MOVIE · 1961

West Side Story

CrimeDramaMusicalRomance153 min

On Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1950s, a turf war between the Jets and the Sharks turns more dangerous when Tony, a former Jet, falls for Maria, whose brother leads the rival Puerto Rican gang. Richard Beymer is Tony opposite Natalie Wood’s Maria, with Rita Moreno as Anita and Russ Tamblyn leading the Jets. Reworking Romeo and Juliet as a New York street musical, the film moves from fire escapes and dance-heavy rumble scenes to songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, keeping its focus on young love, divided loyalties, and a neighborhood split along ethnic lines.