The major strength of the film lies with the powerful music, a hip, jazzy urban sound that continues to resonate
Comment
02/24/02
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
The memorable sequences will stay with you after, but the mediocre and prosaic are mood-altering and too close in contiguity.
11/12/01
Profoundly affecting in the virtuosity of ensemble performance art.
10/23/01
The dance choreography endures as some of the most energetic ever captured on film.
09/02/01
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 CriticIt 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 CriticEach song from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim is a belter.
01/01/00
Demonstrates yet again the enduring quality of Shakespeare's work.
01/01/00
West 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
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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