Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Warner Movie •••• Picture/Sound •••• Extras ••••

Francis Ford Coppola and an exceedingly good-looking ensemble of young stars - including Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, and Tom Cruise - have fun reanimating the Montagues and the Capulets in 1960s Tulsa. With 22 minutes of extra footage edited in to make the story more faithful to S.E. Hinton's novel, this edition of the 1983 film gets even closer to nailing the immediacy, vitality, and angst of youth. The picture's tones are intentionally dark, but the remastered images on this two-disc set have great contrast and shadow detail, with occasional bursts of sharp, natural color. The 5.1-channel mix is fine, with plenty of air around the action in exterior scenes. The surround channels are used minimally, but they loom large during the climactic rumble. Terrific extras include two commentaries (one with Coppola and the other with six of the stars), two more deleted scenes, and two featurettes on the reclusive Hinton. You also get a casting video, the stars reading the book aloud, and a four-minute featurette. [NR] English, Dolby Digital 5.1; letterboxed (2.35:1) and anamorphic widescreen; one dual- and one single-layer disc.