Category: Musical
All Genres: Musical, Romance, Drama
Release Year: 1961
Country: USA
Runtime: 152
Rating: 7.6 (0)
Languages: English, Spanish
Director: Jerome RobbinsRobert Wise
Sound: 4-Track Stereo, 70 mm 6-Track, Mono
Taglines:
- "BEST PICTURE!" Winner of 10 Academy Awards! – 1961 (post-Oscar)
- THE MOST ACCLAIMED MOTION PICTURE OF OUR TIME! (re-release)
- Unlike other musicals West Side Story grows younger!(re-release)
- The Screen Achieves One of the Great Entertainments in the History of Motion Pictures
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Writing by: Jerome Robbins – conception and
Arthur Laurents – play
Ernest Lehman – (screenplay)
William Shakespeare – (play "Romeo and Juliet") uncredited
Produced by: Saul Chaplin – associate producer
Robert Wise – producer
Walter Mirisch – executive producer (uncredited)
Cast: Natalie Wood – Maria
Richard Beymer – Tony
Russ Tamblyn – Riff
Rita Moreno – Anita
George Chakiris – Bernardo
Simon Oakland – Lieutenant Schrank
Ned Glass – Doc
William Bramley – Officer Krupke
Tucker Smith – Ice
Tony Mordente – Action
David Winters – A-rab
Music: Leonard Bernstein
Official Website: Visit Website
Plot Outline: Musical about two youngsters from rival NYC gangs who fall in love.
Plot: Westside story is the award winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliette. The feuding families become two warring New York City gangs- the white Jets led by Riff and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riffs best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardos younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love. Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Then the Skarks and Jets plan a rumble under the highway – whoever wins gains control of the streets. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping it can end the violence. It goes terribly wrong, and before the lovers know whats happened, tragedy strikes and doesnt stop until the climatic and heartbreaking ending.
Crazy Credits: We know about 2 Crazy Credits. One of them reads:
The credits at the end of the movie appear as graffiti on street signs.
Goofs: We know about 12 goofs. Here comes one of them:
Continuity: Marias necklace jumps about between shots as she leans over Tonys body.
Trivia: There are 62 entries in the trivia list – like these:- The original stage version of Marias song “I Feel Pretty” included the lyrics “I feel pretty and witty and bright / And I pity / Any girl who isnt me tonight.” In the film this night scene was changed to the daytime, and presumably for this reason, the rhyming words “bright” and “tonight” were changed to “gay” and “today.”
- Borrowed its plot from William Shakespeares “Romeo and Juliet”.
- Natalie Woods singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon.
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