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West Side Story [Blu-ray/DVD] [50th Anniversary Edition]

3 discs
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Considered one of the most popular musicals of all time, WEST SIDE STORY earned director Robert Wise an Oscar for Best Director as well as nine other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Realistically portrayed characters and their surroundings and expert editing complementing innovative dance sequences mark this highly stylized modern-day Romeo and Juliet tale. The stage is set in New York's Upper West Side in the 1950s, where the area's slums are plagued by racial tensions acted on by two rival gangs: the Puerto Rican Sharks and the Caucasian Jets. In the middle of this mess is young, innocent Maria (Natalie Wood), a Puerto Rican seamstress whose brother, Bernardo (George Chakiris), is the leader of the Sharks. Despite the warnings of Anita (Rita Moreno), Bernardo's fiery girlfriend, Maria falls in love with a young, hopeful Polish boy, Tony (Richard Beymer), who used to belong to the Jets, now headed by Riff (Russ Tamblyn). When Tony, on Maria's urging, tries to stop a rumble between the gangs, tragedy ensues, marking their dedicated love affair with violence and desperation. The infectious, lyrical landmark score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim help round out one of the greatest musical experiences ever captured on film.
Academy Awards Best Art Direction - Set Decoration (Color) 1961
Academy Awards Best Costume Design (Color) 1961
Academy Awards Best Film Editing 1961
Academy Awards Best Picture 1961
Academy Awards Best Sound 1961
Academy Awards Honorary Awards 1961
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor 1961 George Chakiris American dancer/actor/singer, WEST SIDE STORY
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress 1961 Rita Moreno Puerto Rican actress/dancer/singer
Academy Awards Best Adapted or Musical Song/Score 1961 Johnny Green American Composer/D. 1989
Academy Awards Best Director 1961 Robert Wise Oscar winning Director/Producer/Editor, WEST SIDE STORY
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Credits

Natalie Wood, Natasha Gurdin, Richard Beymer, George Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, Rosita Dolores Alverio, Rosita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, Rusty Tamblyn, Russell Tamblyn, George Chakiris, Simon Oakland, Tony Mordente, Eliot Feld
Critic Reviews

"..Incredibly cool..."
Entertainment Weekly
"...You'd be a fool not to buy it and once more savour the muscular song-and-dance numbers..."
Total Film
"[E]very Bernstein song's a humdinger with sizzling Sondheim lyrical gags. Cosily cool."
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