West Side Story -Three-Disc 50th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray packaging-

Product Description Rival New York City gangs affect the love of a young man and woman from each side. Oscars for best picture, directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins; supporting Oscars for George Chakiris and Rita Moreno. Additional Features The 50th-anniversary Blu-ray edition features a huge selection of extras on both the main disc and a separate bonus features disc. On the main disc, "Pow! The Dances of West Side Story In-Movie Viewing Mode" offers insight into seven of the film's dance sequences by a variety of contemporary directors and choreographers, as well as actors from both the film and Broadway play. The discussion ranges from why specific moves were chosen for individual dances to how extensively choreographed and rehearsed most dances were and how the dances managed to successfully integrate music, word, and dance into a powerful expression of both plot and emotion. The "Song-Specific Commentary by Stephen Sondheim" is an intriguing and candid discussion by Sondheim about how he created the lyrics for 14 distinct songs, which songs he felt were most successful, the lyrics he's most embarrassed about penning, and even an admission that, in his opinion, he was wrong to fight for the reordering of the songs "Officer Krupke" and "Cool." The 20-track "Music Machine," which allows viewers to go directly to their favorite musical numbers, is the final special feature on the main disc. On the bonus features disc, "A Place for Us: West Side Story's Legacy" explores how incredibly groundbreaking and innovative the film was. Offering their musings are contemporary producers, directors, actors, and choreographers, among them Adam Shankman (Hairspray and Rock of Ages), Zach Woodlee (Glee), and Mikhail Baryshnikov (White Nights and Baryshnikov on Broadway), as well as Sondheim and assistant director Robert Relyea, and even composer Leonard Bernstein's daughter Jamie Bernstein. What comes through loud and clear is that West Side Story was a revolutionary film: a project in which three men from three separate disciplines came together to tell a story in a completely new way and in which the traditional boundaries between dancing, acting, and singing simply dissolved. The feature explores the emotional impact of this then-new form of storytelling and how it led the way for musicals, and later music videos, to tackle serious subject matter. It also lo