--- title: "West Side Story" year: 1961 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/west-side-story" fi1m_score: 80 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 14 published: "2026-09-20T03:52:10.333351+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T03:52:10.700625+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # West Side Story (1961) Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise · 2h 33m · MPA NR · Crime, Drama, Romance **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 82 from 14 reviews *In a sentence:* The finger-snapping is more frightening than the knives, and the lovers are the least interesting people on the block > Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’s film of the Bernstein musical still moves like nothing else of its period, and it goes slack whenever the dancing stops. See it for the Jets and the Sharks, and be patient with the lovers. ## Synopsis New York’s West Side, the late 1950s. Two street gangs claim the same few blocks of tenements and playgrounds: the Jets, led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn), and the Sharks, Puerto Rican newcomers led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). Riff wants a rumble to settle it, and he needs his old friend Tony (Richard Beymer), who has left the gang and taken a job sweeping up in Doc’s (Ned Glass) drugstore, to stand beside him at the dance in the gym. At the dance Tony sees Maria (Natalie Wood), Bernardo’s sister, newly arrived and working in a bridal shop with Bernardo’s girlfriend Anita (Rita Moreno). Lieutenant Schrank (Simon Oakland) and Officer Krupke (William Bramley) lean on both gangs while a war council meets at Doc’s to fix the terms. ## Review Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins open on Manhattan from directly above, the island laid out as a pattern of rooftops and car parks, and they hold it long enough that we started to wonder whether anyone was going to turn up. Then the camera drops into a playground and a boy in a blue T-shirt snaps his fingers. *West Side Story* is [*Romeo and Juliet*](https://film.one/film/romeo-and-juliet) moved to the West Side tenements of late 1950s New York, with the Jets and the Sharks in place of the Montagues and Capulets and Robbins’s choreography in place of the swordplay. It is a strange idea, and for about half its 153 minutes it works completely. Here is the verdict for the sofa. Whenever the gangs are on screen, the film is alive from the soles of its feet up. Whenever Tony and Maria are alone together, it sits down and waits politely for the next number. That is a real flaw, and it does not stop us recommending it. The Prologue is the reason it lasts. The Jets walk their street in a loose line, Daniel L. Fapp keeps the camera at hip height so the kerb and the brick slide past behind them, and then, with no warning, the walk becomes a leap. We have seen it many times and it still raises the hair on our arms, because Robbins has found a way to make dancing look like the thing these boys would do anyway if they had the space. Leonard Bernstein’s brass jabs rather than swells under them, and the three-note whistle the gangs use runs through the whole score like a threat. Boris Leven gives them real streets here and, for much of the rest, tilted painted tenements with fire escapes stacked like shelves. Irene Sharaff dresses the Jets in faded blue and mustard and the Sharks in purple, red and black, so a wide shot tells you who owns the ground before anyone speaks. *America*, on a rooftop, is the number people remember and they are right. Rita Moreno’s Anita argues for New York and George Chakiris’s Bernardo argues against it, and the argument is conducted in skirts Sharaff has built to stand away from the body on the turn. Moreno is the best thing in the film: funny, quick, and later moving without changing key. The dance at the gym is nearly as good, the two gangs performing at each other across a floor until Thomas Stanford’s cutting quickens and the crowd blurs and there are two faces left in focus. It is the one stretch where the romance works, and Beymer and Wood do not say a word in it. The trouble starts when they do. Ernest Lehman’s screenplay gives Richard Beymer a former gang leader who has grown out of the life, and Beymer plays the growing out as blankness. Beside Russ Tamblyn’s Riff, all coiled shoulders and grin, he barely registers, and the fire escape scene that stands in for the balcony is prettily lit and does not catch. Natalie Wood is warmer and sharper, but her singing is dubbed, as most critics have noted, and the voice that comes out is not quite the woman we have been watching. In the lovers’ scenes we found ourselves admiring the lighting and working out how long until the Jets came back. The dialogue between numbers is where the film’s age shows. Simon Oakland’s Lieutenant Schrank, a sour and openly bigoted cop, is the one adult who feels like a person; Ned Glass’s Doc is there to be disappointed in everybody, and the lines about what the city does to its young are delivered as speeches. Most critics rate it a little higher than we do, and the disagreement is about the middle. They forgive the lovers because the dancing around them is so good. We are not sure a film of two and a half hours gets to coast on its best forty minutes, though this one comes closer than most. *Cool*, in a garage, with Tucker Smith’s Ice trying to hold a roomful of boys down to a snap and a hiss, tells you more about what is going on inside these kids than any line Lehman gave them. The second half, which we will not describe, is slower and darker than the first, and the PG certificate is honest about the knives. Watch it on the biggest screen you own with the sound turned up, and give the lovers the benefit of the doubt. The boys on the fire escapes are why you came. *Fi1m score 80, published 20 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics are in agreement: twelve of the fourteen notices are positive and none is negative. The praise gathers around Jerome Robbins’s choreography, with the Cool and America numbers picked out, and around the Bernstein and Sondheim songs. Reviewers also credit Robert Wise’s direction, Daniel L. Fapp’s photography and the colour of the costumes, and single out Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris among the cast. The reservations concern what happens between the dance numbers. Several critics find the dialogue scenes flat and the central romance thin, and a few note the dubbed vocals and casting choices as compromises of their era. The two mixed notices are both recent: Slant finds the leads uneven and the politics heavy-handed, and The AV Club thinks much of it has dated badly while still calling the dancing thrilling. The spread runs from a low of fifty to several top marks, but the middle is firmly admiring. ### Reviews we read (14) - **Radio Times**, Tony Sloman (5/5): The critic hails the electrifying and moving version of the Bernstein/Sondheim musical, an update of Romeo and Juliet set in late-1950s New York gangs, which earned ten Oscars plus a special award for Jerome Robbins’s choreography. Performances by George Chakiris, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are praised, along with co-director Robert Wise’s experience with musicals. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-p56s2l/west-side-story/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Philip K. Scheuer (90/100, inferred): Scheuer hails the film as restoring glory to Hollywood with its powerful impact, brilliant choreography, and tense drama on juvenile delinquency. He singles out the music, dance numbers, and performances by the gang members and leads like Wood and Moreno for praise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-west-side-story-review-19611214-snap-story.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The 1961 film remains a blinder that is formally electric, musically alive and emotionally pummelling, with bodies in motion used to shape and dictate the film’s own rhythm in a way never seen before. Its Saul Bass opening credits and Robbins’s choreography, especially in numbers like Cool and America, keep it agile, athletic and crisply modern even at 60. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/18/west-side-story-60-dazzlingly-modern-musical) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, James Powers (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a magnificent milestone in movie musicals that has never been bettered, with fluid tandem direction by Wise and Robbins creating a harmonious whole and standout performances, especially from Natalie Wood. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/west-side-story-1961-film-939258/) - **The New York Times**, Bosley Crowther (90/100, inferred): Crowther calls the film a thrilling cinematic achievement that advances the sophistication of the musical genre through its vivid translation of the stage material. He highlights the strong performances, especially by Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, and the superb dancing. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/22/archives/musical-advance-the-west-side-story-expands-on-screen.html) - **Variety**, Whitney Williams (90/100, inferred): Williams describes the film as a beautifully mounted, impressive and violent musical that powerfully translates the Broadway hit with realism and spectacle. He praises the direction, choreography, score, and performances, especially the gang members' dancing and menace. [Read](https://variety.com/1961/film/reviews/west-side-story-3-1200420009/) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (85/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a classic musical despite some production compromises like dubbed vocals and casting choices. Standout elements include the hit songs, electric choreography, and the vibrant 'America' sequence. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-west-side-story-review/) - **Time Out**, David Jenkins (4/5): The critic praises this restored fiftieth-anniversary re-release of the classic musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set among 1950s New York gangs. The euphoric dance sequences, ultra-melodic tunes, neo-expressionist production design and forceful cinematography are singled out for praise, though the linking dramatic scenes fall flat and the central romance remains underdeveloped. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/west-side-story) - **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The review notes the film's reissue as a long but fortunate production with strong performances and song-and-dance numbers. It has only half the vitality of the stage show yet remains a classic. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/west-side-story-review-7426706.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (70/100, inferred): Ebert praises the choreography of Jerome Robbins, the Bernstein-Sondheim songs, and the performances of Rita Moreno and George Chakiris as standout elements. He views the film as containing great things in parts but not a fully cohesive classic by modern standards. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-west-side-story-1961) - **The AV Club**, Tom Breihan (65/100, inferred): The piece notes that much of the film has not aged well due to dated elements, casting issues, and clumsy social messaging, but singles out the spectacular, gravity-defying choreography and dance sequences as timeless and thrilling. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/not-all-of-west-side-story-has-aged-gracefully-but-its-1834224976) - **Slant Magazine**, Chris Cabin (50/100, inferred): The review finds the film a dutiful, entertaining adaptation with strong direction, choreography, color, and music that make set pieces work, but notes it is only moderately successful emotionally due to uneven lead performances and on-the-nose politics. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/west-side-story/) - **Collider**, Nico Nico (A): The critic calls the film the perfect movie musical thanks to its brilliant choreography, the combined musical talents of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and the technical craftsmanship of director Robert Wise and DP Daniel L. Fapp. The review highlights the color-popping wardrobe, emotionally evocative angles, and standout performances, especially from Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, and the dancers. [Read](https://collider.com/west-side-story-50th-anniversary-blu-ray-review/) - **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (80/100, inferred): The critic praises how the film leverages cinematic techniques and Jerome Robbins' choreography to deliver surprises and energy that still grip viewers. It notes the defining performances and how the work achieves both artistic and popular success despite dated elements. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/west-side-story-1961-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) ## Details - **Director:** Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise - **Director:** Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise - **Screenplay:** Ernest Lehman - **Cinematography:** Daniel L. Fapp - **Editor:** Thomas Stanford - **Music:** Leonard Bernstein - **Production design:** Boris Leven - **Costume design:** Irene Sharaff - **Cast:** Natalie Wood as Maria; Richard Beymer as Tony; Russ Tamblyn as Riff; Rita Moreno as Anita; George Chakiris as Bernardo; Simon Oakland as Schrank; Ned Glass as Doc; William Bramley as Krupke - **Runtime:** 2h 33m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 13 December 1961 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Romance - **Budget:** $6 million - **Box office:** $44 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpKbrpPiExA ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-20.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1962: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated); Best Art Direction, Color (won); Best Cinematography, Color (won); Best Costume Design, Color (won); Best Director (won); Best Film Editing (won); Best Original Musical Score (won); Best Picture (won); Best Sound (won); Best Supporting Actor (won); Best Supporting Actress (won) ## If you liked this - *The Red Shoes* (1948), Fi1m 92: Powell and Pressburger let a ballet carry the story; the dancing is the argument — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-red-shoes.md) - *Rebel Without a Cause* (1955), Fi1m 84: The same restless boys and worried adults, without the songs and with a knife fight — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/rebel-without-a-cause.md) - *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg* (1964): Demy sings every line and paints every wall; a love story that also goes wrong quietly - *Romeo + Juliet* (1996), Fi1m 82: Luhrmann’s guns-and-Hawaiian-shirts version of the same play, louder and just as doomed — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/romeo-juliet.md) - *In the Heights* (2021): Another New York block sung from the fire escapes, sunnier and less bloodstained --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/west-side-story