MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Romeo and Juliet is updated to the tenements of New York City in this Oscar-winning musical landmark. Adapted by Ernest Lehman from the Broadway production, the movie opens with an overhead shot of Manhattan, an effect that director Robert Wise would repeat over the Alps in The Sound of Music four years later. We are introduced to two rival street gangs: the Jets, second-generation American teens, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. When the war between the Jets and Sharks reaches a fever pitch, Jets leader Riff (Russ Tamblyn) decides to challenge the Sharks to one last "winner take all" rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo (George Chakiris) for a war council at a gymnasium dance; to bolster his argument, Riff wants his old pal Tony (Richard Beymer), the cofounder of the Jets, to come along. But Tony has set his sights on vistas beyond the neighborhood and has fallen in love with Bernardo's sister, Maria (Natalie Wood), a love that, as in Romeo and Juliet, will eventually end in tragedy. In contrast to the usual slash-and-burn policy of Hollywood musical adaptations, all the songs written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the original Broadway production of West Side Story were retained for the film version, although some alterations were made to appease the Hollywood censors, and the original order of two songs was reversed for stronger dramatic impact. The movie more than retains the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, which is recreated in some of the most startling and balletic dance sequences ever recorded on film. West Side Story won an almost-record ten Oscars, including Best Picture, supporting awards to Chakiris and Rita Moreno as Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita, and Best Director to Robbins and Wise. Richard Beymer's singing was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant, Natalie Wood's by Marni Nixon (who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady), and Rita Moreno's by Betty Wand. The film's New York tenement locations were later razed to make room for Lincoln Center. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: Spanish, French, English
• Features:
  • • cc Disc One:
    • Original 16 x 9 widescreen format
    • New 5.1 audio
    • Original-film intermission music - option to play feature with or without the intermission
    • Disc Two:
    • "West Side Memories" retrospective documentary - new one-hour featurette containing Natalie Wood's original vocal recordings and new interviews with the cast and crew, including Robert Wise and Stephen Sondheim
    • Original-film intermission music - restored and remixed in 5.1 surround
    • Storyboard-to-film comparison
    • Original release trailers and behind-the-scenes photos - film archive also includes rare and never-before-seen materials such as production design and storyboard galleries

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Color Art Direction - 1961 (Boris Leven, Victor A. Gangelin)
•     Won Best Color Cinematography - 1961 (Daniel L. Fapp)
•     Won Best Color Costume Design - 1961 (Irene Sharaff)
•     Won Best Director - 1961 (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins)
•     Won Best Editing - 1961 (Thomas G. Stanford)
•     Won Best Musical Score - 1961 (Irwin Kostal, Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin)
•     Won Best Picture - 1961 (Robert Wise)
•     Won Best Sound - 1961 (Fred Hynes, Gordon Sawyer)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 1961 (George Chakiris)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1961 (Rita Moreno)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1961 (Ernest Lehman)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best Film - Any Source - 1962 (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Won Best Director - 1961 (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1961 (George Chakiris)
•     Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic - 1961 (Rita Moreno)
•     Won Best Picture - Musical - 1961
•     Nominated Best Director - 1961 (Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1961 (Richard Beymer)

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1997

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1961

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Picture - 1961

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Robert Wise

• Producer:

  Robert Wise

• Screenwriter:

  Ernest Lehman

• Play Author:

  Harold Prince, Robert E. Griffith

• Cinematographer:

  Daniel L. Fapp

• Composer (Music Score):

  Leonard Bernstein

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal, Sid Ramin

• Editor:

  Thomas G. Stanford

• Production Designer:

  Boris Leven

• Associate Producer:

  Saul Chaplin

• Set Designer:

  Victor A. Gangelin

• Costume Designer:

  Irene Sharaff

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Fred Hynes, Fred Lau, Vinton Vernon, Murray Spivack

• First Assistant Director:

  Robert E. Relyea

• Choreography:

  Jerome Robbins

• Script Supervisor:

  John Flynn

• Conductor:

  Johnny Green

• Book (Musical):

  Arthur Laurents

• Lyricist:

  Stephen Sondheim

• Costumes Supervisor:

  Irene Caine

REVIEW:

• West Side Story is remarkable for its seamless transference from stage musical to screen classic, with the complete Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim song score intact, as well as the choreography of Jerome Robbins. The story, derived from Romeo and Juliet, works on a symbolic rather than realistic level; there is no pretense that this is a true representation of what New York City gangs were like circa 1960. Veteran director Robert Wise is probably the person most responsible for the film's success, and for retaining the best qualities of the stage production, though co-director Robbins, who feuded with Wise throughout the production, would likely disagree. After several weeks of delayed production due to Robbins' insistence on extra rehearsals, Wise tired of the Broadway legend and had him removed from the set. West Side Story swept the Oscars, taking ten awards, including awards for Best Picture and its decidedly non-cordial co-directors. The Academy gave a special choreography award to Robbins, who thanked a great many people in his acceptance speech, noticeably failing to mention Wise. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi