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IMDbPro

West Side Story

  • 19611961
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
116K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,822
230
"West Side Story" (Saul Bass Poster) 1961
Special ED. DVD, Post
Play trailer0:31
5 Videos
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaMusical
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
116K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,822
230
    • Jerome Robbins
    • Robert Wise
  • Writers
    • Ernest Lehman(screenplay by)
    • Arthur Laurents(book by)
    • Jerome Robbins(play conceived by)
  • Stars
    • Natalie Wood
    • George Chakiris
    • Richard Beymer
    • Jerome Robbins
    • Robert Wise
  • Writers
    • Ernest Lehman(screenplay by)
    • Arthur Laurents(book by)
    • Jerome Robbins(play conceived by)
  • Stars
    • Natalie Wood
    • George Chakiris
    • Richard Beymer
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 494User reviews
    • 148Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 10 Oscars

    Videos5

    West Side Story
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch West Side Story
    Shot for Shot | 'West Side Story'
    Clip 1:20
    Watch Shot for Shot | 'West Side Story'
    Essential Guide to Rita Moreno
    Clip 8:44
    Watch Essential Guide to Rita Moreno
    Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway
    Clip 6:12
    Watch Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway
    What We Know About 'West Side Story' ... So Far
    Video 3:23
    Watch What We Know About 'West Side Story' ... So Far

    Photos343

    Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer in West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris and Simon Oakland in West Side Story (1961)
    Natalie Wood and George Chakiris in West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris, Jay Norman, and Eddie Verso in West Side Story (1961)
    Rita Moreno in West Side Story (1961)
    West Side Story (1961)
    David Winters and Tucker Smith in West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris, Jay Norman, and Eddie Verso in West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn in West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn in West Side Story (1961)
    West Side Story (1961)
    George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn in West Side Story (1961)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Natalie Wood
    Natalie Wood
    • Maria
    George Chakiris
    George Chakiris
    • Bernardo
    Richard Beymer
    Richard Beymer
    • Tony
    Russ Tamblyn
    Russ Tamblyn
    • Riff
    Rita Moreno
    Rita Moreno
    • Anita
    Simon Oakland
    Simon Oakland
    • Schrank
    Ned Glass
    Ned Glass
    • Doc
    William Bramley
    William Bramley
    • Krupke
    Tucker Smith
    Tucker Smith
    • Ice
    Tony Mordente
    Tony Mordente
    • Action
    David Winters
    David Winters
    • A-rab
    Eliot Feld
    Eliot Feld
    • Baby John
    Bert Michaels
    Bert Michaels
    • Snowboy
    David Bean
    • Tiger
    Robert Banas
    Robert Banas
    • Joyboy
    Anthony 'Scooter' Teague
    Anthony 'Scooter' Teague
    • Big Deal
    • (as Scooter Teague)
    Harvey Evans
    Harvey Evans
    • Mouthpiece
    • (as Harvey Hohnecker)
    Tommy Abbott
    • Gee-Tar
      • Jerome Robbins
      • Robert Wise
    • Writers
      • Ernest Lehman(screenplay by)
      • Arthur Laurents(book by)
      • Jerome Robbins(play conceived by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Rita Moreno Breaks Down 6 of Her Iconic Roles

    Rita Moreno Breaks Down 6 of Her Iconic Roles

    Rita Moreno breaks down 6 of her most iconic roles, discusses the struggles she's faced in Hollywood, and shares what it felt like to return to West Side Story 60 years later. She also dives into her revealing documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.
    Watch now
    Image caption not available
    8:44

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The actors in the rival gangs were instructed to play pranks on each other off the set to keep tensions high.
    • Goofs
      Near the end, when Maria yells "Don't you touch him!", two different voices can be heard at the same time in the first half of the phrase (in fact, this is singer Marni Nixon overdubbing for Natalie Wood).
    • Quotes

      Maria: All of you! You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets, or guns, with hate. Well now I can kill, too, because now I have hate!

    • Crazy credits
      There are no opening credits; a stylized, tinted aerial still of Manhattan is shown as the overture plays. The background changes color as the themes change throughout the overture. As the overture ends, the tinting is blue, the title appears, and the shot segues to aerial photography of Manhattan streets and landmarks.
    • Alternate versions
      The 1984, 88 VHS releases in addition to the 1991 reissue had the 1982 United Artists logo plaster.
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of West Side Story (2021)
    • Soundtracks
      Overture
      (1957) (uncredited)

      Composed by Leonard Bernstein

    User reviews494

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    An Uncompromisingly Great film
    Although I think I've seen just about every musical there is from the forties to the seventies, I'd never seen West Side Story until last night. An amazing omission on my part, as having seen it, I just think it's simply wonderful.

    I bought the DVD "on spec" in a CD/DVD exchange store in Sydney for $10. I've had it in my hand a couple of times before but have always put it back on the shelf. This time I went through with the purchase and am now wondering what could have come over me, not buying it before.

    Those here who have said you really need to watch it on the Big Screen are absolutely right. In my case I watched it using a video projector throwing the image, big, bright and beautiful, onto a 12 foot screen. The photography used the wide screen format uncompromisingly. There was no caution here to frame the action for possible television cropping, or even much consideration given to a 2.35:1 "Cinemascope" presentation. Super Panavision's aspect ratio is not as wide as Cinemascope's 2.35:1, and every square inch of screen space was used for one or another important element of composition.

    Bernstein's music is a tour de force. Having watched On The Town only a few days back, it was interesting to contrast the two musicals. On The town is, of course, 15 years or so older than West side Story, but a comparison between the two scores is chalk and cheese. You could tell that Bernstein was holding himself back in On The Town. It wasn't his project. The numbers were almost self-censored. But West side Story was his baby, and it shows.

    The sheer brilliance of the music, the enchanting daring of it, its raucous atonality coupled with sweetness of melody are awesomely impressive, as show-stopper after show-stopper is thrown onto the screen to continually up the amazement quotient, time after time.

    I played West Side Story loud, very loud. The surround sound knocked my socks off from the opening aerial ambiance of Manhattan streets to the orchestrations themselves. I remember Bernstein in the documentary about the concert version of West Side Story saying, aside to the camera, after "Cool, Boy" was recorded, "You know, this is pretty good..." One of the great understatements, even if coming from the music's creator.

    See this film. Play it loud. Watch it on a big screen if you can. If you do you may, like I did, sit there thrilled, swinging your head from one side of the Super Panavision screen to the other, trying to take in the overwhelming avalanche coming at your eyes, your ears and your heart. It was an almost perfect transfer from film to DVD: color, sharpness, depth.

    It's been a long while since I've watched a film with a silly grin on my face right through, sometimes gasping at the sheer knock-out brilliance of what film-making can be at its best. West Side Story was one of those times.
    helpful•136
    36
    • Tony Dummett
    • Feb 5, 2005

    FAQ7

    • Were the songs in West Side Story eligible for an Oscar nomination? It seems odd that it was nominated for Best Picture but as a musical it received no Best Song nominations.
    • What is 'West Side Story' about?
    • Is this movie based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 1961 (Japan)
      • United States
      • Official site
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • 110th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Mirisch Corporation
      • Seven Arts Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 33 minutes
      • Color

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