 The greatest love story ever told... in the most acclaimed musical of all time... is now on Blu-ray! Experience every sensational song, dazzling dance number and magical movie moment of West Side Story in sparkling high definition with pure 7.1 digital sound - along with fascinating special features created exclusively for this 50th Anniversary Edition! Winner of ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, this electrifying musical sets the ageless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of gang warfare in 1950's New York. Featuring an unforgettable score, exuberant choreography and powerful performances by Natalie Wood, Russ Tamblyn, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, West Side Story will forever resonate as a true cinematic masterpiece. Storyline: West Side Story is the award-winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, "Romeo and Juliet". The feuding families become two warring New York City gangs- the white Jets led by Riff and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riff's best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardo's younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love. Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Then the Sharks and Jets plan a rumble under the highway - whoever wins gains control of the streets. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping it can end the violence. It goes terribly wrong, and before the lovers know what's happened, tragedy strikes and doesn't stop until the climactic and heartbreaking ending. Written by Anonymous Blu-ray Review: Jeffrey Kauffman, November 8, 2011 • It's somewhat hard to believe, especially considering the work's present day reputation in both its stage and film incarnations, but West Side Story was more of a succès d'estime than an outright smash when it opened on Broadway in 1957. It was certainly appreciated critically (for the most part, though even the critics had some qualms), and it managed a respectable if not earth shattering run (certainly much longer than Bernstein's 1956 musical Candide had), but it was really the 1961 Robert Wise film that seemed to reinvigorate the property and made it into the icon it is today. (It is worth noting that the 1957 Tony for Best Musical actually went to The Music Man, and West Side Story only won a couple of relatively minor technical awards). 1961 audiences had never seen a film quite like West Side Story before, and it seemed to perfectly capture both the hope and the unseemly underbelly of the New Frontier era, becoming a cinematic zeitgeist that is still viscerally felt now fifty years after its release. The soaring Bernstein score, the incredible use of location photography by director Robert Wise, the unbelievably athletic choreography by Jerome Robbins (credited as co-director of the film), the innovative titles created by Saul Bass, all seemed incredibly innovative and stand as some of the finest examples of musical filmmaking in the entire annals of cinema. The film was an immediate sensation when it was released, the original soundtrack album on Columbia Records vaulted to the top of the charts (where it stayed for over a year), songs from the score which had been well received but hardly considered standards were suddenly Top 10 hits ("Tonight" by Ferrante and Teicher, etc.), and the whole world seemed to be entranced by this modern day reworking of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, set amid the tenements of New York City and dealing with the tensions not between the Montagues and Capulets, but between Anglos and Puerto Ricans. To begin to understand just how revolutionary West Side Story was when it debuted, it's instructive to look back at the previous behemoth musical which brought home a record setting number of Oscars, including Best Picture, 1958's Gigi. Gigi was the apotheosis of everything that the M-G-M musical had striven to be for over two decades: big, colorful, lush and tuneful. It was also decidedly old-fashioned, purposefully so, and even its most potentially controversial aspect—that young Gigi was in training to be a courtesan—was handled with a circumspection befitting the Eisenhower age. Now simply take a look at the opening fifteen minutes of West Side Story to see how radically Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins and the entire creative crew of the film rethought the entire cinematic experience of the musical. After that ultramodern Saul Bass title design which plays out against the film's bristing Overture, we get a quarter hour of virtually nothing but Bernstein's propulsive Prologue and dance, all shot on location in Manhattan amongst the rubble of what would soon become Lincoln Center. The film begins with amazing aerial shots of Manhattan looking straight down on the city and far away traffic noises can be heard as Bernstein's glorious music begins playing. The film immediately thrust the viewer in an alternate reality where, yes, rival gang members danced—and danced ballet- like moves at that—and it was all not just believable, it was viscerally palpable. It's that incredible dance element which is probably West Side Story's most distinctive element and while the creative difference between Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins are well documented, Robbins' contributions cannot be underestimated. Frankly, neither can Wise's, for it was no doubt Wise's directorial acumen as well as his history with editing that shaped the film so brilliantly. Has anyone ever used a zoom lens as potently (and minimally, thank heavens) as Wise does in that opening shot of the Jets? Has any other musical blended movement, editing and music so seamlessly as has West Side Story? (About the only close analog I can think of, and it's a distant second, is the brilliant editing of "Tradition" in Fiddler on the Roof). While some of the film may in fact seem slightly creaky today, especially with regard to the not all that threatening interplay between the Jets and Sharks, at least in the opening scenes, West Side Story still maintains a vigor and energy which is startling to this day. And pay attention to how many long takes are used in the film, despite its brilliant editing. This is not Chicago-style quick cutting where the viewer is fooled into thinking they're seeing brilliant dance. This is brilliant dance, caught on film as it never had been before and frankly never has since. The other amazing element at the forefront of this film is the incredible music of Leonard Bernstein, delivered here in sumptuous orchestrations by a wealth of incredible talents including Johnny Green, Sid Ramin, Irwin Kostal and Saul Chaplin (who also associate produced). It's fascinating to realize that Bernstein, ever the charming pedant, took history's most notorious interval, the augmented fourth (or diminished fifth), the Diabolus in musica or tritone, long considered unsingable, and built an entire score around it. It's indicative of how well he achieved his goal that generations of college music theory students have since learned to recognize the tritone with the mnemonic device of the opening two notes of "Maria" from West Side Story. This is one of the most symphonic and operatic "musical" scores in the annals of Broadway and/or Hollywood, and it is a score filled with such genius and impeccable musicianship that it has lost none of its allure and gut-wrenching power in the more than half century since audiences first heard it on the Great White Way. Richard Beymer has come in for fairly consistent critical brickbats for his ultra-"nice boy" Tony, but his performance is filled with the naïvete of the early sixties, an idealism and hope that may strike cynical 21st century types as hopelessly old fashioned but which was then in full flower. The rest of the cast can't be faulted under any circumstances. Natalie Wood is a beautiful and, in the film's tragic denouement, haunting Maria, and Oscar winners Rita Moreno and George Chakiris are fiery and unforgettable as Anita and Bernardo. The supporting cast is filled with fantastic turns by everyone from Russ Tamblyn as Riff, a very funny John Astin as the high school's dance organizer, and Ned Glass as the world weary Doc, owner of the neighborhood malt shop where the Jets meet to work on their plans to defeat the Sharks. West Side Story is perhaps the prime example of how to adapt a stage musical to the medium of film. Several very smart alterations were made to the placement of songs in a different order from the Broadway version, and Wise and his crew took advantage of every technical bell and whistle then at their disposal without ever making the film seem gimmicky or fake. Everything from the glorious location footage of the opening to the amazing abstract dissolve of Maria twirling into the high school dance sequence to Boris Leven's stunning production design which makes New York a claustrophobic calamity, work in perfect harmony here, making this one of the true glories of 20th century film. If you've never seen West Side Story, you're in for one of the prime experiences of your film-going life. If you have seen West Side Story and are eagerly awaiting its Blu-ray debut, pull up a chair and put in your disc, sit back and enjoy, for tonight will most definitely not be just any night. Cast Notes: Natalie Wood (Maria), Richard Beymer (Tony), Russ Tamblyn (Riff), Rita Moreno (Anita), George Chakiris (Bernardo), Simon Oakland (Schrank), Ned Glass (Doc), William Bramley (Krupke), Tucker Smith (Ice), Tony Mordente (Action), David Winters (A-rab), Eliot Feld (Baby John), Bert Michaels (Snowboy), David Bean (Tiger), Robert Banas (Joyboy). User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois, 26 October 2002 • West Side Story, one of my personal favorite movies of all time and without a doubt my favorite musical. Why do I love this film so much? Because of it's high energy, great actors, terrific songs, awesome dance numbers, and beautiful love story. As an updated Romeo and Juliet story, we visit the streets of Manhattan, two gangs of different ethnicities, Tony and Maria, the two fall in love by are torn apart by the gang's hatred for each other. Sounds pretty basic, not to mention we have dancing gangs, they don't really fight, they just dance, yeah again sissy, but not in this story! The crew and cast put their heart and soul into this film and it truly paid off as this is the best picture of 1961. In the streets of Manhattan the Jets, led by Riff, and a rival gang of Puerto Rican immigrants, the Sharks, led by Bernardo begin to rumble. The police arrive and tell the "hoodlums" to get off the streets. The Jets discuss challenging the Sharks to one last all out "rumble", that will decide who gets control of the streets, and they will deliver the challenge to the Sharks at a dance later that night. Riff decides that his best friend Tony, a co-founder of the Jets who has left the gang to work at a local store, would be the best member of the Jets to present the challenge to the Sharks. When Riff visits Tony at the store, Tony initially refuses Riff's request to meet with the Sharks, but he later changes his mind. At the bridal shop where she works, Bernardo's sister, Maria complains to Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita. Maria believes that Bernardo is overprotective, never allowing her to have enough fun. Bernardo arrives and takes her to the dance. At the gym, the Jets, Sharks and girls are greatly enjoying themselves, but the rival gang members and their girlfriends remain apart. Tony and Maria see each other, become infatuated, almost going into a trance-like state and begin to dance, then embrace in a kiss. Bernardo pushes them away from each other and orders Maria home, and tells Tony to stay away from his sister. Tony discreetly visits Maria outside the fire escape at her home and they confirm their love. The next day at the bridal shop, Maria sings to her coworkers about how happy she is. Tony arrives to see Maria, she pleads with Tony to prevent the rumble altogether, even if only a fist fight is planned, and Tony promises to do so. At the the rumble, the fight begins between two rival gang members. Tony arrives and tries to stop the fight, but is met with ridicule and mockery from Bernardo and the Sharks. Unable to stand by and watch his best friend be humiliated, Riff angrily lashes out and punches Bernardo. Drawing their knives, Riff and Bernardo fight each other, their duel ending with Bernardo killing Riff. Enraged, Tony kills Bernardo with Riff's knife! Tensions are now at an all time high as both gangs want to get even and Tony and Maria's love is being torn apart by all the hate. West Side Story is truly a special movie, I personally don't know why it's not on the top 250 IMDb movies, if you are going to watch a musical this is the one that I always recommend. We don't get musicals to this big scape any more, they don't have the same heart as West Side Story had. The actors are absolutely incredible, it's so weird when I watched a documentary on this movie, apparently Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer hated each other, but I guess that must help during the lust scenes because hate and love are practically in the same category when it comes to passion. But the true stars of the film are Rita Moreno as Anita and Russ Tamblyn as Riff, great performances from the both of them. West Side Story is a movie that has no flaws what so ever and anyone who wants to argue me on that, feel free to send me a message. Summary: Perfection on film. IMDb Rating (05/10/12): 7.7/10 from 39,183 users
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