West Side Story

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West Side Story

1961

2h 31m

Musical

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

115 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A musical in which a modern day Romeo and Juliet are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side, two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang members falls in love with a rival's sister.

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Critics Consensus

Buoyed by Robert Wise's dazzling direction, Leonard Bernstein's score, and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, West Side Story remains perhaps the most iconic of all the Shakespeare adaptations to visit the big screen.

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Louis Cook

Detroit Free Press

One of the lovely things about West Side Story is Rita Moreno, whose acting and dancing are elegant. Chakiris is darkly handsome and effective, and Tamblyn is great on the dancing.

Dec 2, 2021

Full Review

Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

It roars with the hatreds of street battle. It twinkles with joyous motion which turns into fierce agitation as the stresses of misunderstanding speed the players into an uncontrollable maelstrom.

Dec 2, 2021

Full Review

Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

It is Robbins' vision -- of city life expressed in stylized movement that sometimes flowers into dance and song -- that lifts this picture high.

Dec 2, 2021

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Most of the intricately choreographed dances still impress, and there are fine contributions by George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, and especially Rita Moreno.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 22, 2025

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

Loaded with innumerable and distinguished songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (each one an earworm of its own), West Side Story is a tale of race and social decorum and is an incredibly inventive adaptation of the legendary Shakespeare story.

Jun 8, 2023

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Pauline Kael

Film Quarterly

This is a movie that pretends to deal with racial tensions. The lyrics keep telling us this is what it's about and the critics seem to accept the authors' word for it.

Jul 29, 2022

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kevin c

Classic. Don't see how Speilburg can make this better

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/21

Full Review

Michael

The film was great of course. But I want to thank Hawthorne 12 theater (Vernon Hills, Illinois) and Fathom for the presentation. Print of film was new beautiful, the colors were hot—-and there were no glitches. Well presented. Even intermission was handled well ( with time on screen)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/21

Full Review

cathie

This is my all-time favorite movie that I’ve loved since I first saw it in 1975. I lost count how many times I watched this movie, and tonight was no disappointment. The seats are so comfortable and the theater was perfect for this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/21

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Hannah P

Loved the movie! My friend enjoyed it too!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/21

Full Review

Paul

horrible. the theater couldn't log in to show the movie. received an error message that either the broadcast was unavailable due to maintenance or access was unauthorized.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/29/21

Full Review

Frank F.

A masterpiece of cinematography and mounting tension. Faithful to the Broadway Show with juxtaposed songs Cool and Officer Krupke a huge improvement with Cool taking on an almost scary quality leading to the final tragedy. Spielbergs version was not faithful to the original broadway show and original movie. Winner of 10 Oscars including Best Picture, this film cannot be topped. The most honored musical in Cinema history. This should have been ranked either #1 or #2 next to Singing in the Rain.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/25

Full Review

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Jerome Robbins

Director

Robert Wise

Director

Natalie Wood

Maria

Richard Beymer

Tony

Russ Tamblyn

Riff

George Chakiris

Bernardo

West Side Story: Official Clip - I Feel Pretty

2:45

West Side Story: Official Clip - Challenge to a Rumble

2:04

West Side Story: Official Clip - Killed By Hate

2:51

West Side Story: Official Clip - The Jets Own the Streets

2:04

West Side Story: Official Clip - Love At First Sight

2:44

West Side Story: Official Clip - Maria

2:34

West Side Story: Official Clip - Cool

3:16

West Side Story: Official Clip - America

3:59

West Side Story: Official Clip - Somewhere

2:28

West Side Story: Official Clip - Tonight

4:28

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Synopsis

A musical in which a modern day Romeo and Juliet are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side, two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang members falls in love with a rival's sister.

Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
Producer: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Ernest Lehman
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: United Artists, Beta Productions, Mirisch Films
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 1961, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 20, 2015
Runtime: 2h 31m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track
Aspect Ratio: 70mm

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