West Side Story
Mirisch Pictures; Seven Arts Productions; United Artists; October 18, 1961; 152 minutes
Screenplay by Ernest Lehman
Based on West Side Story; Music by Leonard Bernstein; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by Arthur Laurents
Produced by Robert Wise
Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins
West
Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film. The film is
an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in
turn was inspired by a William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It
stars Natalie Wood as Maria, Richard Beymer as Tony, Russ Tamblyn as
Riff, Rita Moreno as Anita and George Chakiris as Bernardo, and was
photographed in Super Panavision 70. In New York City in 1957, two
teenage gangs compete for control of the Upper West Side. The Jets, a
group of white teens led by Riff, brawl with the Sharks, Puerto Ricans led by
Bernardo. Lieutenant Schrank and Officer Krupke arrive and break it
up. The Jets challenge the Sharks to a rumble to be held after an
upcoming dance. Riff wants his best friend Tony, the co-founder and
former member of the Jets, to fight at the rumble. Riff invites Tony to
the dance, but Tony says he senses something important is coming. Riff
suggests it could happen at the dance. Tony finally agrees to go.
Meanwhile, Bernardo's younger sister, Maria, tells her best friend and
Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, how excited she is about the dance. At the
dance, the two gangs and their girls refuse to intermingle. Tony
arrives; he and Maria fall in love instantly, but Bernardo angrily
demands that Tony stay away from her. Riff proposes a midnight
meeting with Bernardo at Doc's drugstore to settle the rules for the
rumble. Maria is sent home; Anita argues that Bernardo is
overprotective of Maria, and they compare the advantages of Puerto Rico
and the mainland United States. Tony sneaks onto Maria's fire escape
where they reaffirm their love. Krupke, who suspects the Jets are
planning something, warns them not to cause trouble. The Sharks arrive,
and the gangs agree to a showdown the following evening under the
highway, with a one-on-one fist fight. When Schrank arrives, the gangs
feign friendship. Schrank orders the Sharks out and fails to discover
information about the fight. The next day at the bridal shop where they
work, Anita accidentally tells Maria about the rumble. Tony arrives to
see Maria. Anita, shocked, warns them about the consequences if
Bernardo learns of their relationship. Maria makes Tony promise to
prevent the rumble. Tony and Maria fantasize about their wedding. The
gangs approach the area under the highway. Tony arrives to stop the
fight, but Bernardo antagonizes him. Unwilling to watch Tony be
humiliated, Riff initiates a knife fight. Tony intervenes, leading to
Bernardo's death with Riff's knife, and a melee ensues. Police sirens blare,
and everyone flees, leaving behind the dead body. Maria waits for
Tony on the roof of her apartment building; her fiancé Chino (an
arranged engagement) arrives and tells her what happened. Tony arrives
and asks for Maria's forgiveness. He plans to turn himself in to the
police. Maria is devastated, but confirms her love for Tony and asks him
to stay. The Jets and their new leader, Ice, reassemble outside a
garage and focus on reacting to the police. Anybodys arrives and warns
them that Chino is after Tony with a gun. Ice sends the Jets to warn
Tony. A grieving Anita enters the apartment while Tony and Maria are in
the bedroom. The lovers arrange to meet at Doc's, where they will pick
up getaway money to elope. Anita spots Tony leaving through the window
and chides Maria for the relationship with Bernardo's killer, but Maria
convinces her to help them elope. Schrank arrives and questions Maria
about the rumble. Maria sends Anita to tell Tony that Maria is detained
from meeting him. When Anita reaches Doc's, the Jets harass and even
try to rape her, when Doc appears and intervenes. Anita angrily lies,
saying that Chino has killed Maria. Doc banishes the Jets, gives Tony
his getaway money and delivers Anita's message that Maria is dead. Tony, distraught, runs
into the streets, shouting for Chino to kill him, too. In the playground
next to Doc's, Tony spots Maria and they run towards each other only
for Chino to shoot Tony. The gangs arrive to find Maria holding Tony,
who dies in her arms. Maria stops the gangs from fighting, takes the
gun from Chino and threatens to shoot everyone, blaming their hate for
the deaths. Schrank, Krupke and Doc arrive, and the gangs form a
funeral procession, with Maria following. The police arrest Chino and
lead him away. In addition to singing voices Marni Nixon, Jimmy Bryant,
Tucker Smith and Betty Wand, West Side Story also stars Simon Oakland,
Ned Glass and William Bramley. West Side Story had songs like "Jet
Song", "Something's Coming ", "Maria ", "America ", "Tonight ", "Gee,
Officer Krupke", "I Feel Pretty ", " One Hand, One Heart ","Somewhere ",
"Cool", and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love ". West Side Story was
nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won 10 Oscars including Best
Picture (Robert Wise), Best Director (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins),
Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris), Best Supporting Actress (Rita
Moreno), Best Art Direction-Color (Boris Leven and Victor A. Gangelin),
Best Cinematography-Color(Daniel L. Fapp), Best Costume Design-Color
(Irene Sharaff), Best Film Editing (Thomas Stanford), Best Scoring of a
Musical Picture (Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal and Sid Ramin)
and Best Sound (Fred Hynes and Gordon E. Sawyer); and Jerome Robbins
for his Academy Honorary Award. West Side Story was one of the true
musical of the 1960s.
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