West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story, released in 1961, is a film adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. The film centers around two rival gangs in the Upper West Side, the Jets and the Sharks. The members of the Jets are white, while the Sharks are Puerto Rican. After a scuffle between the two gangs takes place, Riff, the leader of the Jets, wants to challenge the Sharks to a rumble to prove their dominance. To confront the leader of the Sharks, he enlists Tony, his best friend. Tony, unlike the others, works and is losing touch with his gang. Nevertheless, he attends a dance populated by the two gangs to assist Riff. At the dance, he mistakenly meets a beautiful girl name Maria. There is one problem: she is the younger sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The Jets and Sharks agree to meet later that night to discuss the rumble. It is determined that the fight will take place between two men with no weapons. Maria and Tony, torn by their love and alliances, are determined to stop this fight from taking place. When the rumble occurs, Tony tries to intervene, encouraging peace. Instead, he is called a coward. Soon, chaos breaks out and the gang leaders fight. Bernardo hits Riff, causing him to pull out a knife. Bernardo, however, has his own knife, which he uses to kill Riff. Overcome with emotion, Tony kills Bernardo. He is able to retreat before the police can find him, consoling Maria and gaining her forgiveness. They make plans to run away together. While Tony hides, waiting for her to escape with him, he is told that she is dead after having been shot by Chino, a member of the Sharks. This is not true, but he becomes inconsolable, running through the streets attempting to provoke Chino. He sees Maria and embraces her before being shot by Chino. Tony dies with Maria by his side, surrounded by the remaining members of the Jets and the Sharks. She expresses her sadness and anger, blaming everyone for Tony’s death and threatening to kill herself. Ultimately, she collapses in tears as the police arrive and members of both gangs carry away Tony’s body.

Production for West Side Story began in 1960. The majority of scenes from the film were recorded in New York City in areas of 68^th Street that were demolish to build Lincoln Center shortly afterwards and 110^th Street (American Film Institute). The rest of the film was recorded on sets at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood (American Film Institute). The film cost $6,000,000 to produce (American Film Institute). This film opened to much praise, being nominate for eleven Academy Awards, taking away ten (Dirks). The awards it received were for best picture, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best director, best color cinematography, best art direction (set direction), best sound, best scoring of a musical picture, best film editing, and best costume design (Dirks).

Taking place in the postwar years, West Side Story connects to the course theme of immigration. As mentioned earlier, the Sharks are a gang consisting of Puerto Rican immigrants. The Jets treat them poorly, spewing slurs against them and demanding that they leave. They complain that the Puerto Ricans are taking over, multiplying “like cockroaches.” They go out of their way to separate themselves from the Puerto Ricans. Even the law treats them worse. Lieutenant Schrank, constantly trying to quash gang violence, openly insults members of the Sharks, treating them with far less patience than the Jets. Like all recent groups of immigrants to New York, the Puerto Ricans face discrimination. In the song “America” the Puerto Rican girls talk about their hopes, while the boys complain about their struggles. For them, New York is both a city of opportunity and opposition.

Occasionally, this movie does touch upon the themes of morals and norms. Lieutenant Schrank, Officer Krupke, and Doc, a drugstore owner, frequently question the behavior of youths. They are unable to find an explanation for all the hate and violence that is taking place. Doc, elderly and kind, gets particularly emotional over the lack of discipline and abundance of hate while trying to protect Tony, who is an employee and friend. While this movie does not focus on gender roles, they are clearly present. It’s the boys who do the fighting and the girls who need to be protected. There is one exception. Anybodys is a girl with short hair who constantly tries to run with the Jets. Each time she tries to join in, she is rejected for being a girl, once being told to “wear a skirt.” After the rumble, she assists Tony in escaping, gaining her entry to the Jets. Through her loyalty in the face of rejection, it seems as though she was able to prove her worth. She assists the Jets for the remainder of the film, joining them in hurling insults at the Sharks.

Personally, I found this film to be quite enjoyable, although it did have its flaws. Firstly, let me give my compliments. I felt that the acting was strong and that the cast was well-selected. The members of both gangs gave off that vibe of being gritty, tough street kids. The streets they roamed provided the perfect backdrop for the film. I really liked the fact that if you looked closely, you could see graffiti containing the names of the two gangs and their members. The dancing and singing were excellent, clearly painstakingly rehearsed. Most of the songs are quite catchy and fun, sure to get caught in your head. These positive qualities are all very apparent, yet they cannot hide the film’s downfalls. This film is two-and-a-half hours long. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it feels as though some scenes are dragged out further than they have to be. For example, in the beginning, there is a screen with a pattern on it. The color behind the pattern—representing Manhattan—changes, as does the music that is playing. This goes on for several minutes, making me check my DVD player several times, wondering if something was awry. This addition was absolutely unnecessary. Some of the earlier fight scenes drag on for too long, as does the dance scene and the scene with Maria and Tony in the bridal shop. At least the producers of the film were merciful enough to add an intermission for moviegoers in 1961. Some of the effects added to the film failed to actually enhance it. In the dance scene and the scene where Tony and Maria are on the fire escape, the background is blurred so we will focus on them. They are at the center of the shot, that should have been enough. The blurring was just unnecessary and distracting, making the scenes seem clunky and confused.

The largest flaw in West Side Story is more so a matter of personal taste. This film was created as a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a story about two lovers from rival families. As we all know, this dramatic tale of love at first sight ends in the deaths of six people, including the lovers. As well-crafted as this story might have been, it feels very unrealistic and has been re-purposed to the point of exhaustion. The trope of forbidden lovers is no longer a shock to me, instead being a chore to watch. As soon as forbidden love was introduced in this film, I knew it would not end well. I also knew that I would be a little less interested due to the predictability it adds.

Overall, I feel as though this is a film everyone should see once. It holds very true to the original Broadway production, making it accessible to all. The cast, costumes, sets, songs, and dancing are well worth your time. It gives you a taste of New York in the postwar years, but not absolute immersion into the period. Unnecessarily long scenes and strange effect choices were two faults in the movie. If you are sick of stories of forbidden love, then this movie is not for you. It’s a movie that is unique in its spin and creativity, but quite unadventurous in its plot.

Clips

Bibliography

American Film Institute. “West Side Story.” Catalog of Feature Films, http://www.afi.com

/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=23857. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.

Dirks, Tim. “West Side Story (1961).” American Movie Classics Company Filmsite,            http://www.filmsite.org/wests.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.