Amor, Sublime Amor

I enjoyed Natalie Wood of course, talented stunningly attractive actress. Richard Beymer too... However, of all the reviews I have read here, hardly a one makes mention of the composer of the music in the film, Leonard Bernstein's music... The melodies are beautiful and romantic beyond compare. Bernstein was a genius, a great composer and conductor of orchestras... Stephen Sondheim had penned the lyrics, but the music came from Bernstein. Well known in the world of classical music, as a conductor he had championed a number of classical musicians, and he was a powerful prominent force on the International and New York orchestral music scene. A man of supreme importance in the field of classical music interpretation. I guess we could say that in the world of "popular music" he will be best remembered for his work here in West Side Story... This music is lovingly crafted by Leonard Bernstein, the master... Comment from Malcolm in Toronto 18th October 2007

This masterpiece is already 56 years old and as it happens with masterpieces, it has kept intact all of its energy all of its power and it remains a mind blowing novelty. "Singin'n'the Rain" has those qualities but the setting is a natural for the infections musical numbers. In "West Side Story" we visit Romeo And Juliet in New York among feuding street gangs. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins create an experience for the ages. Natalie Wood is devastatingly gorgeous and even if the singing voice is not hers she manages to make it hers. The blandness of Richard Beymer works wonders for his Tony and Russ Tamblyn is a dynamo of youthful exuberance. But perhaps, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris steal the limelight. They are spectacular - As Oscar time they won Oscars over Judy Garland and Montgomery Clift in "Judgement At Nuremberg" To conclude let me reiterate "West Side Story" is a film to visit and revisit.

WEST SIDE STORY changed my life. I first saw this movie when I was about 13 years old. It was the first musical I ever saw, and it opened up my eyes to the joys of musicals and the classic films of Hollywood.

The romance is heartbreaking and the Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score is one of the best ever written. Jerome Robbins' choreography is also amazing. The film itself is visually stunning.

One of my faves!!

"Hold my hand and we're half-way there... Hold my hand and I'll take you there...."

Even though I'm not a big fan of this particular genre of film. I found West Side Story to be so impressively produced that it somehow transcended far beyond being just a mere "Musical" in the strictest sense of the word.

West Side Story is literally bursting at the seams and filled to capacity with vivid imagery. This highly-energized film clearly captures the vibrant atmosphere of the late 1950s, where rival youth gangs get their prejudiced, little noses out of joint and prepare to rumble in the streets of NYC.

With its memorable music and songs, dazzling choreography, striking sets and superb direction by Robert Wise, West Side Story is truly a triumph on every level.

This film is a magnificent achievement that (back in 1961) set a whole new standard for modern-day movie Musicals.

Although I think I've seen just about every musical there is from the forties to the seventies, I'd never seen West Side Story until last night. An amazing omission on my part, as having seen it, I just think it's simply wonderful.

I bought the DVD "on spec" in a CD/DVD exchange store in Sydney for $10. I've had it in my hand a couple of times before but have always put it back on the shelf. This time I went through with the purchase and am now wondering what could have come over me, not buying it before.

Those here who have said you really need to watch it on the Big Screen are absolutely right. In my case I watched it using a video projector throwing the image, big, bright and beautiful, onto a 12 foot screen. The photography used the wide screen format uncompromisingly. There was no caution here to frame the action for possible television cropping, or even much consideration given to a 2.35:1 "Cinemascope" presentation. Super Panavision's aspect ratio is not as wide as Cinemascope's 2.35:1, and every square inch of screen space was used for one or another important element of composition.

Bernstein's music is a tour de force. Having watched On The Town only a few days back, it was interesting to contrast the two musicals. On The town is, of course, 15 years or so older than West side Story, but a comparison between the two scores is chalk and cheese. You could tell that Bernstein was holding himself back in On The Town. It wasn't his project. The numbers were almost self-censored. But West side Story was his baby, and it shows.

The sheer brilliance of the music, the enchanting daring of it, its raucous atonality coupled with sweetness of melody are awesomely impressive, as show-stopper after show-stopper is thrown onto the screen to continually up the amazement quotient, time after time.

I played West Side Story loud, very loud. The surround sound knocked my socks off from the opening aerial ambiance of Manhattan streets to the orchestrations themselves. I remember Bernstein in the documentary about the concert version of West Side Story saying, aside to the camera, after "Cool, Boy" was recorded, "You know, this is pretty good..." One of the great understatements, even if coming from the music's creator.

See this film. Play it loud. Watch it on a big screen if you can. If you do you may, like I did, sit there thrilled, swinging your head from one side of the Super Panavision screen to the other, trying to take in the overwhelming avalanche coming at your eyes, your ears and your heart. It was an almost perfect transfer from film to DVD: color, sharpness, depth.

It's been a long while since I've watched a film with a silly grin on my face right through, sometimes gasping at the sheer knock-out brilliance of what film-making can be at its best. West Side Story was one of those times.