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| This film
tells the story of the fierce rivalry of two gangs, the Jets from the local
neighbourhood and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Set in the late 1950s in Upper
West Side New York, we follow this rivalry and in particular the story of
Tony and Maria who come from opposing cultural backgrounds but fall in love
despite the hatred going on around them. They are unwillingly drawn into
the fighting again when Tony stabs and kills Maria's brother, the leader
of the Sharks in retaliation for the leader of the Jets being similarly
killed. Maria is able to forgive Tony but he's told she has been killed
and he goes out looking for her killer as he also wants to die. In a tragic
conclusion, Tony sees Maria is still alive but is killed before they can
be together again. This has the result of both gangs realising the futility
of their warfare and members of each side help to carry Tony's body away.
As part of the story, we also see the relationship between the gangs and
the police, a prominent thread running through the film. As with a lot of other musicals, the film was adapted from a successful Broadway stage show which in turn was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The film was directed and produced by Robert Wise (who also directed The Sound of Music 4 years later) , initially in co-operation with Jerome Robbins who was later removed from his role. Robbins directed his part of the film first but spent a lot of time on retakes and dress rehearsals in addition to discussing setups with Wise. Assistant director Robert Relyea was to recall an unusually high number of injuries suffered by the dancers. After 45 days of shooting, the picture was already 24 days behind schedule and, with the film running over budget, Wise dismissed Robbins but he was still given credit as the co-director. Screenplay was by Ernest Lehman with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The title sequences and end credits were designed by Saul Bass and Elaine Makatura Bass. External location shooting for the 'Prologue' and 'Jet Song' was done at two different locations in Manhattan, NY. A playground located at East 110th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues was used as the setting for introducing the two gangs. West 68th Street between West End and Amsterdam Avenues was used to provide additional scenes for where the gangs roamed. Studio scenes and rehearsals were carried out at the sound stages of the Samuel Goldwyn Studio in West Hollywood, California. |
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It was released in 1961 (October 18th in the US and 10th December in the
UK) and grossed $44.1 million. Enhanced by a memorable score with popular
songs such as 'America', 'Maria' and 'Tonight', it arguably remains one
of the best film adaptations from a stage show as well as one of the best
musicals of the 60s. The cast is led by Natalie Wood as Maria. Carol Lawrence was screen tested for the part but considered to be too old. Among others considered for the part of Tony were Russ Tamblyn, Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Anthony Perkins, Bobby Darin, Troy Donahue, Marlon Brando, Richard Chamberlain, and Robert Redford. Elvis Presley was also considered for Tony's part but it was refused by Colonel Tom Parker, so it was eventually played by Richard Beymer with excellent support from George Chakiris, Rita Moreno and Russ Tamblyn. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10 of them, losing out in the Best Adapted Screenplay award, (Natalie Wood was unnominated for the award in Best Actress category). Jerome Robbins was also presented with an Academy Honorary Award. This was a feat only surpassed by 3 other films, Ben-Hur, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the Ring. The film was designated as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1997. |
| Songs |
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Cast | ||
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"Overture" "Prologue" "Jet Song" "Something's Coming" "Dance at the Gym" "Maria" "America" "Tonight" "Gee, Officer Krupke" "Maria (violin)" "I Feel Pretty" "One Hand, One Heart" "Tonight Quintet" "The Rumble" "Somewhere" "Cool" "A Boy Like That / I Have a Love" "Somewhere" (reprise) "Finale" |
John Green and Orchestra |
Natalie
Wood Richard Beymer Russ Tamblyn Rita Moreno George Chakiris Simon Oakland Ned Glass William Bramley Tucker Smith Tony Mordente David Winters Eliot Feld Bert Michaels David Bean Robert Banas Anthony 'Scooter' Teague Harvey Evans Tommy Abbott Susan Oakes |
Maria Tony Riff Anita Bernardo Schrank Doc Krupke Ice Action A-rab Baby John Snowboy Tiger Joyboy Big Deal Mouthpiece Gee-Tar Anybodys |
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