West Side Story (Special Edition Collector's Set)

it is REALLY WORTH SEEING (MORE THAN ONCE)I KNOW...I KNOW....it was a box office flop....but it remains a critics' smash hit....and among audience members like myself who saw it in the theaters (6 times!) and now own it....the reception was even better.92 Percent of the Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a BIG THUMBS UP....8.3 out of 10 was the average rating. 94 Percent of the audience gave it a STANDING OVATION ....4.6 out of 5 was the average rating.Each time I enjoyed it tremendously. It is moving, provocative, powerful, and pertinent. I took 16 others to see it and only one regretted the trip. 14 were as impressed as I was.You can read the reviews......both professional and audience generated. Here is mine...West Side Story: 8 Ways The 2021 Remake Improves On The 1961 Original1961’s West Side Story has been hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time – certainly in the musical genre – so Steven Spielberg had some huge shoes to fill when he set out to re-adapt the iconic Broadway show. Here is where his version stands out....8- The Camera Is More Active In The Remake with a vibrant, varied, and disturbing New York City as it stage7- Stronger Performances by a truly ethnically diverse cast of strong singers, dancers and actors who actually did all of their own performing! And Rita Moreno, a star in the first film, is not to be missed in a role created for her in the remake.6- Bernstein’s Music and Sondheim’s Lyrics Have Never Felt More Alive or Poignant...speaking to contemporary American (and Global) realities5- Taking Gang Violence Seriously and in a Wider More Realistic Context that Shines a Light on Mindless Deep Divisions in Society, including Our Contemporary Society.4- Spielberg Updated The Themes: Racial Tension, Immigrant Struggles, the Price of Pricey Urban Renewal, and the Nature of Unbridled Hate Based in Empty Prejudice, Anger, Anxiety, Resentment.3- Expressionistic Visuals That Will be Remembered. Ex.The “Rumble” in a Domed Salt “Arena” begins with the Shadows of the Two Sides Touching First in an Eerie overhead shot which is then revisited after the rumble when the police arrive. Stunning.2- Rachel Zegler And Ansel Elgort, A Polish Tony, and a Puerto Rican Maria Sell The Shakespearean Tragedy: They are star-crossed lovers in a relationship doomed from the start with Every Possible Happy Ending eventually impossible since they cannot walk away from the forces that surround them and the history that weighs them down1-The Final Scene Hammers The Message Home SOOOO Effectively.......Ultimately, the message in West Side Story is that “hate begets hate.” The rumble’s energy and chaos, uncontrollable and unrelenting, leads to two unintentional but unavoidable deaths, and then a third one that ends the film (and any hope of happiness). Responding to violence with more violence, to hate with more hate, will only lead to even more violence and even more hate. Lessons for today I think. But lessons unlikely to be learned.This message is conveyed beautifully in the original movie, but Spielberg hammers it home even more so in the remake. In the final scene, before Tony’s body is carried away, María grabs Chino’s gun and gives a powerful monologue that sums up the story’s messaging and then “soldiers” from each side, moved by her words, carry his body through the streets as the police converge on the scene...too late….but the pain is far from over.Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet, the ground on which West Side Story stands, closes the tragedy in which both young lovers are dead, with the words of the Duke, the symbol of authority and law in the play. Speaking to both families (the gangs) he angrily condemns them with these words:"See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love! You have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished. Yes, All are Punished.It is a moving moment made more powerful by Spielberg’s take:, Tony is physically dead, Maria is emotionally dead, the gangs from both sides have lost nearly everything, the police are shown to be impotent and the city is in ruins. And Rita Moreno’s character, a Puerto Rican woman in her 90’s who married an Anglo Man hoping that their love might be a living example for all of those divided by race, faith, belief, power, and raw hatred might find that love can find a way….picks up the gun and with head bowed is the last of the shadows to pass through the streets.SO...why did it flop?The audience it was aimed toward, the 50 plus crowd, is the smallest demographic going out to movies (COVID, changes in viewing habits etc.)The film is a very serious one with a message that strikes deep but is largely without hope.While, West Side Story did well on the stage and the screen in the past, it was not a hit with audiences in general...my guess, is that even then the message struck a little too deeply and there was no happy ending.Musicals on film do not do well generally unless they are light, airy and fun (think My Fair Lady and Sound of Music).But it is my guess that in the years to come, WSS 2021 will be very highly regarded. So, see the film at home...so worth it....BY the Way.....The extras on the DVD/Blu Ray are wonderful. One set is just the songs/dances lifted from the film and played one after the other. These are the heart of the film and this format allows those who know the film well to revisit its core easily. The other extra is a long feature about the making of the film. You get inside the creative process in a way that is most enlightening. So worth it......

I've always loved WSS for both the storyline and the haunting, gorgeous music by Leonard Bernstein. This version is SO much better than the 1961 version because it is so much more authentic. OF COURSE the Puerto Rican characters should be actual Puerto Ricans, not whites with dark makeup! I prefer the acting, singing and dancing in this version to that of the original. And of course the sets in this one are so much better because the set technology in 1961 was pathetic compared to what we have now. I'm so glad this version found a role for Rita Moreno, and she played it beautifully! I will watch this many times over.

Ok

Awesome movie!

I will always be a huge fan of the original movie, but this adaptation was entertaining and visually stunning. The images were vivid and rich with color. It was nice that many of the characters were given backstories. Well worth watching!

I've just watched "West Side Story," first released in 1961. Shooting on this film began almost exactly fifty years ago (at the time of this writing) in NYC on 10 August 1960, so it seemed fitting to view it near that anniversary date. My nephew had expressed interest in seeing the picture, since he had learned one of the songs in music class. And it's been many, many years since I last viewed it, so I thought it a good choice for this weekend.I have to say, I had forgotten just how very good this film is. With a fantastic score and great orchestrations, wonderful choreography, and a story with real emotional pull; all the elements are in place. Now, the bits of the plot that deal with the finer aspects of gang warfare do seem rather quaintly old-fashioned, considering the level of violence that exists in the inner cities today. But then, I don't know that the film was meant to be particularly realistic even when it was shot; it was always a stylised version of reality, rather than a matter-of-fact slice of life.The performances are uniformly good, with Rita Moreno a stand-out. Much could be said about the casting of Natalie Wood, a white girl in a Hispanic role---today it would almost certainly be cast with an actress of the correct ethnicity. However, I think she does do a fine job in the part.Sadly enough, this film seems every bit as topical today---an entire half-century later--- as it did when it was shot. Currently the issues of immigration and racism are hot-button topics in American politics, and are surely going to figure heavily in the upcoming elections.I have the two-DVD "special edition" of the film, and that is definitely the version to get, until such a time as a Blu-ray is released. The special edition set gives you the widescreen print of the film with a 5.1 surround audio mix, a booklet containing the script and additional information, plus an additional disc containing bonus features.Most interesting of the bonus material is an hour-long documentary detailing the making of the film. The documentary contains a lot of footage shot behind-the-scenes, as well as some footage where you can hear Natalie Wood's own vocals for the musical numbers. Natalie actually recorded all of her own songs, and the film was shot to this playback. But in the end it was decided that her vocals weren't quite strong enough, and Marni Nixon was brought in to dub her singing voice. Marni really was the go-to-gal for musical dubbing for a ten-year period or so: from the mid fifties to the mid sixties she dubbed a number of very famous musicals (including "My Fair Lady" and "The King and I"). I have to say, Marni does a great job here; her voice is a good fit for Natalie's speaking voice. But what a difficult job that must have been! Not only did she have to deliver a good vocal performance, she had to exactly match the sync on film that was already shot.So, a definite recommendation from me. This is one of those films that is so much a part of pop culture, and the history of the American theatre, that I think everyone should give it a try at least once. As for how it plays to a modern 12-year-old, well... My nephew Joshua did find it rather long, but did stick it out to the end.Bit of trivia: The opening of this film was notable at the time for the way it began with long aerial shots of the city, with the camera gradually moving closer and closer to street level as the sounds of city life slowly became audible, before finally focusing in on individual characters at ground level. The film was directed by Robert Wise, who later directed "The Sound of Music," and he was very resistant to the idea of using the same technique for the opening of "Music;" fortunately he eventually changed his mind. It's interesting that, all these years later, it is actually the opening of "The Sound of Music" that is better remembered and more famous than that of "West Side Story."

Trying to appeal to today's young audience, I wasn't crazy about this remake by Spielberg. The acting wasn't believable. The setting was too modern.However, I did appreciate the vocals as the actors did their own singing, unlike the original movie with Natalie Wood and others who had their vocal dubs. It was unbelievable that the character played by Rita Moreno married Doc. Really? The original WSS it 5 plus stars.

La versión de Spielberg, es buena hace del Clásico una buena Película, sin compararse con esta, ya que musicalmente la original es superior. Aunque en Fotografía y Escenografía es muy buena.

J utilise cette vidéo de façon pédagogique avec mes élèves. L histoire est hélas toujours d actualité

Ik heb van te voren gevraagd of er Nederlandse ondertiteling beschikbaar is op deze film. Ze antwoorden met ja! Nadat ik heb besteld en ontvangen bleek dat het toch niet zo is. GEEN NEDERLANDSE ONDERTITELING!! Jammer en retour gestuurd.

Llego muy bien y sin daños en él slipcover, bien protegido.La imagen es muy buena y se ve bien y mucho mejor que en lo sistemas de streaming. La saturación del color y la profundidad de los negros es donde hay ganancias, así como en la nitidez.El audio en inglés Dolby Atmos es potente, sin pérdidas de señal en los diálogos o en las secuencias de canto. También español latino Dolby Digital 7.1, así como subtítulos en ambos idiomas y más.El código digital es válido solo para USA.

Comédie musicale/film remarquable et surtout marquante. Après l'avoir vue une seule fois à la TV il y a plus de 15 ans, je me souviens parfaitement de certaines scènes marquantes ainsi que de plusieurs chansons, c'est incroyable! J'ai voulu me ré-imprégner de cette version avant d'acquérir la version récente de 2022. Des chanteurs et danseurs acrobatiques fantastiques et un scénario encore bien d'actualité de cette guerre raciale des gangs.