The Movie Forums Top 100 of All-Time Refresh: Countdown

Maybe Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo?

West Side Story is a simple Romeo and Juliet tale-- nothing overly remarkable there. But it's the stunning music by Leonard Bernstein, and also the interesting dance numbers by Jerome Robbins that make WSS a memorable production.

I think that people who feel that musicals in general are awkward or pretentious wouldn't consider WSS to be a great film. After all, there's not as much non musical story in it than, say, La La Land. But for those who consider the unique production values of a good musical, WSS is an innovative first class production.

Didn't see either one and I highly doubt I ever will.

I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.

Could be, or perhaps the population as a whole tilt a bit more into the hardcore cinephiles as opposed to more casual viewers, with a decent portion of the veterans having garnered more exposure to more and better films over the years. The recent injection of Corrie users seem to be more dedicated cinema people than casual viewers, as well.

Wow two of my all time favorites that barely didn’t make my list. Young Frankenstein got taken off at the last minute and A New Hope is not the SW I went with. Ideally all of the OT would be on the top 100 if it were up to me.

Young Frankenstein is my favorite Frankenstein movie.

I really hope Showgirls shows up.

I'll be glad if any Verhoeven shows up.

Now I think I still have that tape, but I don't have a VHS player I should see it whole one day.

Does anyone ever think of the irony of movies of a decade or genre appearing on the top list being a different order from how they would appear on a list specifying that time period or genre? Say Pulp Fiction was the highest rated 90's movie on this list when it's number 3 on another 90's list. Just as an example.

What can I even say about this movie? There are just too many things I love. I fell in love with the soundtrack at the age of nine when I got the cassette for my birthday long before I saw the film. It’s still probably my favourite musical of all time. Cabaret is my favourite film which happens to be a musical, but West Side Story is my favourite musical.

It’s good right from the start with the sweeping shot of New York from above moving in to the way the dance and music give you the syncopated rhythm of the gangs’ interactions. (OK, so they’re not the toughest looking street gangs in cinema history). The grey streets are illuminated with flashes of colour (mainly red, for passion, anger and blood) which looks good but also serves as an appropriate visualisation of the lives of the characters. It’s not dissimilar to the look of a Jaques Demy film, but with a layer of grime instead of a candy coated outside. Watching it this time I noticed the use of colour more.

The songs! I love the songs. If I start listing all my favourite songs it will probably be all of them, but Jet Song, Something’s Coming, America, Tonight (especially the ensemble), Gee Officer Krupke, Maria, Somewhere, Cool… But the music between songs is just as important - the dance fight at the beginning, the dance at the dance, the rumble, the whistling. The dancing and dance-related acrobatics are impressive.

The story is an old one, an updating of Romeo and Juliet. But then the Shakespeare version wasn’t the original either, and sometimes the old stories are the best. It works well, unfolding naturally with nothing shoehorned in, New York apartments working perfectly as a substitute for Juliet’s balcony . There are different emphases here, on the conflict between locals and immigrants, the sometimes well-meaning but mostly hopeless attempts of the older generation to get the youth to play nice (“You was never my age, none of ya!”), the dynamic between Maria, Anita and Bernardo.

The absence of a sensible adult voice in the film is interesting - there’s only Doc, really (“weapons? You couldn’t play basketball?” “Why do you kids live like there’s a war on?”); Maria’s parents are mentioned but notable by their absence. The themes are cleverly encapsulated, sometimes amusingly, in the songs - the different facets of the immigrant experience in the song America, the way delinquents are handled by different systems in Officer Krupke. While the outfits may be dated, a lot of the themes still have a lot of resonance today, and nothing is ever quite clear cut, nobody is without blame ("You all killed him!" - Maria's 'a plague on both your houses' moment.)

While West Side Story has all of the fun of a light musical, it also packs a dramatic punch. Some of my favourite dramatic moments include the supremely insensitive police officer at Doc’s insulting everybody - and in the process reminding the Jets that a lot of their parents were immigrants too. Doc’s comment to Tony that he’s cared enough for the both of them. The two sides getting ready for the rumble. After the fight when the Jets mention Riff’s name and suddenly go quiet. Doc telling Tony that Maria is dead. Tony running through the empty streets calling for Chino to kill him and then when he sees Maria in the red dress.

The acting is mostly good, especially Rita Moreno who is effective in a more comedic role at the start, but is really good towards the end when things become more dramatic. When she fails to deliver the message, it’s heartbreaking not just because of the effect that has on what happens to Tony and Maria, but because it’s all too obvious why, after the way the Jets behave and the effect it has on her (“Don’t you touch me.” delivered with such meaning). Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are not ideal casting, but they are pretty and charming enough that their sudden romance works.

It sometimes looks a bit stagy, and there are times when the visuals go a bit sixties in their attempts at jazzy special effects which are largely unnecessary, although I do like Tony and Maria’s first meeting when the dancers behind them fade into the background leaving them in the foreground.

All in all, a classic.