West Side Story (1961)

Few musicals have lodged themselves so firmly into the collective memory of cinema as West Side Story. Released in 1961 and running to a considerable 153 minutes, the film transplants the bare bones of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the streets of mid-century Manhattan, where the Jets, a white gang of largely Polish-American kids, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang newly settled in the neighbourhood, are locked in a grinding territorial feud. Into that feud steps a pair of young lovers from opposite sides, and the rest, as they say, is tragedy. The stage musical, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, had already been a phenomenon on Broadway from 1957, so by the time it reached the screen there was both an enormous ready-made audience and an equally enormous expectation to meet. It was a prestige production from The Mirisch Company and Seven Arts Productions, the kind of project that announced itself as an event before a single frame had been projected.

The film carries not one but two directors, a relatively unusual arrangement even then. Jerome Robbins, who had choreographed the original stage production, took charge of the musical numbers, while Robert Wise handled the dramatic scenes. Wise was already an established and versatile Hollywood craftsman, comfortable moving between genres, and the pairing worked, if not always without friction behind the scenes. The result is a film shot partly on location in New York, with Technicolor cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp that gives the city's streets and rooftops a quality that feels both heightened and oddly real at the same time. The choreography, which is Robbins' great contribution here, is the kind you remember long after the plot details have faded. If you enjoy films from this era on their own terms, there is plenty of company on this site, from the cool Swedish formalism of Persona (1966) to the rather different atmosphere of Winter Light (1963), both reviewed here.

The principal cast is a polished but occasionally uneven ensemble. Natalie Wood plays Maria, the young Puerto Rican woman at the centre of the love story, and Richard Beymer plays Tony, the Jet who falls for her. Both performances were, in fact, dubbed for the singing, a common enough practice at the time but one that adds a curious layer of artifice to the film when you know about it. The supporting players arguably make the stronger impression overall: Russ Tamblyn brings a coiled energy to Riff, leader of the Jets, while Rita Moreno and George Chakiris won Academy Awards for their work as Anita and Bernardo respectively, which tells you something about where the real fireworks are. The film itself took home ten Oscars in total, including Best Picture and Best Director, making it one of the most decorated films of its era. For a sense of how crime and conflict have been handled in very different registers elsewhere in cinema, it is worth comparing with something like Little Caesar (1931), reviewed here, or the visceral modern approach of The Raid 2 (2014), which could hardly be more different in style but shares a fascination with territorial violence.

I found this hilarious imagining if this was the standard way people walked about. West Side Story (1961) is an American classic, no question. Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, it’s a sweeping, stylized musical that reimagines Romeo and Juliet as a tragic clash between rival street gangs in 1960s New York: the Jets and the Sharks. The film is a technical marvel, vibrant Technicolor cinematography, jaw-dropping choreography, and location shooting that turns the city itself into a character. The way they use light, movement, and space, especially in numbers like “Cool” and “America,” feels revolutionary even today. The dancing alone elevates it to masterpiece status, every step, every leap, every finger snap is precision fused with raw emotion. I sat there thinking, I bet this is what inspired Michael Jackson to make Beat It and I later read that it actually was. The parallels are undeniable (gang tension, dance as conflict, the plea for peace) and it’s satisfying to see that legacy confirmed. That said, as someone who doesn’t naturally gravitate toward musicals, I found it long, nearly two and a half hours of heightened drama, melodrama, and song-and-dance routines that, while stunning, start to blur together. The story doesn’t evolve much from start to finish; it’s emotionally intense, but thematically repetitive. And musically, it’s hit and miss. Still, despite its length and dated elements, it’s impossible not to respect what it achieved. It won 10 Oscars for a reason, craft, ambition, cultural impact. It earns its place among the greats, even if it overstays its welcome. A landmark in cinema history, best appreciated for its artistry, even when the runtime tests your patience. Musicals may not be my thing… but this one demands recognition.

I keep coming back to that Michael Jackson connection, because it crystallises something important about why this film matters beyond its trophy haul. It planted seeds that kept growing for decades, and that kind of reach is not something you can manufacture. Does that make the slower stretches easier to sit through on a first watch? Not entirely, if I'm honest. There are passages where the emotional register stays at full volume for so long that it starts to numb rather than move you, and the two and a half hours do make themselves felt. But when the choreography kicks in and everything locks together, movement and music and colour all at once, it is genuinely hard to look away. For me, the artistry wins the argument, even when the clock on the wall is not quite agreeing. Sometimes a film earns its length without quite justifying it. This is one of those.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 1961  | Watched: 2025-11-10

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Trailer

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from the 1960s: Viy (1967) · Persona (1966) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · Daisies (1966)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)