"west Side Story" perhaps has one of the best scores ever for Broadway show. Every Song is great. The talent behind the camera outshines the leads. Natalie Wood is great in her role as Maria. Richard Beymer is also very good but there is NO CHEMISTRY between the two leads. However the supporting cast is excellent. The dancers outshine the leads however Rita Moreno & George Chakiris deserved the Academy Awards that the received for their work in this film.In case you didn't know this is a modern day telling of Romeo and Juliet. This time the rival families are street gangs in New York.Despite no chemistry between Natalie & Richard the film is still excellent. The last scene with Natalie Wood should have gotten her an Oscar. However since she was dubbed and she had no chemistry with Richard she went home with no statue. In the documentary on the making of the film you can see why Natalie was dubbed. However today with auto tune I think they would have fixed her voice. If you ever get the chance to see this on the big screen take advantage of it. It is very impressive on a big screen with big sound!

This movie drives me crazy. I barely forced myself to see it through because it is extremely annoyingly done and I rate such movies with 2/10 (1/10 is for those I gave up on), but when it finally ended I was under such amazing impression that I wanted to give it 10/10.Story is inspired by Romeo and Juliet, but placed in NY in the mid 20th century, where two members of opponent teenage gangs fall in love. Acting, directing and music are great. Movie is extremely emotional and possess strength and atmosphere of a theater. It has all prerequisites for excellency. And it won 10 Oscars. But...Everything in this movie is overemphasized and I hate that. However, if I observe it as theater on canvas I can get over it.Movie starts with instrumental intro with frozen screen. It lasts around 5 minutes. At first I thought my movie player was stuck, then I tried to find another version online and I almost gave up on watching this movie when I finally realized it is supposed to be that way. Why would anyone do such thing I really have no idea and that's first minus.It's damn musical. And one of those needlessly stretched to two and a half hours by completely redundant musical numbers. First half of the movie is almost unwatchable and I was at the edge of giving up several times. But curiosity about how will story go kept me going on. Story is great and some musical numbers tell parts of the story, but good part of them just have no purpose in the movie. They are just for enjoying music and to double length of the film. That's second minus.Just when I decided to stick it out or simply fast forward redundant parts and watch this movie till the end ultimate deal breaker happened that left me shocked. Scene where two gangs are closing to "battle field" and mass brawl/rumble itself are shown in the form of ballet. BALLET?! Even if I didn't hate ballet, which I really do, I mean, really ?! Teenage mass fight as ballet... wtf?! The ultimately stupidest thing I saw on big screen. Instant embarrassment transfer. Huge minus, I mean really really big.And then, in the middle of the movie there's one more musical intermezzo with frozen screen. That was too much for my nerves and I turned it off.But, later it bothered me how the story ends and I decided to see other half too the very next day. Second half had more story and action and less redundancy and musical numbers are structural part of the plot. And ending made me cry. And how should I rate it now...8/10Natalie Wood is so beautiful in this movie. Like an angel <3

Come on, really. Who in the world would not like West Side Story. The greatest movie musical of ALL TIME. Unless you're a teenager, you must at least seen or heard about WSS sometime in your life. I'm 55 and I've been watching this since I was a kid. Was on TCM just last night and watched the whole thing.. no commercials...2 1/2 hrs. Yea, its that good. Tony and Maria? cmon... watching them look and sing to each other will make you fall in love again, unless you have no heart. Bernardo and Anita? They chew it up in each and every scene. Even if u seen this a million times, watch it again.... just because... and play it COOOL BOYYY

This updated Romeo and Juliet tale, on the streets of New York, is the only movie so far to share the Best Director Oscar between two directors, Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (his film debut was also the only film he directed).After the Overture, the film opens fairly silently with breathtaking (helicopter high) overhead views of Manhattan before the camera is focused - and zooms in - on a city playground (where the story later ends). Director Wise would use virtually this exact same technique to open (and close) his other Oscar-winning Best Picture The Sound of Music (1965), which features the majestic Alps in place of the cement and steel 'mountains' of New York City.Two rival street gangs: Riff (Russ Tamblyn) is the leader of the ethnic "White" Jets, Bernardo (Chakiris) the leader of the "Hispanic" (actually, Puerto Rican) Sharks and brother of Maria (Natalie Wood); Moreno plays Maria's friend Anita, who is also Bernardo's girl. When Tony (Richard Beymer), who was formerly with the Jets, and Maria fall in love, there is conflict played out ever so creatively in song and dance, with Tamblyn lending his many skills in this area. Of course, their's is a forbidden love which can only lead to tragedy. Simon Oakland, Ned Glass, William Bramley (as Officer Krupke) and John Astin play the adult supporting roles.The film won 10 (out of 11 nominations) total Oscars including Best Picture and both Supporting roles, George Chakiris and Rita Moreno (who also uniquely has an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony Award as well!). Added to the National Film Registry in 1997. #41 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list. #3 on AFI's 100 Greatest Love Stories list. "Somewhere" is #20 on AFI's 100 Top Movie Songs of All Time. "America" is #35 on AFI's 100 Top Movie Songs of All Time. "Tonight" is #59 on AFI's 100 Top Movie Songs of All Time. #2 on AFI's 25 Greatest Movie Musicals list. The Academy Award winning Score also includes the Leonard Bernstein- Stephen Sondheim songs "Maria" and "I Feel Pretty".