West Side Story 1961

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: The marvel is that the film still works so well. Read more

Bosley Crowther, New York Times: What they have done with West Side Story in knocking it down and moving it from stage to screen is to reconstruct its fine material into nothing short of a cinema masterpiece. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: Decent 1961 adaptation of the Bernstein-Robbins musical, if you can handle Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood in the leads. Read more

Kate Cameron, New York Daily News: Natalie Wood, who was made a hit in the Kazan-Inge production of Splendor In the Grass and is the most promising young star of today, gives a fine dramatic performance. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It still represents a brave and effective fusion of serious and fantasy elements, and offers two and one-half hours of solid entertainment. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It is a great movie ... in parts. Read more

TIME Magazine: Unhappily, the film shares a serious flaw in the essential conception of the show; both are founded on a phony literary analogy and on some potentially vicious pseudo-sociology. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Special mention, though, should go to Boris Leven's neo-expressionist production design and Daniel L Fapp's forceful cinematography: the crooked angles, pointed shadows and great swashes of red all heighten the mood of rabid fury. Read more

Whitney Willaims, Variety: West Side Story is a beautifully-mounted, impressive, emotion-ridden and violent musical which, in its stark approach to a raging social problem and realism of unfoldment, may set a pattern for future musical presentations. Read more