Apr 08 2009
West Side Story (1961)
Director: Robert Wise and Jerome RobbinsGenre: MusicalRuntime: 152 minutesStarring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George ChakirisWest Side Story is a musical film based on the adaptation of the Broadway musical, of the same name. The musical was based on William Shakespeare’s tale of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet .The film explores the rivalry between two gangs, both of different ethnicity and backgrounds. Maria, the younger sister of the Puerto Rican gang leader falls in love with Tony, a young man who belongs to the American gang. Famous songs, from the West Side Story, includes “Maria,” “América,” “Somewhere,” “Tonight,” “Jet Song,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Something’s Coming”.West Side Story received much acclaim and wound up winning 10 out of 11 nominations at the Academy Awards in 1961, including Best Picture.This musical film has got to be one of my favorite musicals of all time. If you haven’t seen it, or want to keep a copy of the DVD, just go ahead and check it out! If you’re a fan of Natalie Wood, just like I am, you might want to get the DVD to Splendor In The Grass as well!
Here’s a clip of Richard Beymer singing “Maria” from the West Side Story.
In March 2009, Vanity Fair had photographer Mark Seliger re-create the scenes of West Side Story in conjunction with the Broadway revival of West Side Story, opening that week. The scene re-creation of the characters Maria, Anita, Tony, Bernardo and The Sharks as well as Riff and The Jets were made possible by celebrities and fans of the story:
- Camilla Belle as Maria
- Jennifer Lopez as Anita
- Ben Barnes (famously known as Prince Caspian) as Tony
- Rodrigo Santoro as Bernardo,
- Jay Hernandez, Brandon T. Jackson as The Sharks
- Chris Evans as Riff
- Cam Giganden (O.C., Twilight), Drake Bell, and Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter, Twilight) as The Jets.
Here are the pictures for the re-creation of West Side Story by Vanity Fair:
-pics from JustJared
CONGRATULATIONS!!
First Commenter:
Kiss kiss! Ahahahaha…
Yippee it’s me! I don’t really watch classics like this one but what I love about those that I’ve watched is you can always feel their emotions and they’re not over the top! :):)
@Debbie: LOL! Yay it’s you!! Bill went MIA! LOL!
I love watching classics ‘coz their of their acting and beauty is on a whole other level! Like now, you can only find a handful of classic and real beauties.. the rest are so generic.
The men were great actors too!
Also, J loves classics.. so we both influence each other that way. 
@Ane: Really?? Isn’t it a great musical?? One of my favorites!! I just love it! Matt Le Blanc look alike? hahaha.. really? I didn’t notice! I better watch it again!
@Bill: Really Bill?? 1961 huh? Wowww.. that’s ancient! LOL! just kidding Bill!
It was good back in the day and it still is good now too!