West Side is my favorite movie of all time hands down. I have watched the movie at least 20 times and I haven't gotten board with it. I always get excited and scared at the big rumble seen when Riff get stabbed. And I always cry at the end. I love...
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West Side is my favorite movie of all time hands down. I have watched the movie at least 20 times and I haven't gotten board with it. I always get excited and scared at the big rumble seen when Riff get stabbed. And I always cry at the end. I love the Romeo and Juliette story. And the jazzy take on it. All the actors and actresses did phenomenal jobs. I would not change one thing about the movie or play. One of the best ever.

Quite a well-done movie, but my review encompasses the overall story and its filming as a movie.

The filmography is often good, taking location shots and integrating it into the stylized choreography of the gang rivalry - early on,...
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Quite a well-done movie, but my review encompasses the overall story and its filming as a movie.

The filmography is often good, taking location shots and integrating it into the stylized choreography of the gang rivalry - early on, you can almost believe you are getting a cheapskate's view of the stage production. And the story is good, a barely disguised "Romeo and Juliet" with some excellent acting, I particularly like Rita Moreno.

What is somewhat offputting is that despite all of this, the remainder of the movie loses much of its signature style and settles into a dialog piece (though with memorable, songs of course). It just doesn't blend as well as it could, even keeping in mind how this kind of musical is difficult to bring to the silver screen.