Product Details

• Actors: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn
• Directors: Robert Wise
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (299 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00172R37I
• For more information about "West Side Story [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

The winner of 10 Academy Awards, this 1961 musical by choreographer Jerome Robbins and director Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) remains irresistible. Based on a smash Broadway play updating Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the 1950s era of juvenile delinquency, the film stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as the star-crossed lovers from different neighborhoods--and ethnicities. The film's real selling points, however, are the highly charged and inventive song-and-dance numbers, the passionate ballads, the moody sets, colorful support from Rita Moreno, and the sheer accomplishment of Hollywood talent and technology producing a film so stirring. Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim wrote the score. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Item Name: West Side Story (Special Edition Collector's Set); Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WEST SIDE STORY Impresses, April 3, 2003

By	Matt Howe "outloud98" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: West Side Story (Special Edition Collector's Set) (DVD)

Wow. What a great DVD.

The one hour documentary featuring interviews with some of the cast, Robert Wise, Harold Prince, Sondheim, and some key crew members is completely engrossing. Home movie footage showing the filming of the movie is included. Examples of the techniques that the movie makers used to film a musical are fascinating. I was amazed that the knife scene, for example, is COMPLETELY counted out and the actor/dancers' movements were choreographed down to the second (breath, two, three, four; stab, two three; look, two, three, four). Incredible! Rita Morena is particularly informative regarding the dubbing of her song "A Boy Like That". The Robbins/Wise codirecting of the film is explained. And some of Natalie Wood's original vocals are included. The documentary is invaluable for fans of the film.

As for the film itself, it looks and sounds incredible on my widescreen HDTV. The anamorphic transfer is very good.

The DVD is packaged very well. The book which accompanies the set is very cool, with a great introduction by screenwriter Ernest Lehman (who is one of my movie heros).

I'm very impressed with this special edition of WEST SIDE STORY. The film is a classic, and deserves such treatment.

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Musical, As It Should Be Presented, December 14, 2004

By	Dean Anderson (New York, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: West Side Story (Special Edition Collector's Set) (DVD)

"West Side Story" is proof that the sum of its parts can not only be greater than the whole, but possibly be the greatest!

Little known writer in Elizabethian England pens a drama about two star-crossed lovers. Flash ahead to the turbulent streets of New York in the late 1950s and early 60s. Turn feuding families to rival gangs. Add music, choreography, make it vital. Then find a brilliant director who knows what to show, and watch as it takes home every Oscar it can.

We know the story of this film but what's important for you to know about here are the extras you get in this package that make it worth your while: The first disc is the film, preserved perfectly. And the second disc has your special features.

First, you get a great documentary on the making of the film. Titled "West Side Memories," Principals like Sondheim, Moreno, Chakiris, Beymer and more sit before the cameras and explain the process of preparing and executing what could be the finest example of the Hollywood Musical, ever. It's a piece that's could have been a stand alone DVD, it's so rich with insights.

You also get an interesting "Storyboard to Film" montage, where you see the artist's renderings of the scenes, and how those shots looked when they appeared in the film. You get to study these storyboards more carefully in several galleries on the disc. Lots of other goodies, like the theatrical trailers and photos galore... everything from Jerome Robbins's cattle call for dancers to location shots during production!

And if that wasn't enough, there's a massive book that comes with the set, that includes the complete script of the film, the original lobby brouchure that theater patrons who attended the film received, which has more photos and info, and the newspaper clippings lauding the film as it took its place in movie musical legend.

It's simply a valentine to a remarkable film, and a fantastic package, all the way around.

Highly recommended.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unmatched musical, March 29, 2001

By	Jublistic (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West Side Story (DVD)

West Side Story

Score: 86/100

In 1961, West Side Story, this endearing classic, garnered a total of ten academy awards, which is one of the most plausible amounts ever. The film is now terribly ignored by audiences, but for me, West Side Story set a standard that remains, most likely, unsurpassed in movie musicals. It's that good.

West Side Story is a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in New York City, where rival street gangs - the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks - battle for territory and respect. Is the love affair between former Jets leader Tony (Richard Beymer), and Maria (Natalie Wood), sister to Sharks' leader Bernardo, doomed to failure? Well, you're doomed until you find out, so grab this movie as soon as you.

West Side Story is a truly electrifying piece of cinema, it sets ageless tragedy on the slums of New York in the 1950's and does it maturely and with stunning style. The violence and some unnecessary language may slightly falter it, but Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's unforgettable score, which includes such famous songs as Maria, America and Tonight, and Jerome Robbins' exuberant chereography makes up for whatever may put the film down. Performances are no problem for these now-crinkly actors; Natalie Wood captures Maria with such heartbreaking richness that makes her performance ignored beauty, while Richard Beymer is excellently controlled in his performance as the confused but honest Tony. Oscar-winners Rita Moreno and George Chakiris both make sure this film is satisfying in supporting performances as well.

West Side Story is a lovely film that remains a feast for the eye, the ear and, ultimately, the heart.