When watching a film that is generally regarded as a classic there is always the problem of overhype. You already have a preconceived idea of how the film should be in terms of quality and so the film is already on the backfoot to impress you. Coming into West Side Story I had these preconceived notions of what it would be like, even though I had almost no real knowledge of the film except the fact it is based on Romeo and Juliet. So, did it manage to impress? The answer is a loud and resounding yes. I was honestly slightly blown away by this film, mainly because it took all my expectations and smashed them to pieces. This takes its place up in the echelons of my favourite film musicals and deservedly so. The film as I have mentioned is effectively the Romeo and Juliet story but based in 1950s New York, with the two warring families being replaced by two opposing gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. The Sharks are a Puerto Rican gang led by Bernardo (George Chakiris), while the Jets are white Americans led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn). These two gangs despise each other, but when the Jets former leader Tony (Richard Beymer) and Bernardo’s younger sister Maria (Natalie Wood) meet at a dance and fall in love tensions rise and bloodshed in inevitable.
It is the interactions between the two rival gangs that the steal the show narrative wise. The scenes involving Tony and Maria are good, but they are very much following classic Hollywood romantic conventions, mainly that the two of them instantly fall in love and so there is not a great amount of investment in their relationship. But the film is from classic Hollywood and this is just so typical of that that I can't really be too critical of it. The scenes where we see the Jets and the Sharks either interacting or just on their own are easily the most entertaining and engaging parts of the film. The scene where both gangs end up at a dance and have a dance battle is a superb example of choreography and acting to tell a story rather than through dialogue, and the rumble scene is also choregraphed brilliantly and although you are effectively watching two men dance you feel like it is a fight and a dangerous one, the build of tension is great. But the film, in terms of choreography and just pure class of filmmaking, surpasses itself from the very opening sequence.
The opening ten minutes if this film had me enthralled unlike any opening of a film I have seen in a long time due to the fact it is just so well done. It opens on a black screen with an eerie whistle being heard. This continues as we go to a bird’s eye view of New York, before focusing in on a basketball court where we are introduced to the Jets. What follows is a near ten-minute-long, almost dialogue free opening dance sequence which blew me away. The choreography is superb throughout the film, but it is her where it truly shines, as it manages to achieve an unbelievable amount of storytelling without dialogue and just using visuals and dance. We find out who both these gangs are and that they dislike each other in this opening without anyone coming out and tell us. But it is in the visual style and production design that this scene really shines, and that can be said for the whole film. This is the best production design I have seen in sometime. The film feels huge, all the colours pop and the attention to detail in the sets is something else. The film also doesn't rest on its laurels when it comes to experimenting in film techniques. There are a couple scenes involving Tony and Maria where the film becomes almost dreamlike in order to show the characters own little world they are in when they’re together. The film is just visually superb, and I cannot put enough praise on the production design and direction. It is some of the best I have seen recently.SML
What surprised me most was how much of the music I knew without knowing that it had come from this film. I knew pretty much every single song that was in the film but going in I only knew that two of these songs were from the film. All the songs are enjoyable and are performed, whilst also telling the story and advancing character relationships. The best song in the film, and also the best song sequence, is America. This song is both brilliantly written and performed by the cast, and the choreography for the whole scene is great But I think it is in the witty writing and the back and forth banter between the men and the women that puts this song above the other, although honourable mentions to Maria, Tonight and Gee, Officer Krupke.
West Side Story is a musical from a time in Hollywood where musicals were knocking around the top of pile when it came to popularity with audiences and studios, and it is no surprise that this one has manged to sand the test of time. Visually it is stunning, the music is brilliant, and the choreography is not only interesting to watch but is successful in advancing the story along and means that there is less need for dialogue and exposition. The scenes involving the Sharks and the Jets are endlessly entertaining, and truly surpass the romantic scenes between Maria and Tony, which is not to say that these scenes are bad in themselves, but comparatively they do not stand up. There is very little bad I can say about the film except for maybe the old Hollywood conventions do make some of the film feel rushed despite being 2 and a half hours, but this is not a problem that brings the film down too much and can easily be overlooked. It is no surprise to me that this film is seen as a classic and I will definitely be returning to this film in the future, it is that damn good.