: the Jets and the Sharks. Despite the animosity between their groups, Tony and Maria fall deeply in love, but their forbidden romance leads to tragedy.

The film's music, composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is considered one of the greatest musical scores ever written. Iconic songs like "Tonight," "Maria," and "America" have become timeless classics.





The film's choreography, by Jerome Robbins, is electrifying and innovative. It uses dance to tell the story of the characters' emotions and the tensions between the gangs.


Screenplay by: Ernest Lehman

Based on: the stage musical by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins

Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp

Editing: Thomas Stanford

Running time: 152 minutes


1 comment:

Buried In Print said...

I've seen this a couple of times and still love watching some of the numbers now and then. You watched the remake too, I think? Or maybe I'm misremembering....