Musicals were pure escapism and this is no exception. Great score, fine dancing, entertaining story. You want reality? Watch "Cops" on television. Loved Natalie and Rita Moreno (Who probably should have been Maria, too ethnic for Hollywood). Richard Chakris (Bernardo) was fairly convincing as a tough guy, the rest of the fellas, not so much.

Watch it for the great dancing. Just cover your ears when the characters stop singing and talk to each other.

WOW. If you are not gay, this movie is not your cup of tea. The fruity dancing basketball players? The fruity street fight dance? Unwatchable.

Great music, great themes, and a young Natalie Wood. Can't go wrong.

Leonard Bernstein's magnificent setting of Romeo and Juliet. It is possibly as well known in the U.S. as is the Shakespeare play on which it is based. Contains some of the finest music ever composed for a musical, with tunes which are engaging, memorable, contrapuntal and brilliantly orchestrated. An amazing tour-de-force by one of the most talented musicians ever to live in the U.S.

Ok the songs are above average for an old musical but there are a few things I can't get over. First of all, Natalie Wood as a Puerto Rican? She's one of the whitest actresses in Hollywood and they make her a Puerto Rican. Explain that one to me. Then, you have these big killer thugs dancing like ballerinas? Huh?

One of my favorite movies of all time. I love Leonard Bernstein's score and Sondheim's lyrics. Everything worked for this movie.

The movie 'The Warriors" was popular when my kids were teens so I thought it was a good idea to show them a gang related movie from my era. Needless to say, I still haven,t lived it down, as my sons found it very corny. In my high school,every boy was wearing a purple shirt after that movie came out. It,s tough to get old!

Natalie Wood is amazing!

Definitely the best musical ever made! Natalie Wood is amazing!

"West Side Story" is a truly wonderful film. Everything from the performances, to the dance numbers, to the songs to the directing is just fantastic. As far as I'm concerned, it is the best musical ever made, running neck-and-neck with "The Wizard of Oz." Simply fantastic!

A modern day Romeo and Juliet. a wonderful movie that has romance, good music. Heartbreaking at the end.I think this movie even has lessons about what happens with hatred.I still find myself rooting for Tony and Maria and wishing the ending could be different and they could be together.

I have to agree with everyone who says that West Side Story has wonderful songs and dance sequences-I have the soundrack and I love it to death. And being an actress, I can respect it's broadway roots. But I just have one huge problem that seems to prevent me from thoroughly enjoying this film-Maria doesn't die! Yes, it's kinda morbid, but West Side Story is supposed to be a kinda hip-keen updated version of Romeo and Juliet, right? Well the whole damn premise of R&J is that they love each other so much that they can't picture life without the other one. It's so ruined for me that Maria can just walk of-shaken, but, I know, ultamately uneffected. Damned studioheads just didn't want to kill off Natalie Wood. There's some irony for ya, huh?

A musical that I was brought up on. Yes, this truly belongs in the "classical movies" section. Beautiful songs that have lasted (well, my mum still sings them round the house) and v original at the time. Only small hitch is the beginning scene, where the guys all click their fingers in time, and try and look macho too. Bit of a contradiction in terms, I thought, but carried off as well as could be expected by the actors.

A great musical!

West Side Story is one of the best musicals around. The dancing is out of this world and the cast was great; they had great chemistry.

One of the greatest love stories of all time.

A very nice movie that had a lot of dancing and was a great movie to watch. The movie portrayed a lot of the history that was happening during that period of time.

It's a great movie, but I've seen it done better on stage. It was VERY disenchanting to find that NONE of the leads were really singing!

It is a topical (well, it was at the time) well constructed story that dealt with the problems America was just beginning to come to terms with- gangs and racial prejudice!! Plus, the score was "Hip, Daddio!" I liked the story taken from Shakespeare and modernized. I still sing songs from the score.

Great musical movie. I enjoy how the guys can sing and still act macho in the movie. Good acting and funny yet sad movie.

West Side Story I liked because it was a story of love with different culture of two groups of people or gangs that didn't get along but for the love between the boy and girl. It had good singing and dancing, but the story between the gangs at its best was just as compelling.

ahhh, the most wonderful movie

Took the American musical movie in new directions. Did you know Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics?

I love the music in West Side Story. Also, it's a great romance.

This is the best movie musical ever made even though Natalie Wood was lip-synching.

I agree with Lily -- the music is awesome -- which is shocking, since I normally hate musicals. But the story is so compelling, it takes you in. Plus it's a fascinating timepiece, without seeming too dated.

I think the music in west side story is awesome, and the movie should be watched by everyone.