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| West Side Story |
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Genre:Musical
Reviewed In Issue 32 Of Widescreen Review®
Stars:
Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris |
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| Supplementals |
| The theatrical trailer is included. |
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 DVD General Information |
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| (Studio/Distributor): |
MGM Home Entertainment |
| (Catalog Number): |
ML107088 |
| (MPAA Rating): |
Not Rated |
| (Retail Price): |
$49.98 |
| (Running Time In Minutes): |
151 |
| (Color Type): |
Color |
| (Chaptered/Scene Access): |
Yes |
| (Closed Captioned): |
Yes |
| (Theatrical Release): |
1961 |
| (LD Release Date): |
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| (THX® Digitally Mastered): |
No |
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| Credits Information |
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| (Director): |
Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins |
| (Screenplay/Written By): |
Ernest Lehman |
| (Story): |
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| (Music): |
Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim |
| (Director Of Photography): |
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| (Production Designer): |
Boris Leven |
| (Visual Effects): |
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| (Costume Designer): |
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| (Editor): |
Thomas Stanford |
| (Supervising Sound Editors): |
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| (Re-Recording Mixers): |
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| (Executive Producers): |
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| (Co-Producers): |
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| (Producers): |
NA |
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| DVD Picture Information |
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| (Principal Photography): |
Super Panavision 70 |
| (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): |
2.20:1 |
| (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): |
2.20:1 |
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| DVD Sound Information |
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| (DVD Soundtrack): |
DTS Digital Surround |
| (Theatrical Sound): |
Mag Stereo & 70mm 6 Track Mag Stereo |
| (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): |
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| (Remastered Dolby Digital): |
No |
| (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): |
Yes |
| (Additional Languages): |
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| WSR Narrative Review |
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Story Synopsis:
Winner of 10 Academy Awards®, West Side Story is one of the true gems of movie musicals. Set in New York city during the 1950s, a rivalry forms between two gangs—the Sharks and the Jets—with Tony and Maria caught in the middle much like the story of Romeo and Juliet. Based on the stage play by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince.
LaserDisc Picture:
The LaserDisc is framed precisely at 2.20:1, and exhibits the same generally pleasing transfer as the LaserDisc reviewed in Issue 31. The picture, at times, appears slightly oversaturated with brownish-orange fleshtones and deep, undefined blacks. Noise and artifacts are apparent. However, considering the film’s age, and the previous MGM and Criterion LaserDiscs, this version is superior in image quality throughout.
LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The DTS® Digital Surround discrete 5.1 soundtrack sounds slightly less harsh and strident compared to the Dolby® Digital but otherwise shares essentially the same dated fidelity characteristic. The directionalized dialogue is a bit strident, problematic and distorted. Surround is prominently provided by the enchanting music, but is monaural. Bass is occasionally deep, with .1 LFE mixed in for added effective punch.
| (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): |
Yes |
| (Aggressive System Surround): |
Yes |
| (Intense 25Hz Bass): |
No |
| (Deep Bass Challenging): |
No |
| (Aggressive 0.1 LFE): |
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| (Holosonic Soundfield): |
No |
| (Aggressive Split Surround): |
No |
| (Center Back Surround Imaging): |
No |
| (Directionalized Dialogue): |
Yes |
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality: |
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Superb Music Score Recording Quality: |
Yes |
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality: |
No |
Superb Color Fidelity: |
No |
Superb Cinematography: |
- |
Reference LaserDisc: |
No |
Collector Edition: |
No |
DVD To LaserDisc Comparison:
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