West Side Story story
West Side Story is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, written by Ernest Lehman, and produced by Wise. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same title, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp in Super Panavision 70. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
22 total · 6 choice · 8 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| choosing between love and family | choice | Maria was torn between her love for Tony and her loyalty to her brother, Bernardo. |
| ethnic hatred | choice | The story centers around violent clashes between a local gang of youths of mixed ethnic backgrounds and a Puerto Rican gang in Manhattan, New York. Gang members from both sides employed racial slurs in their insults. Likewise, Lieutenant Schrank used racial slurs against both various members of both gangs. |
| star-crossed lovers | choice | The central theme was the love between Tony and Maria, modern day Romeo and Juliet, which was tragically thwarted by the enmity between their two ethnic groups. |
| tragic love | choice | The central theme was the love between Tony and Maria, modern day Romeo and Juliet, which was tragically thwarted by the enmity between their two ethnic groups. Their love ended tragically with Tony dying tragically in Maria's arms. |
| vendetta | choice | Central to the story was the escalating cycle of violence between the Jets and the Sharks, two rival youth gangs in New York. |
| young lovers | choice | The central theme was the love between Tony and Maria, modern day Romeo and Juliet, which was tragically thwarted by the enmity between their two ethnic groups. |
| brother and sister | major | Maria and Bernardo were siblings. Bernardo didn't approve of Maria running around with his mortal enemy, Tony. |
| coping with the death of a friend | major | It is a turning point in the story when Tony's best friend, Riff, was killed in a knife fight. Tony, in a rage, killed Bernardo despite his initial intention to make peace with Bernardo for the sake of Maria. |
| coping with the death of a lover | major | Maria's lover Tony died in her arms in the story's final scene. |
| criminal gangs | major | Central to the story was the escalating cycle of violence between the Jets and the Sharks, two rival youth gangs in New York. |