The next feature in the TCM Big Screen Classics series was West Side Story. I love this musical so much so it was an absolute thrill for me to see it on the big screen for the first time! The story about a boy in a street gang who falls in love with a rival gang member's sister, an update of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is poignant but what makes this movie remarkable are the songs composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondhein, the truly brilliant choreography of Jerome Robbins, and the performances of Rita Moreno and George Chakiris. I pretty much love all of the songs in this movie but my favorites are "Maria," "Tonight," "One Hand, One Heart," and "Somewhere" because all four of them are so romantic. I got chills seeing these numbers on the big screen. Sigh! The choreography is simply breathtaking and I think that the opening number is one of the best sequences in any musical that I've seen because it establishes the animosity between the Jets and the Sharks with just movement (and the snapping of fingers)! I also love the choreography in "The Jet Song," "America," and "Cool." Finally, I think Rita Moreno, who plays Anita, is amazing in this movie, especially in the scene at the drug store when the Jets attack her, and George Chakiris gives a very affecting performance as Bernardo (they both won Academy Awards for their performances). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this movie on the big screen and I suggest that you see it when it is screened again on Wednesday (go here for information and tickets).
Note: I love it when old-school movie musicals have overtures and intermissions!
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