Gypsy

Released by: Warner Archive
Released on: November 20, 2012.
Director: Mervyn Leroy
Cast: Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Rosalind Russell
Year: 1962

The Movie:

Produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy in 1962 and based on the successful stage play of the same name, Gypsy tells the story of an awkward teenage girl named Louise Hovick (Natalie Wood). When we meet her she's living under the control of her domineering mother, Rose (Rosalind Russell), who is doing everything in her power to ensure that her daughter makes it on Broadway. She's also living in the shadow of her more talented sister, June (Morgan Brittany in her film debut until she ages and is replaced by Ann Jillian); that is until June takes off with a young man she's fallen for.

This leaves Rose with only Louise and as Louise has spent most of her life trying to do the right thing and be kind to others, for a while she lets her mother push her into a vaudeville career in hopes that she'll make it big. Things start to take a few interesting turns as their story progresses, however, and before you know it Louise is going by the name Gypsy Lee Rose and quickly on the way to becoming the biggest star the world of burlesque has ever seen! That's not quite what dear old Rose had in mind for her daughter initially but as Vaudeville starts to die, they run out of options. Thankfully there's a stage manager by the name of Herbie Sommers (Karl Malden) who falls for her just as life starts to get really complicated.

Featuring a selection of songs by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy spends a lot more time on the relationship between Rose and Louise than it does on Louise's transformation into a stripper. As such, it's much more of a family drama than any sort of risqué or sensationalist take on the ol' bump and grind circuit. There are moments where the pacing feels a bit dicey and by the time the characters are as established as LeRoy obviously wanted them to be it comes time for Louise to embark on her new career - which happens very, very quickly and rather suddenly at that.

There's a lot to like about the movie though, even if the story sometimes plods and seems content to jump around. Rosalind Russell is actually more the star here than Natalie Wood is but the movie doesn't suffer for it. She's got great screen presence and the acting chops to back it up, Russell 'fills the screen' and does a great job in the part. Wood is also excellent here, adding that sense of innocence that she could do so well to the part to nice effect with Malden and Jillian doing fine in their supporting roles.

The movie looks excellent throughout. The film received Academy Award nominations for Cinematography, Costume Design and for its score and it's easy to see why. Everything is beautifully colorful and nicely put together, even the less lavish scenes that take place away from the stage where Louise makes her career. As to how true to life it is, that's probably debatable as it was a book adapted into a play adapted into a movie but as far as entertainment goes, yeah, it's a little long and it's slow in spots but the good outweighs the bad and fans of classically styled Hollywood musicals should have no trouble at all finding lots to like about this movie.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Warner Archive presents Gypsy on a pressed 50GB Blu-ray disc (not a burned on demand disc) framed at 2.35.1 widescreen and in full AVC encoded 1080p high definition. The film is a very bright and colorful affair and that translates very nicely to this release. Some minor print damage shows up here and there but fine grain is present throughout. Whatever clean up has been done here doesn't seem to have really harmed the film like texture most fans usually want to see on Blu-ray. Detail is nice in the close up shots and remains strong in medium and long distance shots as well. Black levels are pretty solid and there are no compression artifacts or obvious edge enhancement issues of note. The texture is impressive in the costumes and sets that are used throughout the movie, really enhancing the theatrical side of the production in ways that standard definition could not and this transfer rarely fails to impress.

The English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track is clean, clear and well balanced. There are some spots where it sounds a little flat by modern standards but you never get the impression that this is less than an accurate representation of how the movie is supposed to sound. Occasionally the mix offers up some nice depth, more than you'd probably expect from an older movie like this one. The score sounds good, as do the musical numbers, whiel the dialogue is crisp and clear and easy to follow. There are no problems with any hiss or distortion to note and optional English closed captioning is provided.

Outside of a static menu and chapter stops, the only disc also includes film's theatrical trailer in addition to two extra musical numbers: Together Wherever We Go and the duet version of You'll Never Get Away From Me.

The Final Word:

Gypsy is, for lack of a cornier way to describe it, very charming. It's wonderfully shot and the music compliments the story nicely. The performances are great and Wood is as adorable here as she ever was. This one will bring a smile to your face whether you want it to or not and the Blu-ray release from Warner Archive, while short on extras, is pretty gosh darned beautiful.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!