Does the story sound at all familiar? That’s right - in case you didn’t already know - this is a modern retelling of the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and quite unashamedly so.
On the streets of New York City, there are two gangs fighting for the same patch: the Jets and the Sharks (who are predominantly of Puerto Rican descent).
One of the members of the Jets gang, Tony (Richard Beymer), meets a Puerto Rican girl, Maria (Natalie Wood), at a school function one night, and the two fall in love.
There’s a balcony scene, there’s a fight between Tony and Maria’s relative Bernardo (George Chakiris), an exile of sorts, and of course, the final tragic ending. I’m not worried about spoilers, I mean, come on, the play’s been out for centuries, but seriously, this film (and the musical it’s based on) follows the plot of Romeo and Juliet so closely, it doesn’t even seem worth describing the plot any further.
The Broadway show this film comes from was - and continues to be - a hit. With music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents, it never fails to delight audiences.
This film is a great adaptation of the musical. And yes, it is an adaptation, not simply a filming of a performance. From a screenplay by Ernest Lehman, the film - directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, who directed the show when it opened on Broadway - is actually made as a film.
I think it does work well as a film. The production design sets the scene really well, and places us in the New York of the 1950s (this is when the story is set, not when it was made).
The song and dance numbers are very well choreographed, and performed by the entire cast. Highlights - at least in my opinion - have got to be America and I Feel Pretty. You’ve heard me say it before, but Sondheim is a genius when it comes to writing lyrics. Even this - which was his first Broadway show - has the distinctive touch of his amazing ability to rhyme things you had never thought of. Add to that music by the god of 20th century composition that was the great Leonard Bernstein, and you know the result is going to be incredible.
Two of my favourite characters in this film are Baby John (Eliot Feld) - because he reminds me of me in a lot of ways - and police officer Krupke (William Bramley), who even gets a song named after him (another one of the greatest songs in the history of musical theatre).
Even when you watch this, knowing how it’s going to end (if like almost every school student in the world, you have studied Romeo and Juliet at length), it is an incredibly entertaining experience. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sing along (if you know the songs well enough), and you’ll probably want to see it again and again.
7 out of 10.
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