West Side Story (1961)

Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
Cast: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno 
Duration: 152’

The 10 Oscar awards attributed to the film (among which “Best Film”, “Direction”, “Editing” and “Photography”) are not enough to portray in its entirety the myth that accompanies «West Side Story». This modernized version of the Shakespearean «Romeo and Juliette» was firstly shown in Broadway in 1957, as the result of a magical partnership between the choreographer Jerome Robbins, the pen of Arthur Laurents and of course Leonard Bernstein’s legendary music, before daring the passage into the film pantheon.

True New-York settings that add realism to the intelligently «teased» original, passionate acting, impressive choreographies, timeless but not at all rounded arguments on the price of love, the prejudice and burden of being different, as well as the unforgettable music scores such as «America» and «Maria», make Robbins and Wise’s film a milestone, not only in the presumed light genre of musical, but also in the overall course of the history of film. 

Nektarios Sakkas