In New York City in 1957, two teenage gangs compete for control on the Upper West Side. The Jets, a group of whites led by Riff, brawl with the Sharks, Puerto Ricans led by Bernardo. Lieutenant Schrank and … See more

• Natalie Wood as Maria, Bernardo's younger sister and Chino's arranged fiancée, who falls in love with Tony
• Richard Beymer as Tony, co-founder and one-time member of the Jets and best friend of … See more

Executive producer Walter Mirisch enlisted the services of Jerome Robbins, who had directed and choreographed the stage version of West Side Story. Because Robbins had no previous film experience, Mirisch hired Robert Wise to co-direct and produce because of … See more

Critical response
West Side Story is regarded as one of the greatest musical films ever made. It holds a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Buoyed by Robert … See more

West Side Story won 10 Academy Awards, making it the musical film with the most Oscar wins (including Best Picture). It was the first film to share the Academy Award for Best Director between two people, with Wise winning in the Best Picture and Best Director categories. See more

Leonard Bernstein was displeased with the orchestration for the movie, which was the work of Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, who had orchestrated the original Broadway production. That show had been orchestrated for roughly 30 musicians; for the movie, United … See more

A scene in the 1965 French movie "Gendarme in New York" pastiches West Side Story.
In 2009, photographer Mark Seliger re-created scenes from the film for magazine Vanity Fair called West Side Story Revisited, using See more