One of the greatest movies ever made, West Side Story is one of the most loved musicals of all time as well. It follows two young lovers from rival gangs in New York City back in the 1950's who fall in love - a la Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away, but end up trying to stop one last planned "rumble on the streets". Everything ends up going horribly wrong.
It's actually hard to believe it's been 50 years since this movie was released. I remember getting to watch it as a child years later with my parents - it's one of my mother's favorite movies. When you look at movies being released today vs the movies in the past, there's a big difference. It's almost frustrating - they just don't seem to make movies like they used to. It's a wonderful thing that these older movies have been preserved so the younger generation can be introduced to them.
The 50th anniversary edition is a three disc set that contains the Blu-Ray edition of the movie, as well as the DVD version. The DVD disc contains the movie digitally restored in standard definition. It also contains a special feature called music machine, that allows viewers to go straight to their favorite musical numbers.
The Blu-Ray discs are a bonanza of special features, let me tell you! The first Blu-Ray disc contains the movie, remastered in 1080p Hi-Def with 7.1 DTS HD Sound. How this appears to you will depend on your TV and set up, but as someone who owns the regular DVD set that came out about ten years ago, I can tell you there is a big difference and it's phenomenal! Wow! This first disc also contains some of the special features, including Pow! The Dances of West Side Story in movie viewing mode, which features cast members, contemporary filmmakers, dancers and choreographers who analyze and illuminate the film’s famous dance sequences. It also contains song specific commentary by Stephen Sondheim, who was the lyricist for the movie. The disc is rounded out by the music machine feature as well.
The second Blu-Ray disc contains even more special features, including A Place for Us: West Side Story’s Legacy, which is a look back at the iconic film and the impact it has had all over the world. (This one is super neat!). It also includes "West Side Memories", as well as a storyboard to film comparison montage. You'll also find the original trailer for the movie, as well as the new one for the one night only theater performances a few weeks ago.
If you are looking for a great gift idea for the film buff in your life, this is definitely it! Everyone should view this movie at least once in their life.
The 50th Anniversary Edition of West Side Story on Blu-Ray is available today, wherever DVD's and Blu-Ray's are sold. The total running time of the movie is 153 minutes long, but the special features add quite a bit of time. Widescreen format, it is not rated (use your judgement with the littles). The suggested retail price is $29.99, but Amazon has it available for $18.99 as of this posting - and that's a steal, if you ask me.
This post is part of my Holiday Gift Guide 2011. To see more great gift ideas, just click it.
I received a copy of this DVD in order to share my thoughts on it. All opinions are my own.
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