West Side Story

Rating:
Summary: I love this movie....
Review: Everytime I see West Side Story, I make myself beleive the ending is going to be so happy. I'm so disappointed every time. I feel so empty. I vote for an extra scene in the special features that makes an alternative happy ending. Or "West Side Story-the Sequel" where Maria marries her second soul mate.

Rating:
Summary: THE Musical, As It Should Be Presented
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: Bernstein at his best!
Review: This is one of the great classics that almost nobody has ever actually seen. It stands as Leonard Bernstein's greatest accomplishment outside of the concert hall. It stars a very young Natalie Wood in the lead role, and I will concede that this is the only movie I have ever seen of her's.

WEST SIDE STORY is the Americanized Romeo & Juliet. Instead of the Capulets & the Montagues we have rival gang warfare. In place of family hostility there is the American dynamic of racism that comes to the fore.

Just as in Shakespeare's play, these components combine for a true recipe for tragedy. While there are plenty of parallels, however, the story does take on a life of its own and refuses to become a mere shadow of Shakespeare's masterpiece.

I will admit that I've never really been big on musicals. For me to give a musical 5 stars is, therefore, somewhat profound. For fans of Bernstein and Wood this movie is a must. The songs are memorable & the story is timeless!

Rating:
Summary: Romeo and Juliet on the West Side
Review: Set amid stunningly realistic-looking fire escapes and apartment buildings, the 1961 movie version of WEST SIDE STORY includes nearly all of the great Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score and excitingly recreates Jerome Robbins' original Broadway choreography. Robbins' choreographic language -- which turns even violent "rumbles" into electrifying dance sequences -- is just as sensational onscreen as it reportedly was on Broadway in 1957. The dancing, in fact, outshines the singing. Although the "Jets" and "Sharks" are solid in their numbers and the singer who dubs Richard Beymer has a fine voice, those who sing for Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno pale beside Carol Lawrence and Chita Rivera on the original Broadway cast recording. But the acting is strong all around. Wood may look a bit mature for the teenage Maria, but she glows here - just as she would in her next musical role, Gypsy Rose Lee in GYPSY. Beymer's Tony likewise lights up the screen, especially in his solo "Something's Coming." Moreno is a sincere actress and a lithe dancer. Each "Jet" and "Shark" convinces as a teenage gang member; Russ Tamblyn is a natural as Riff. The screenplay, adapted by Ernest Lehman from Arthur Laurents' libretto, is tightly dramatic, building swiftly to a tragic conclusion - brought about, as in ROMEO AND JULIET, by miscommunication and rash behavior - and also suggesting that the young "hoodlums" are more sinned against than sinning (they are trapped in a city seething with racial resentment; fear and hatred of immigrants began with adults like Lieutenant Shrank and was passed down to the young people). After watching the heartbreaking final scenes of this WEST SIDE STORY, one feels emotionally numb; all the tragedy of ROMEO AND JULIET, and of the original stage musical, comes across in the movie, as does the dancing and (albeit more weakly) the score.