So great on so many fronts. Singing, dancing, originality, humour, sadness...anything less than 8.5 is a disgrace.
BTW...how is it that Russ Tamblyn was not in more movies? He was awesome in this.
"Paging George Kaplan..."
This film is and will always be a masterpiece!
shareI also think it's a masterpiece. For me, there is absolutely no other musical that can come even remotely close to matching the awesomeness of West Side Story (or if there is, I have not seen it yet).
The songs are all top-notch and very diverse.
The dancing is incredible, and it's the only musical I've seen that truly integrates dancing and does not just use it as some kind of gimmick.
The story is touching, it is socially relevant, and the actors are great (yes, the couple is naive and a little bland, but remember, it's a Romeo and Juliet story and that's the way they're supposed to be).
The structure is also amazing. And although I've never seen the play, I've seen a documentary about the changes they made for the film and I think every single change was a genius idea.
For example, bringing in the boys for America was the best idea ever. It seems to me that that scene would be so boring without them, just endless praising of life in America by the Puerto Rican girls...
Moving "Cool" was also a great idea. It's perfect where it is.
And I also heard that the version of "Tonight" sung on the balcony by the two lovers had been written for the movie, and that origially it was "One Hand, One Heart". Well, I think "One Hand..." is the weakest song by far, while "Tonight" is a brilliant piece of music, so I support that change 100%.
Now, forgive me for the very elitist comment I am about to make. But I feel one of the reasons why the rating is so low is that movie goers sometimes have no true appreciation of things like awesome dancing or great music... or things that are a bit old and dated.
When I hear people complain about the opening sequence, or even say that they did not even watch the movie because they could not be bothered to wait until the end of the prologue... I don't know what to say. The prologue is a wonderful example of the use of music and dancing to tell a story, to me it's not boring in any way.
I tend to think that people who can't sit through that either have no appreciation of that kind of cultural stuff, or have the attention span of a goldfish... or maybe they just hate the jazz-y style of the movie's music and dancing.
Typically most movies are down rated on IMDB by under 18 and over 45 females (hard to please?), but West Side Story is more downrated by males 45 and under.
This film seems to be universely liked by all ages, but most likely LOVED by those people over 45 who perhaps saw it for the first time as a kid.
I loved West Side Story when first viewed as a kid, and still do, but I can see why others might find it dated and a bit hokey at times. It is still a classic though, and if just for the cinematogrophy and music, it is highly entertaining.
Well, in my opinion the phenomenon you're talking about could be seen as a lack of culture among young people...
This same lack of perspective sometimes explains why a number of very average recent movies are often ranked above older classics.
I am only 26 so I do not qualify as someone who loves West Side Story out of nostalgia. I really do not think this film gets high ratings only because it was a phenomenon in its time and a bunch of nostalgic adults keep voting for it. I think it is a timeless jewel.
For me, saying that a film is outdated when it is such a masterpiece makes no sense. It was made in 1961, of course if people cannot understand this they might find it outdated but that's just silly.
For the same reason, when men underrate romantic movies of this quality just because they dislike romanticism, I think it shows a certain contempt for what is seen - wrongly - as a more "female" culture.
I understand perfectly well when men scorn movies that are bad, girly rom-coms... Actually I dislike them too. But today most women are able to tell the difference between, say, a good action movie and a bad one, and a lot of them enjoy the movies men watch, so I don't see why men should be unable to tell the difference between a corny romantic film and a great film.
generally I do not go much for musicals and i find the songs boring
but in "WSS" I like ALL the songs!7,7 is ridiculous;but when you see that 'the whatsisname" redemption is "best movie of all time" ,I think this top 250 must not be taken seriously!
I agree 100%!!!! It should be in the 9's!!!! It mind boggling!
Best musical of all time.....It's a masterpeice!! 10/10 for me too!
btw - Russ has been some other classics such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Peyton Place, and The Haunting. Not too shabby. I guess it was down hill for him when he did the Japanese monster flix "The Gargantuans", although i loved it, and especially that he was in it!
.
David Lynch was cool enough to put Russ Tamblyn in Twin Peaks.
shareRuss Tamblyn was also in "Tom Thumb", which came out in 1958, three years before West Side Story was released on the great big, wide movie theatre screens, as well. Russ was wonderful as the main character, Tom Thumb himself, in that musical, as well.
share[deleted]