West Side Story (Special Edition) [1961]

See Larger Image	List Price: £19.99 Our Price: £8.97 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris Directed By: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Parental Guidance Binding: DVD EAN: 5050070010657 Format: PAL Label: MGM Entertainment Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: MGM Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2003-11-17 Running Time: 145 Studio: MGM Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 1961
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Editorial Reviews: The winner of 10 Academy Awards, this 1961 musical by choreographer Jerome Robbins and director Robert Wise (The Sound of Music) remains irresistible. Based on a smash Broadway play updating Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the 1950s era of juvenile delinquency, West Side Story stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as the star-crossed lovers from different neighbourhoods--and ethnicities. The film's real selling points, however, are the highly charged and inventive song-and-dance numbers, the passionate ballads, the moody sets, colourful support from Rita Moreno, and the sheer accomplishment of Hollywood talent and technology producing a film so stirring. Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim wrote the score. --Tom Keogh
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: MASTERPIECE Comment: I wish i had the opportunity to watch this film for the first time over again. This film has everything, great cast, great songs, great dancing, love, tradegy and Natalie Wood. My favourite film of all time. Customer Rating: Summary: a tribute to how musicals were made Comment: brilliant classic musical,one of the best,brilliant voices & songs that stick in your memory for ever. Customer Rating: Summary: Slow-moving - but good in parts. Comment: This one takes a very long time to get going. In fact, when I first attempted to watch this, after struggling to maintain my interest for half of the film (no less than one hour and ten minutes to be precise!) I simply had to give up and turn off... However, a second attempt on another occasion I made it through to the end. Having done so, it turned out to be quite interesting in parts with quite a dramatic finish. As someone who likes musicals, I did find it extremely hard going. Though most musicals are very long (and in many cases overlong in my opinion) no show should take more than an hour to start to grab the attention, and so this title does lack a certain 'something'. I suspect it was so popular and such a success in its day, due to its apparent appeal to young people with the advent of the 'teenager' at the beginning of the sixties. To its credit, and for that reason alone, the movie has remained timeless, and as a consequence would still appeal to much of the youth culture of today, and this can be seen above by the juvenile and negative response to my very honest review. Customer Rating: Summary: the best film musical ever Comment: What can you say about a film over 40 years old that still has the ability to captivate, excite and delight? The basic premise is that of romeo and juliet, brought into the 20th century new york gang culture. The Bernstein score still sounds fresh and vibrant, with it's jazzy yet flowing rhythms and melodies and the choreography is incredibly multi-layered but easy on the eye. The dancing is particularly impressive, with russ tamblyn and george chakiris leading the way. Okay, the singing voices of natalie wood and richard beymer are over-dubbed, but this should not detract from a musical which has the best score of any musical ever (great lyrics, too), and also some of the best choreography. A visual and aural treat. Customer Rating: Summary: Quite simply the best musical ever made Comment: Jerome Robbins' stunning choreography, Leonard Bernstein's classic score and Stephen Sondheim's unforgetable lyrics make this a classic masterpiece you'll never tire of watching! A must-see movie. More Reviews