West Side Story

Winner of 10 Academy Awards®, West Side Story is one of the true gems of movie musicals. Tony (Beymer) and Maria (Wood) are the Romeo and Juliet of New York City in the 1950s. A rivalry forms between two gangs—the Sharks and the Jets—with Tony and Maria caught in the middle. Based on the stage play by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, conceived, directed, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, with a book by Arthur Laurents. This is the 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Disc™ edition. (Gary Reber)

Special features on Disc One include song specific commentary by Stephen Sondheim; a music machine; and "Pow! The Dances Of West Side Story," which are video pieces that may be viewed either while watching the movie or separately. Disc Two is a bonus disc that includes the featurettes A Place For Us: West Side Story's Legacy (HD 29:28) and West Side Memories (SD 55:55), a storyboard-to-film comparison montage (SD 04:50), and trailers. Disc Three is a DVD of the film.

Originally reviewed in Issue 37 as a LaserDisc and an anamorphic and letterbox DVD, all framed precisely at 2.20:1, as is the anamorphic and letterbox DVD, the DVD exhibited improved sharpness and detail, with rich but dated colors. Both pictures appeared slightly oversaturated with brownish-orange fleshtones and undefined blacks. The anamorphically enhanced DVD reviewed in Issue 72 appeared to be the same, with a dated appearance and appearing quite soft and smeared. The source element also was revealing of some dirt and grain. The new 2.19:1 1080p AVC Blu-ray Disc restoration is far superior to all previous home video releases, quite possibly even the theatrical road show presentation exhibited in 70 mm! The imagery is incredibly sharp and detailed, with a vibrancy not experienced before. Colors are beautifully saturated in Technicolor, though, fleshtones appear to be "Coppertone" rendered, with a prominent unnatural orange hue. Still primaries are gorgeously hued with spectacular reds and purples that pop. Contrast is excellent with revealing, deep blacks and shadow delineation. Dimensionality also is impressive. The hours of effort put into the restoration have paid off with a blemish-free, pristine, and remarkably sharp and finely detailed presentation that every fan of this classic will appreciate. This 50th anniversary Blu-ray release is the very finest presentation of West Side Story ever! (Gary Reber)

Both the DVD and LaserDisc Dolby® Digital 5.1 soundtracks and the LaserDisc matrix PCM soundtrack previously reviewed were enjoyable, though, fidelity on both was noticeably dated. The Dolby Digital version sounded much thinner, and background hiss was prominent throughout, compared to the matrix. Leonard Bernstein's orchestral music score, of course, was and is fabulous and enchanting, and projected a more spatially dimensional soundstage on the discrete. The dialogue on both was a bit strident; and the Dolby Digital version which, like the original theatrical version, was directional but problematic and distorted at times. Surround was prominently music and monaural on both versions. The discrete version mixed some bass to the .1 LFE channel for added punch, which at times was effective. The Dolby Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack reviewed in Issue 72 was a new remastering effort and sounded smoother in midrange tonal resolution than the corresponding audio for the previous DVD release. There also seemed to be a slight refinement in terms of spatial articulation, and background hiss was a little more subdued. Still, fidelity was noticeably dated, but the restoration of the audio was very impressive. The dialogue remained a bit strident and its sonic character was indicative of the original, dated production. Like the original theatrical version, it was directional. The surrounds served to fill in the ambiance from the music of Leonard Bernstein, albeit being limited in stereo separation. The low end provided for a nice deep bass foundation to the music, with LFE channel engagement. The new Blu-ray Disc DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is, unfortunately, not sourced from the film's original Super Panavision 70/Todd-AO six-track mag masters (five channels across the screen and one monaural surround), which were discovered and restored in 2010 (see "Original 6-Track Mix Recovered and Restored for West Side Story" at http://www.in70mm.com/news/2010/wss/index.htm). That said, the soundtrack does not optimally represent how the soundtrack sounded, especially with respect to surround envelopment and directionality. Still the newly repurposed 7.1-channel mix is memorably impressive for its overall balance and smoothness, especially with respect to the recorded music quality. Bass is impressively solid, with excellent .1 LFE energy. Dialogue sounds much smoother, and the directionality is nicely executed. The added two channels really enhance the sense of envelopment when empowered during the music segments. Considering that this is a 1961 musical, this is a remarkable sonic experience that will enthrall fans. (Gary Reber)