So whilst ‘Singing’ in the Rain’ set a near impossible standard to beat there were plenty of other musicals that followed that came close and West Side Story was one of them. Based on Romeo and Juliet the film retold the story against a New York setting which saw two youngsters from rival gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
The West Side Story cast….
The two leads were played by Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer who were respectively 23 and 22 years old at the time. Wood had made quite the impact in Rebel without a Cause and The Searchers and it was unusual casting for someone best known for dramas than song and dance and was the same for Beymer. They had able support though from Rita Moreno in a career defining role and George Chakliris who was in his element having appeared in a number of musical films albeit uncredited.
Two directors…
Unusually the film had two directors : Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Wise was already an established director and would be the first of a string of successful and influential films that would follow and included The Haunting, The Sound of Music and later the first Star Trek feature film and it would be him who would direct the dialogue scenes and or was Robbins who would direct the song and dance scenes. Ur wold be his only feature film. Their effort would be rewarded with Oscars as Best Directors the only time that dual directors had been rewarded by the Academy.
Those legendary songs…
Like any musical its strength lay in its music and here it was the legendary Leonard Bernstein alongside Stephen Sondheim and the films overflowed with memorable songs that included America, Maria, I feel pretty, Officer Krupke and Tonight.
Commercially the film was a big success costing $6m it earned $44m and was rewarded with a massive 10 Oscars win – the highest ever for a musical and it’s a record that still stands today. Both Chakiris and Moreno would win Best Supporting Oscars along with the directors.
Released now on DVD , Blu-ray and a terrific 3 disc limited edition with an excellent array of bonus features that includes
3-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Mediabook
- 48-page Booklet
- Song specific commentary by Stephen Sondheim
- Music Machine
- Alternative Overture
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Original Issue Trailer
- Reissue Trailer
- Animated Trailer
Bonus-Blu-ray:
- POW! – The Dances of West Side Story
- A Place for Us: West Side Story’s Legacy
- West Side Memories
- Storyboard to Film Comparison Montage
Blu-ray:
- Song-specific commentary by Stephen Sondheim
- Music Machine
- Alternative Overture
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Original Issue Trailer
- Reissue Trailer
- Animated Trailer
DVD:
- Original Theatrical Trailer
For fans of the musical this is an indulgent treat and all of the bonus features enhance what is already a classic film in the genre.
That Spielberg chose to remake the film fifty years later was an odd one. Already a great film there’s little if anything that could be improved even by a director of his calibre although it does make for an interesting compare and contrast exercise. But for purists this 1961 version remains a benchmark for how musicals should be made
related feature : Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ remake
related feature : Andrea Riseborough chats to us about Matilda the Musical and her outrageous costumes
Here’s the West Side Story trailer….
