SHOWTIMES THRU 8/13: 7:00p - ENDS 8/13
WINNER OF 10 OSCARS in 1962:
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Film Editing, Best Costum Design, Best Art Direction
WINNER OF 3 GOLDEN GLOBES 1962:
Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress
WEST SIDE STORY is one of those enduring art works that almost defies any kind of rational criticism, which is a high compliment in this case, because the fever-pitch mix of comedy, romance, music, innovation and tragedy, all culled from good old Shakespeare, still feels as fresh today as it probably did in 1961.
Romeo and Juliet transplanted in Manhattan's Upper West Side circa 1950s, the feuding Montagues and Capulets are immortalized by the rival street gangs The Jets (native New Yorkers) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants), and there are healthy undercurrents of race and class in the story, with the "PRs" - Puerto Ricans - serving as immigrants who have come to New York for a better life.
The story follows Romeo and Juliet loosely, but the basic structure and framework remains, with young Maria, the sister of the gang-leader for the Sharks, falling in love with Tony, a charismatic former member of the Jets. Tony has left the gang lifestyle behind but reluctantly agrees to attend a local dance where the star-crossed lovers meet, and the rest, as they say, is history.
If you haven't seen the film in many years, what you love about it all comes back - the absolutely smashing and stylized gang choreography, an incomparable and on-fire Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, the immortal music by Sondheim and Bernstein. The film is most alive when the many musical numbers are in full swing, particularly the energetic "America" performed with daring confidence by the Oscar-winning Moreno.
reelmoviecritic.com
