Review of West Side Story (1961) by Adam B — 24 Sep 2011

A total and utter joy of a film. Seeing it re-released in digital on the big screen, with the music blaring and the atmosphere electric, it made for one of the best cinema experiences of my life. In it's not inconsiderable running time it took me away on a journey so utterly compelling and beautiful that I almost danced my way out of the screening.

It manages to retain both a freshness and a sense of it's own time and place that is almost unique. From the fantastic singing, the truly iconic (and goose-bump inducing) music score, to the spellbinding dancing (which puts all of the recent dance movies to compete and utter shame) it is the complete musical.

Also, a special mention should go to the quite brilliant direction of Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, who managed to pull the stage play onto the screen and make it so cinematic and with a distinct style of it's own that adds a further dimension to the films achievements.

Everyone should try and go and see this on the big screen because they will come away from it totally reinvigorated and much the better for the experience. They simply don't make movies like this anymore, and the world is a far worse place for it.