Something you really appreciate in the gorgeous new Blu-ray transfer of 1961’s Best Picture winner “West Side Story” is the decision co-directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins made to shoot the opening sequence on-location. While a majority of the film looks as though it was shot on large, well-designed sound stages, the opener takes place on the real streets of a real urban city and sets the authentic tone necessary to carry the rest of this racially-charged Romeo and Juliet musical through the full 152 minutes.
And it’s only Romeo and Juliet in the loosest sense. This isn’t the story of warring families; this is the story of warring gangs divided along racial lines (the white Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks) who don’t really understand why they hate each other. But every time a mutual respect begins to develop between the two gangs, a racist cop named Schrank (Simon Oakland) stirs up animosities built on nothing more than hollow notions of pride and turf.
Caught in the middle is Tony (Richard Beymer), the Jets’ one-time leader who’s just started to mature enough to know a better life can be had through hard work, and Maria (a ravishing Natalie Wood), the sister of one of the Sharks’ leaders. Per chance they meet at a dance and as only teenagers can, they immediately fall madly, desperately, passionately in love just as the two gangs prepare to face off to see who will dominate the neighborhood.
Two things make “West Side Story” the timeless classic it is. The first is Leonard Bernstein’s unforgettable score, and the second is how well the story explores some heady themes without ever devolving into a preach-a-thon. A perfect example of this is the film’s highlight (at least for me), the rooftop show-stopper “America” where Anita (a smoldering Rita Moreno) and Bernardo (George Chakins) square off over the pros and cons of immigrant life in America. What you’re watching is both performers win their respective supporting Oscars and more wit, sex, attitude, exuberance, and magic in those six minutes then we’ve seen from Hollywood in the last five years put together. Watch here and tell me it doesn’t make you glad to be alive:
“I think I go back to San Juan.”
“I know a boat you can get on — bye, bye.”
“Everyone there will give big cheer.”
“Everyone there will have moved here.”
Something else you can appreciate is how little the camera gets in the way of the musical performances. Today’s musicals are all editing — chop, chop, chop. “West Side Story” might cut here and there and move the camera a bit, but you are at least allowed to enjoy these remarkable performances without feeling manipulated or cheated. The actors, music, and choreography dazzle, not the post-production.
In many ways (after those opening scenes), “West Side Story” does come off as stagy but that’s really one of its strengths. Had the story been shot completely on-location, I doubt it would’ve survived 50 years. The posturing of the gangs and all that finger-snapping, “daddio” stuff works perfectly in a stage setting, but out in the world it would’ve dated rather poorly. The same is true for the two leads, Wood and Beymer, who really don’t have much chemistry. Wood’s breathtaking beauty forgives a lot, but the decision to put her in an “ethnic” role would’ve truly failed without the production’s heightened reality. But because of it, we can focus on the splendid qualities Wood does bring to the role, her innocence and what it means to flush with first love.
For you fans, the 50th annniversary Blu-ray edition comes packed with enough extras (most of them new) to make the purchase worthwhile:
Disc 1: West Side Story Remastered in 1080p Hi-Def with 7.1 DTS-HD Sound
Pow! The Dances of West Side Story In-Movie Viewing Mode
Song-Specific Commentary by Stephen Sondheim
Music Machine
Disc 2: Blu-ray Additional Special Features
A Place for Us: West Side Story’s Legacy
Creation and Innovation
A Timeless Vision
West Side Memories
Storyboard-to-Film Comparison Montage
Disc 3: DVD
West Side Story Digitally Restored in
Standard Definition
Music Machine
The improvement in picture quality over my 1998 bare bones DVD is striking. And as much as I hate having to buy these movies again, they look so good that the experience is heightened in so many ways. Nothing can replace the first time you see a movie, but a top-shelf Blu-ray like this one comes about as close as anything can.
“West Side Story” is also something you can show your children. Naturally, they will love the drama, music and choreography, but along with all that vibrant entertainment there’s the kind of inoffensive and non-partisan life lessons Hollywood used to teach us. The story might be highly romantic, but the themes are tragic — which, when you’re dealing with characters driven by racism and gang life, is as it should be.
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