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West Side Story (1961)

"When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way. From your first cigarette to your last dying day."

The 1961 movie adaptation of Broadway's long running musical has been reissued in a two-disk collector's edition from MGM.

An updated version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with New York White and Puerto Rican gangs substituted for the Capulets and Montagues, West Side Story received an impressive 10 Academy Awards, including "Best Picture" and Best Director; no Best Actor awards, but took both Best Supporting Actor statuettes for George Chakiris' and Rita Moreno's forceful performances.

Stupendous music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and to a lesser extent Jerome Robbins' choreography are the keynotes, with unfortunately tepid performances from leads Natalie Wood and particularly Richard Beymer, while supporting actors George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, and Russ Tamblyn thankfully keep the picture from going down like the Titanic.

The movie opens with the overture playing snatches of the various major themes that will recur later in the movie while a static abstract shot goes through several color changes before it resolves itself as an aerial view of the tip of Manhattan Island. The camera goes through many full color aerial shots of the various areas of Manhattan, which would appeal to those interested in New York of the 1960s.

The camera winds up on a basketball court and a shot of Russ Tamblyn rhythmically snapping his fingers. The camera pulls back and we see him with five or six of his friends - what passed for a gang in those days - all snapping their fingers in time. I could see why parents would be disturbed about their behavior - not that they were threatening in any violent sense but their campy prancing around definitely would cause regular folks to wonder about them. These are the Jets - a gang of white immigrant boys one generation off the boat. We meet their rivals, the relatively newer Puerto Ricans, led by George Chakiris, leader of the Sharks. They, too, seem more than a little fey with their pirouettes and other balletic moves. All kidding aside, they do show some fairly impressive dance moves and especially as the play moves into the high school dance where they are allowed to dance with the opposite sex.

The movie rapidly moves through the sequence where Richard Beymer (White) and Natalie Wood (Hispanic) meet and then they are in love from the first sight. Meanwhile, the Jets and the Sharks have agreed to meet for a rumble at midnight. How will these two from such different backgrounds be able to stay together? If you are familiar with Romeo and Juliet, you know the answer.

To enjoy West Side Story really takes a love of theater, where you can disregard the theatrical backgrounds, the sudden bursts into song and dance, and high melodrama. This suspension of disbelief is hard for me in such a Broadway adaptation, unless the play is compelling. But here the dialog is trite and even banal, with the Jets and Sharks almost a caricature of Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys. There is no threat emanating from them whatsoever. I have to give Rita Moreno kudos for a lively and diversified performance that really kept the pace up, and George Chakiris also earned his Academy Award. Apart from Leonard Bernstein's jazzy score I really can't fathom how it got all the Academy Awards. It may have been cutting edge in 1961, but I honestly think West Side Story has not aged well.

The new MGM DVD has a 2.35:1 copy of the 151 minute color movie and a bonus disk with an hour long feature starring the actors remaining giving their reminiscences about West Side Story.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening