There is something jazzy and cool about the soundtrack. The actors tasked with bringing to life Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s vision (the film is based on their play) do it with such aplomb that it feels impossible not to appreciate what each and every one of them brings to the table. Instant classics like “America” and “Gee, Officer Krupke!” have entertained viewers for sixty years now, for good reason. Again, in a world where I typically struggle to appreciate the overly simplistic nature of musicals, West Side Story delivers a number of songs that I’m entirely incapable of disliking.
There’s an unsung hero that lives within the confines of West Side Story, and that is Doc (Ned Glass). There’s a moment, as the climax is imminent, when he presents himself as a Nostradamus of sorts, seemingly knowing how future events will play out. The emotion present in this scene outshines nearly everything else and elegantly, but without hesitation, brings viewers to tears.
“…brings viewers to tears.”
While his role is small compared to others, Doc is significant in helping the movie connect with viewers and understand the magnitude of the Sharks and Jets’ actions. The performance by Glass and the director’s vision for this seemingly insignificant character is the tangible proof of why the musical has remained so popular over the decades.
Along my cinematic travels, I’ve managed to find a handful of musicals that I can tolerate and even, dare I say, enjoy. However, West Side Story has remained among the best I’ve ever seen. The soundtrack, choreography, acting, cinematography, production design, and, well, its everything, all deliver seemingly endless entertainment to me and viewers around the world. Other musicals can only hope to be as successful or memorable. Regardless of how silly aspects of it can be, this particular film has remained a favorite of many, bringing to life the many struggles of the real world and combining them with all that Hollywood offers. West Side Story, to this day, has remained one of the more entertaining and well-executed movies of all time.
West Side Story screened as part of the 2021 TCM Classic Film Festival.
"…has remained among the best [musicals] I've ever seen."
The old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story is my all time favorite movie, hands down. I fell in love with this film when I first saw it during a huge national re-release of it, at around Christmas time of 1968, as a high school Senior. Since I was still a teenager in high school when I first saw this great film, I identified with the Jets, the Sharks, and their girls regarding kids being kids and so on, but when I got a little older, and began seeing it in many repertory theatres in and around Boston, MA, I also appreciated it as a creative piece of art, and the fact that it was preserved as a larger than life piece of theatre when it was transferred from stage to screen..
In the spring of 1972, while taking an evening course at the school of the museum of fine arts here in Boston, it showed on TV, somebody had brought in a small black and white TV, and we all got to watch it during class. That summer, my love for the 1961 film version of West Side Story was re-kindled during a six-week trip to Europe. One person in the group I was with had brought along a cassette tape of the soundtrack to the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, my love for this film was revived, and I’ve been in love with it ever since.
The old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story is the real deal. As a huge fan of the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story, I wish it would play more frequently in movie theatres. It was great seeing the 60th Anniversary screening of the old, original film version of WSS on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, back in late November and early December of 2021, when it was re-released on a national level, in select movie theatres throughout the United States, including Boston, MA. The print was absolutely pristine, with no scratches or any other flaws, and the soundtrack to the musical score absolutely perfect. I enjoyed seeing this great golden oldie but keeper of a classic movie musical, both with friends, and solo. Here’s hoping that the old, original 1961 film version of West Side Story plays in movie theatres more often.
It’s admittedly my all time favorite movie, hands down, I never get tired of seeing it, and I always notice things that I failed to notice in the last viewing of the 1961 film version of WSS.