West Side Story is a 1961 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, adapting the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, itself inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Set among rival New York City street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, it follows the doomed romance between Tony, a former Jets member, and Maria, the sister of the Sharks' leader. Photographed in widescreen Super Panavision 70 and built around large-scale dance numbers choreographed by Robbins, the film starred Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, and it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
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Original Language AwardAcademy Award for Best Picture 1 Release Year FAQs
Did both directors of West Side Story win an Academy Award for it?
Yes. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins shared the directing Oscar.
Yes. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lists Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins together as the winners of the Directing award for West Side Story at the Academy Awards honoring films released in 1961. The film credits two directors, and the Academy honored them jointly rather than naming only one.
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Source West Side Story (1961 film), Wikipedia
Source West Side Story (1961 film), Wikipedia
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Source West Side Story (1961 film), Wikipedia
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Source West Side Story (1961 film), WikipediaLead sentence 1Quote, Lead sentence 1
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.
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1. West Side Story (1961 film), Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, first sentence
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.
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United States
West Side Story (1961 film), Description, original language
West Side Story is a 1961 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, adapting the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, itself inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Wikipedia category, checked 2026-09-27
Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners
In Medium: Film, Article lead sentence
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.
Created By: Robert Wise, Article lead sentence
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.
Created By: Jerome Robbins, Article lead sentence
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.
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