This Spanish Harlem Romeo and Juliet tale is one for the ages.
Comment
10/01/03
West Side Story (1961)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:49
Fresh:45
Rotten:4
Average Rating:8.1/10
Consensus: Buoyed by Robert Wise's dazzling direction, Leonard Bernstein's score, and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, West Side Story remains perhaps the most iconic of all the Shakespeare adaptations to visit the big screen.
Runtime: 2 hrs 39 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Synopsis: Considered one of the most popular musicals of all time, WEST SIDE STORY earned director Robert Wise an Oscar for Best Director as well as nine other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.... [More]
Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn
Director: Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
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Reviews for West Side Story
It still represents a brave and effective fusion of serious and fantasy elements, and offers two and one-half hours of solid entertainment.
01/01/00
Top CriticLeonard Bernstein's rich, eloquent and demanding score is still a powerful experience.
02/19/08
How does the film -- which won ten Oscars on its 1961 release -- stand up now? Very well indeed.
01/26/06
The dance choreography endures as some of the most energetic ever captured on film.
09/02/01
Technically faultless and a surprisingly pointed introduction to the "medium cool" films of the 1960's.
03/24/03
[This] is a world unlike any other, a phenomenal filmmaking achievement.
02/09/05
What they have done with West Side Story in knocking it down and moving it from stage to screen is to reconstruct its fine material into nothing short of a cinema masterpiece.
05/20/03
Top CriticWest Side Story (1961) is an energetic, widely-acclaimed, melodramatic musical - a modern-day, loose re-telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tragedy,
01/01/00
It is a great movie ... in parts.
04/09/04
Top CriticBernstein's music, Sondheim's lyrics and Robbins's choreography are great, but as a movie it falls short of the truly inspired cinematic musicals.
02/19/08
West Side Story is a beautifully-mounted, impressive, emotion-ridden and violent musical which, in its stark approach to a raging social problem and realism of unfoldment
02/13/01
Top CriticTechnically stunning, with dazzling choreography matching an unforgettable score.
02/19/08
Demonstrates yet again the enduring quality of Shakespeare's work.
01/01/00
Decent 1961 adaptation of the Bernstein-Robbins musical, if you can handle Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood in the leads.
02/09/07
Top CriticFrom start to end, I was dazzled by West Side Story, which blends somber social drama, flashy musical numbers and the most timeless of love stories, Romeo & Juliet.
09/10/02
One of the most effective musical movies, due to its Shakespearean inspiration, Robbins' exciting dances, Bernstein's exquisite score, Sondheim's witty lyrics; but you have to contend with schmaltzy love story and Marnie Nixon dubbing Natalie Wood
07/21/06
An energetic and vibrant musical that modernizes the Romeo and Juliet story ably and with great passion.
11/15/06
The memorable sequences will stay with you after, but the mediocre and prosaic are mood-altering and too close in contiguity.
11/12/01
The major strength of the film lies with the powerful music, a hip, jazzy urban sound that continues to resonate
02/24/02
Latest News for West Side Story
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
August 17, 2006:
Burton & Depp Together for the 6th Time: Sweeney Todd
When Tim Burton and Johnny Depp get together, pretty wild movies tend to happen. Frankly I think all five of their previous collaborations have been darn fine films, and here's... More...
September 15, 2005:
Hollywood Giant Robert Wise Passes Away at 91
Master filmmaker and 4-time Oscar winner Robert Wise has died at the age of 91. Probably best known as the director of films like "The Sound of Music," "West Side... More...
July 06, 2005:
Legendary Screenwriter Ernest Lehman Passes Away
Veteran screenwriter / producer Ernest Lehman passed away on July 2nd after a lengthy illness. Mr. Lehman was nominated for a half-dozen Oscars over the course of his... More...
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