West Side Story

Around 1960, film musicals were taking on sophistication and some examples of this are "Flower Drum Song" and "West Side Story". There is an edge to "West Side Story" that is unique. I would like to say up front that “Romeo and Juliet” did not inspire this play/movie. It is "Romeo and Juliet". The similarities outweigh the differences. If you want to talk about a movie that was inspired by Shakespeare, "The Lion King" is a better example. Its relationship with "Hamlet" is apparent but the differences are enough to give "The Lion King" the originality that "West Side Story" does not have. The songs in "West Side Story" are good but I don't enjoy them as much as other hit Broadway songs. For these two reasons, a lack of originality and the style of the songs, "West Side Story" is a movie I enjoyed but did not love. It was not a fun movie to be honest. Because I am reviewing the film, I will only briefly mentions elements of the original musical as well as the obvious "Romeo and Juliet" parallels.

I was impressed by how the scene of New York City is laid before us. The first image of the lines against a color background immediately reminds us of the New York skyline but as the prologue continues, we question that. There is also the illusion that the lines are changing to mess with our minds. Then comes aerial film footage of New York (co-director Robert Wise would later do the same thing for "The Sound of Music"). I took notice of the editing of this film. There seems to be quite a lot of cutting for a musical. This fast pace is important in establishing the strain between the street gangs. I noticed early that Tony's passion for life is very much in line with Romeo from Shakespeare. I also saw Lieutenant Schrank as the Prince of Verona. Doc was an obvious relation to Friar Laurence. Doing a musical on film allows you to film outdoors where the story is actually set. For many indoor scenes in this film however, they are still staged and framed much as if they were on a theatrical stage. The camera is perpendicular to the action. Examples include the dance and the wedding scene in the bridal shop. This was at a time in film history when musicals had trouble being completely free of the limitation of the theatrical stage from where they originated. Even future films like "Mary Poppins", "Hello, Dolly!" and "Grease" have examples of framing that resemble a stage. Speaking of the dance scene, the moment when Tony and Maria first see one another is well done cinematically. The use of camera focus is very noteworthy. Without it, the moment would not be as powerful. The audience senses the immediate power of love at first sight because the change in focus takes us by surprise, much like Tony and Maria are taken aback by the sight of each other. I also love the transition of the setting when Tony and Maria become oblivious to everything around them. This is yet another example of theater origins influencing film adaptation. The movie does utilize the close-up, something that can't be done on a stage so that is great. I also enjoy the lighting of the whole movie. The aforementioned scene where Tony and Maria lose all awareness of what is around them at the dance is one example. Another is when light shines through the window of Maria's room onto the characters and the wall. One of my favorite moments in the film is "Gee, Officer Krupke!" It is a lot of fun and well edited. I am glad that the filmmakers put it before the rumble instead of after like in the play. The same is the case with "I Feel Pretty" (that is a great song too). These decisions keep the film dark in the second half and the mood is not disrupted. The "Quintet" sequence was also handled in a good way to lead up to the fight. Another characteristic of "West Side Story" that I applaud is that we are made to hope that the story will not end exactly like "Romeo and Juliet". We feel that both main characters are headed towards an inevitable doom and we pray for otherwise. I am glad that Chino is arrested at the end of the film because I wanted that for resolution purposes.

Acting was great but I was disappointed that neither Natalie Wood nor Richard Beymer actually sang for the final picture but instead, those scenes were dubbed with other singers. Despite this, there was great chemistry between Wood and Beymer. I was amazed to find out that Elvis was originally going to be Tony and he later regretted the fact that his manager declined the offer. Other actors that were considered for the role of Tony are Warren Beatty, Anthony Perkins, Burt Reynolds and Dennis Hopper. Audrey Hepburn might have been Maria but she became pregnant. By the way, as with many musicals that are adapted for film, many cast members in the movie were in live productions of "West Side Story". The music is quite percussive and this with the help of the editing is to portray the tension between the Jets and Sharks. The music is good as mentioned but not quite in lined with my tastes. This was the second highest grossing film of 1961 behind my favorite movie from 1961: "One Hundred and One Dalmatians". Unlike that movie however, "West Side Story" won ten Oscars including best sound, score, editing, costume design, cinematography, directing and it obviously won Best Picture. George Chakiris and Rita Moreno won for their supporting roles as Bernardo and Anita respectively (Chakiris did impress me with his talent). No other musical has ever won more Academy Awards. The American Film Institute has also recognized "West Side Story" as #51 on its list of the greatest American movies of all time. On the AFI list of the greatest film romances, it is number three behind "Casablanca" and "Gone with the Wind" in that order! For its list of film musicals, only "Singin' in the Rain" was higher. Finally, for the list of film songs, "West Side Story" has three on the list: "Somewhere" at #20, "America" at #35 and "Tonight" at #59. When I first saw this movie, it was on the big screen as part of a summer musical movie event and the digital restoration was amazing. I saw no imperfections.

I knew going into this film that it was related to "Romeo and Juliet" but I did not know that "West Side Story" was going to be that similar in terms of story. Before seeing this show, I had heard many of the songs thanks to pop culture. With them all in the same context, I was entertained but not as much as with other musical films. I acknowledge the importance of this movie but in terms of my personal tastes, I don't need to buy this movie.

6 Stars