West Side Story:
Winner of no less than ten 1961 Academy Awards, including a special Oscar for Jerome Robbins for his choreography, West Side Story is Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' transported to the slums and racial tensions of contemporary New York. A tough and trenchant musical, its highlights include a sensational opening ballet as the twin gangs - the Jets and the Sharks - flex their musical muscles, to a sublime Stephen Sondheim-Leonard Bernstein score that includes 'Maria', 'Tonight', 'Something's Coming' and the satirical 'I Like To Be In America'. The impressive cast is headed by Natalie Wood as Maria, with fiery Rita Moreno and elegant George Chakiris.

Best Picture Oscar Winner 1961.
Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe Winner 1961.

Fiddler On The Roof:
Sholem Aleichem's tale of Tevye the Milkman had been filmed twice previously, but it was the hit Broadway musical version that became this spectacularly heart-warming United Artists movie in 1971. As the Russian Jew touching trying to conserve his heritage against all the odds, the role became a personal triumph for Israel's Chaim Topol. Ossie Morris won an Oscar for his Panavision photography, shooting through a nylon stocking lens to achieve an authentic period look, as did music maestro John Williams for the magnificent soundtrack featuring violin genius Isaac Stern playing for the symbolic fiddler.

Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe Winner 1971.