Winner '61:
First Saw It:		 West Side Story
May 30, 2000, on video
Bridesmaids: Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, The Hustler, Judgment at Nuremberg
My Vote: West Side Story, but Nuremberg and Hustler are worthy medalists
Overlooked: La Dolce vita, Breathless, The Misfits, The Innocents, L'Avventura


West Side Story
First screened in May 2000 / Most recently screened in July 2006
Directors: Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. Cast: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris, Tucker Smith, Tony Mordente, David Winters, Simon Oakland, William Bramley, Ned Glass. Screenplay: Ernest Lehman (based on the stage musical, with music by Leonard Bernstein and book by Arthur Laurents).

 Twitter Capsule: What other romance or musical has so fully overcome two bland leads? Contemporary and classical in sublime fusion.

Second Capsule: Who'd resist the blended gusto of music, movement, and feeling? Even if leads are dull and transparently dubbed?

VOR: ⑤  Sometimes you meet a skeptic, and that's okay. But this is formally deft, politically attuned work that sells itself consummately to popcorn-eaters. Eats your My Fair Ladys for lunch.


Photo © 1961 United Artists/The Mirisch Corporation/Seven Arts Productions

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: A–

Academy Award Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture
★Best Director: Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise
★Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno
★Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ernest Lehman
★Best Cinematography (Color): Daniel L. Fapp
★Best Art Direction (Color): Boris Leven; Victor A. Gangelin
★Best Costume Design (Color): Irene Sharaff
★Best Film Editing: Thomas Stanford
★Best Score (Musical): Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin, and Irwin Kostal
★Best Sound: Fred Hynes & Gordon Sawyer

Golden Globe Nominations and Winners:
★Best Picture (Musical/Comedy)
Best Director: Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise
Best Actor (Musical/Comedy): Richard Beymer
★Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno
★Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris

Other Awards:
Directors Guild of America: Best Director
Writers Guild of America: Best Written American Musical
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Picture
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