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It's actually the story that counts. I remember as a kid living in New York in the 70's waiting anxiously for the day they were going to show WSS on TV. Does every actor and actress that play Romeo and Juliet have to be Italian. Back then there weren't a lot of hispanics on TV and you took what you could get. Yes Maria and 'Nardo weren't played by actual "puertoriquens" , so what. In short,no.The sets and dance numbers are incredible. Get your kids into classic films, my 7 y/o loved it, yes there are fights and knives but believe me it's all done in a very tasteful way.Favorite part: When everyone is singing about what's going to go down that night, each with very different ideas, breaks your heart when you know what's actually going to happen.
My wife and I finally watched the complete version of this movie, almost 50 years after it came out. The ending of the film is the most disappointing part; everything is left unresolved. What a disappointment. Other than the music and the choreography, which were very good, the overall tone of the movie is very depressing. We can't imagine what motivated the judges to rank this the best picture of 1961, just two years after Ben-Hur was voted best picture of the year for 1959. We will be donating this movie to our local library.
But of course the best part of the movie is the songs--the yearning "Maria," "Somewhere," and "One Hand, One Heart," the sardonic "America" (though I personally think the original Broadway lyrics were better) and "Gee, Officer Krupke.," the soaring "Tonight" (in two versions, a Tony/Maria duet and an intercut ensemble), and the street-smart "Jet Song" and "Cool"--and the lively balletic dance numbers (the establishing Jets/Sharks scuffles, the dance at the gym, the Puerto Ricans' mini-fiesta on the apartment roof, and the rumble itself). From the moment the two set eyes on each other, they know their destiny.
Riff (Russ Tamblyn), leader of the Jets, has become impatient with the repeated incursions of the Sharks onto his gang's turf--it may be small, but it's theirs, and he plans to keep it that way. A classic for almost 50 years, this retelling of Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers is also oddly relevant in a day when street gangs go armed with automatic weapons and mow down innocent bystanders with abandon: the Anglo Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks, who carefully arrange their battle for an isolated location and agree to what amounts to a duel of two champions, seem far superior to their modern analogues.
What he finds is Maria (Natalie Wood), Bernardo's sister, whom he's brought up to New York to marry his friend Chino (Jose deVega). Making up his mind to challenge the Sharks' leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) to a rumble to decide the issue, he asks his friend and foster brother Tony (Richard Beymer) to serve as his backup.
Tony has given up the gang life and gotten a respectable job helping out at Doc's candy store, but he can't say no to Riff--and what's more, he feels that "something big" is about to come into his life, something he may find at the upcoming dance where Riff plans to issue his challenge. But just as the Capulet-Montague feud of 16th-century Verona doomed the original Romeo and Juliet, so ethnic hatreds stand in the way of Tony and Maria's love.The plot is skilfully adapted from Shakespeare's original, with most of the elements still in place and a couple (particularly the characters of Anita (Rita Moreno), Maria's friend and Bernardo's girl, and Anybodys (Susan Oakes), the crop-haired tomboy who longs to be accepted as a full-blown Jet) added to great effect; even if (like me) you think love at first sight is hooey, you find yourself sucked into the world of the impassioned pair and wanting them to make it out though you know they can't.
This is a true classic of Hollywood musicals and one every fan of the genre should know.
I could see that it had good music, but that was the only thing it had. I purchased this movie for my sister as she loves these types of movies. Personally, I saw it about 20 years ago and was stunned that it had won so many Oscars. If you want to see a gang version of Romeo and Juliet, feel free. But otherwise, STAY AWAY.
Fantastic movie. Really affecting and very moving. Uh-oh.
White impoverished kids whose families are from Poland, etc. The odd point is that the story contains dancing, singing and a lot of energy. A remake of Romeo and Juliet set on the streets of 1950s New York.
Lots of fighting and death. battle gangs of Puerto Ricans in the streets. A Puerto Rican girl and Polish-American boy fall in love.
That is what makes it a great movie. A must see, over and over again.
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