Review of West Side Story (1961) by Tighe G — 17 May 2010

Westside Story is the award winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, Romeo & Juliette. The feuding families become two warning New York city gangs- the white Jets led by Riff, and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo.

Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riffâ??s best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardo`s younger sister, Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love.

Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Then the sharks and Jets plan a rumble under the highway - whoever wins gains control of the streets. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping he can end the violence.

It goes terribly wrong, and before the lovers know whatâ??s happened, tragedy strikes and doesnâ??t stop until the climatic and heartbreaking ending. Itâ??s a dated movie, but still a good one. I just love watching all the musical numbers, knowing that it must`ve taken forever.

The only big problem I have with this movie is Natalie Wood; I always hated her as an actress and think she`s terrible in this film. Her accent seems to keep changing, and her performance is so hammed up, you just can`t take her seriously, even at the end, sure I`m in tears, but not because of her.

Anyway, that doesn`t mean that it isn`t a great movie, and that it didn`t influence me greatly, it just would`ve been better without Natalie Wood. Anyway, Westside Story is unforgettable in my book.