Roger Ebert continues his reviews of Great Movies, the most recent being West Side Story. As with all of these reviews, Ebert watches the film again — in this case he says for the first time since 1961 when it won the Best Picture Oscar. He points out that:
My muted enthusiasm is shared. Although “West Side Story” placed No. 41 in the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest films of all time, the less industry-oriented voters at the Internet Movie Database don’t even have it in the top 250.
Still, the new two-disc restored edition of the movie inspired me to look at it again, and I think there are great things in the movie, especially some of the songs of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, the powerful performances by Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, and above all Jerome Robbins’ choreography. It is a great movie … in parts.
If you liked the movie and are interested in seeing it again, read Ebert’s review. As he often does with these Great Movies reviews, Ebert gives you a whole new understanding of the film and a list of things to look for.