With the endearing message that ‘no one is a failure who has friends,’ Frank Capra’s heartwarming masterpiece continues to endure, and after over 70 years, this beloved classic still remains as powerful and moving as the day it was made.
For in-depth thoughts on It’s A Wonderful Life, please read the review from the previous 4K UHD Blu-Ray release here.
Video Quality
It’s A Wonderful Life appears on Blu-Ray courtesy of an impressive digital restoration in 1080p from a combination of the original camera negative and fine grain masters that are quite excellent. While the 4K UHD Blu-Ray serves as the definitive version of the film at this time, those who are only capable of Blu-Ray should find this release more than satisfying. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous with smooth gradients and subtle textures. This transfer maintains the filmic quality of the picture with fine film grain giving way to rich details. Black levels are appropriately deep without any pesky nuisances such as digital noise or compression artifacts. The transfer also eradicates any dust specks or print damage that previously plagued the best surviving elements. This picture showcases some excellent depth to the image which gives way to a pleasing sense of scale within the locale. This transfer is a fine showcase of textural details in the costumes and production design. This film looks better than I ever would have imagined after hearing about the deteriorating shape of the elements in the special features. Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has treated one of their most beloved films with immense respect.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a Mono Dolby TrueHD track that is of the highest quality. The dialogue and background noises are rendered crisp and clear with no obvious sync issues. Instances of age-related wear or popping are virtually nonexistent. The score from Dimitri Tiomkin is quite lovely and maintains a good balance with the dialogue that never compromises the presentation. There are a plethora of optional subtitles included during the main feature, including English and English SDH. Overall, this is a lovely sounding release that does the film justice.
Special Features
The main reason for this new release is to get the film in a limited edition set with a colorized version of the film in high definition as well as the original, digitally remastered black-and-white movie in high definition, and access to a digital copy of the film. The set also includes 10 collectible recipe cards from Insight Editions’ It’s a Wonderful Life: The Official Bailey Family Cookbook with cuisine inspired by the film. Photos of the set can be found at the end of this review.
- Restoring A Beloved Classic: A 13-minute discussion with Andrea Kalas, SVP, Archives at Paramount Pictures; and Laura Thornburg, Executive Director, Film Preservation at Paramount Pictures, in which they discuss the important preservation efforts that were undertaken to ensure that the film elements were not lost to time. For film nerds, this is a fascinating look at how far preservation and restoration technologies have come including ways in which modern machines are more delicate with the brittle film elements.
- Secrets From The Vault – It’s A Wonderful Life: A 22-minute featurette in which Craig Barron, Creative Director/VFX Supervisor/Historian; and Ben Burtt, Sound Designer/Filmmaker/Historian, discuss many fascinating behind-the-scenes details about the production of the film. The pair talk about Frank Capra’s career, the creation of Bedford Falls through set design, how they pulled off innovative depictions of snow in the summertime shoot, visual effects in the film, the sound design that earned them an Oscar nomination, unused establishing shots and more. This is a really worthwhile supplement that should please fans of the film.
- It’s A Wonderful Wrap Party: An eight-minute vintage archival piece that was briefly shown in the preceding featurette that shows an extended version of the home movie footage from the film’s wrap party. This is completely silent throughout for obvious reasons.
- It’s A Wonderful Life – Colorized Version: This release contains a Blu-Ray disc that features a colorized version of the film that really should not even be considered for anyone with an appreciation of cinema. But it’s here, nonetheless.
Final Thoughts
It’s A Wonderful Life may not have made a splash upon its initial release, but it has been an essential part of the holiday season for many families for the longest time. There is something about the heartwarming tale that puts you right into the spirit of the season. Paramount Home Entertainment has delivered a Blu-Ray with a top-tier A/V presentation and a few interesting special features. The new Limited Edition packaging is nice enough, and the recipe cards have a few interesting dishes we look forward to checking out. If you have the previous 4K UHD Blu-Ray release or even the remastered Blu-Ray, there is really no reason to upgrade, but if you do not yet own this and are not 4K capable this is a nice set. Recommended
It’s A Wonderful Life is currently available to purchase on Limited Edition Blu-Ray, 4K UHD Blu-Ray with optional Steelbook and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
