West Side Story
1961 · Directed by Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
- romance
The story
In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall dangerously in love.
What it’s like
Warm-saturated Technicolor and wide anamorphic frames that let the dancing breathe, with the grimy tenement streets and back-alley lots of 1950s Manhattan given a hard, sun-faded shimmer. Rooftops, fire escapes and chain-link fences crowd the frame, and the camera tracks alongside the gangs in long, sweeping movement rather than close cutting, so the streets themselves feel like a stage. Jerome Robbins's choreography runs through the film in snapping finger-clicks, leaps and slides, set against Leonard Bernstein's brassy, sweeping score and a vocal chorus that swells from playful to tense. The mood swings hard between giddy youthful romance, a sun-drenched dance-hall glow, and a dusky, claustrophobic dread that settles in as the rivalry tightens. Its pace is brisk and theatrical, with big numbers punctuating intimate duets, and its emotional register is romantic and tragic, following two young people from opposite sides who are drawn together against the pull of their communities. Violence is present: a few stylised rumbles, knife fights and a brutal, sudden death, all shot with more choreography than gore, but the ending lands hard. A fit for a grand, old-fashioned musical night, for people who love Broadway-scale dance, bright colour and bittersweet heartbreak.
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