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Overview
User Rating:
Directors:
Writers:
Ernest Lehman (screenplay)
Arthur Laurents (book)
more
Release Date:
23 December 1961 (Japan) more
Tagline:
"BEST PICTURE!" Winner of 10 Academy Awards! - 1961 (post-Oscar) more
Plot:
Musical about two youngsters from rival NYC gangs who fall in love. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 10 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(91 articles)
Shelean Newman: One of Music City's Favorite Actresses May Become America's Favorite Chanteuse
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 12 November 2009, 8:06 PM, PST)
Adam Lambert Defends His Glittery Image: The MTV News Quote Of The Day
(From MTV Newsroom. 9 November 2009, 1:47 PM, PST)
User Comments:
A 70-millimeter delight. more (261 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Natalie Wood | ... | Maria | |
| Richard Beymer | ... | Tony | |
| Russ Tamblyn | ... | Riff | |
| Rita Moreno | ... | Anita | |
| George Chakiris | ... | Bernardo | |
| Simon Oakland | ... | Lt. Schrank | |
| Ned Glass | ... | Doc | |
| William Bramley | ... | Officer Krupke | |
| Tucker Smith | ... | Ice | |
| Tony Mordente | ... | Action | |
| David Winters | ... | A-rab | |
| Eliot Feld | ... | Baby John | |
| Bert Michaels | ... | Snowboy | |
| David Bean | ... | Tiger | |
| Robert Banas | ... | Joyboy |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
152 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)
Certification:
USA:Approved (certificate #19949) | West Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (1970) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | Ireland:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Peru:PT | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Director Robert Wise hired New York gang members to control crowds on location, and fought to shoot on location in New York City. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the final scene there is a male onlooker dressed in blue on the left near Schrank's car. In the next wide shot he is standing on the right near the uniformed police car more
Quotes:
[first lines]
[the Jets dance across the streets of New York, eventually coming to a playground where they toss around a basketball. The ball is intercepted by Bernardo, leader of the Sharks]
Riff:
[snaps fingers at Bernardo] Come on.
[Bernardo drops the ball, Riff picks it up]
Riff:
Beat it.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "CHiPs: Green Thumb Burglar (#1.8)" (1977) more
Soundtrack:
End Credits more
FAQ
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?A Note Regarding Spoilers
How old were Maria and Tony?
more
more (261 total)
Message Boards
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I remember when this film ran on NBC television about 25 years ago. After being beefed up with commercials, it had to be shown in 2 parts over two nights. I only saw it in the theater once when I was about 12, and had forgotten many visuals which were cut off on the television screen. So let me just say that the smartest thing MGM-UA could do is present a widescreen, 70mm DVD. It has a gorgeous restored picture (important for visual effects like the dissolve of Natalie Wood spinning around in the bridal shop which blurs and multiplies and finally erupts into multiple dancers who converge at the gym, or the first time Tony and Maria see each other against the blur of the dance competition on opposite sides of the screen) and pristine sound- probably the most gorgeous score ever composed by Leonard Bernstein. There are, of course, stage purists who scoff at the movie (and its many ghost singers), but I always thought the film's adaptation was superior to the stage show because it gave the story a more breathless, one-act pace. Some songs are reshuffled and re-staged from the original libretto, and the background score is given something of a theatrical makeover. And the dancing, of course, is peerless-- whether it's the "Cool" dance with the Jets in a low-ceiling garage, the "America" battle of the sexes with the Sharks, or even the delicate rooftop dance performed in Act 2 by Natalie Wood- bewitching in a white dress and re-living the moment she first fell in love herself. None of these wonders can prepare you for the mind-numbing, emotional, climax.
A tour-de-force film show, clocking in at 152 minutes.