PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
It's a Wonderful Life (70th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray) (1946)

It's a Wonderful Life (70th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray) (1946)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD
Released 16-Nov-2016
Cover Art

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Featurette-Making Of Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1946
Running Time	130:38
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Frank Capra
Studio Distributor	Paramount Home Entertainment	Starring	James Stewart Donna Reed Lionel Barrymore Thomas Mitchell Henry Travers Beulah Bondi Frank Faylen Ward Bond Gloria Grahame H.B. Warner
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring
RPI	$9.95	Music	Dimitri Tiomkin

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	None
16x9 Enhancement	Unknown
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.37:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired French Portuguese Spanish	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    A Christmastime staple, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is a rare film which has withstood the test of time and continues to touch millions of people through its themes, boundless appeal, and emotional power. Admittedly, compared to Miracle on 34th Street or National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life is not exactly a Christmas film in the classical sense - after all, only the finale occurs on Christmas Eve, and the story has nothing to do with Santa Claus. Nevertheless, this film encapsulates the true spirit of the holiday: the value of family and friends, and the importance of giving rather than receiving. Furthermore, It's a Wonderful Life can be watched at any time of the year because of its feel-good themes as well as its potent message about the significance of a single human soul.

    The story commences on Christmas Eve, with a chorus line of prayers originating from the small town of Bedford Falls pleading for the angels to aid the despairing George Bailey (James Stewart). The unsung hero of Bedford Falls, George aspired to travel the world and study at University, but was forced to relinquish his dreams to manage his late father's business to make sure it won't fall into the hands of wealthy schemer Mr Potter (Lionel Barrymore). George always acts in the interests of others, and in his adult life, he marries the beautiful Mary (Donna Reed) with whom he has four beautiful children. However, financial problems and personal issues suddenly mount, overwhelming George and plunging him into a tragic abyss of despair. Enter George's guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers), who arrives from Heaven to heighten the depressed man's spirits. To achieve this end, Clarence shows George a vision of a world in which he never existed.

    Flashbacks constitute the first two-thirds of It's a Wonderful Life, with Clarence learning about George's background and observing the events leading up to his suicide contemplation. Such a device is a structural masterstroke, as it allows viewers to see George's past alongside Clarence. Additionally, the script meticulously develops George's character while the knowledge of his depression sits at the back of our minds. Conveying an entire movie's worth of material, Capra accommodates the full breadth of George's life, treating it with the care it deserves. We become immersed in George's existence, and we fall in love with the man; it seems impossible that anything could threaten to destroy his life, or he could lose his temper. This brand of gentle, enthralling character development is gratifying and essential, letting us see what's at stake when Clarence at long last descends to earth to meet George. And since we grow to love George so much, the climax is all the more poignant (almost unbearably so).

    It's a Wonderful Life is such an effective feel-good movie because it asserts the notion that everyone, regardless of how insignificant they may seem, can make a difference. The angels describe life as "God's greatest gift", and Capra delivers the message that worldly riches mean nothing compared to love, family, friends, honesty and integrity. This all culminates with a goosebump-inducing finale, which never fails to leave this reviewer a blubbering mess. Indeed, anybody who is not moved by the flick's final few minutes should wonder what is wrong with them. Additionally, It's a Wonderful Life is so often referred to as cheesy and sentimental, but it's also surprisingly dark at times. The lead-up to George's depression is heart-wrenching in its bleakness, and George's lurid odyssey through Pottersville - a community in which he was never born - contains traces of film noir, as it's realistically gloomy.

    Capra makes the most of the estimated $3 million budget; It's a Wonderful Life is a technically impressive motion picture from top to bottom. The fictional town of Bedford Falls seems authentic, as the crew actually constructed an elaborate main street consisting of numerous buildings and stores; consequently, it feels like a lived-in town as opposed to a studio back-lot. Additionally, filming took place during summer months, necessitating the creation of artificial snow. Fake snow often fails to convince, but every flake of snow in It's a Wonderful Life looks genuine. Admittedly, there are a few technical issues, such as wide shots not precisely matching close-ups, or a shonky transition as Clarence disappears during a scuffle, but such shortcomings scarcely matter. Capra's pacing is magnificent, while the black & white, 35mm photography (courtesy of three credited cinematographers) bursts with visual flair. And although the film is vehemently a drama, gentle humour livens the proceedings from time to time, making the viewing experience even more delightful.

    While Capra and his co-writers (Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett) deserve some of the recognition for It's a Wonderful Life's brilliance, Stewart's immaculate performance truly makes the film work. Stewart portrays George Bailey with a deft mixture of innocence and integrity, not to mention humanity and fallibility, which ensures viewers will root for him from the outset. Stewart fits the role like a glove - he's amiable and convincing, and his desperation and despair is increasingly apparent when he's submerged into the vision of Pottersville. Equally striking is Reed as George's wife, Mary. Reed was not Capra's first choice, but it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role, as she embodies the sweetness required to convincingly capture George's heart. Meanwhile, as George's guardian angel, Travers is utterly charming. The rest of the supporting cast is just as impressive - Barrymore emanates cunning and malice as the wicked Potter, while Thomas Mitchell makes for an endearing (albeit incompetent) Uncle Billy. Capra never allows a faulty acting moment to sneak into his masterpiece.

    With It's a Wonderful Life's strong reputation and almost unanimous acclaim, it's difficult to believe that it was not a hit during its theatrical release. In addition to mixed reviews, the box office earnings were underwhelming, which doomed Capra's newly established production company, Liberty Films. It earned a few Academy Award nominations, but won nothing at the ceremony. Subsequently, It's a Wonderful Life fell into relative obscurity until the picture's copyright expired and it entered the public domain, meaning that television stations could play it ad nauseam without the need to pay royalties. Thus, it was used as a TV time-filler during the Christmas season, resulting in its rediscovery by a whole new generation. At last, decades later, the reviews were uniformly positive, and It's a Wonderful Life received the love and acclaim it always deserved. If It's a Wonderful Life was never created, the world would have been worse off for it.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    It's a Wonderful Life first debuted on Blu-ray back in 2009 in America, the United Kingdom, and several other territories, but it took a while for Australia to catch up. Making matters worse, when It's a Wonderful Life finally came to Australia on Blu-ray as a JB Hi-Fi exclusive, the disc only contained the colourised version. But thankfully, that wrong was eventually put right in 2016 with this two-disc Blu-ray, which celebrates the movie's 70th anniversary. This set contains both the black & white and colourised versions of the film on separate discs, leaving people to pick their preferred edition. Unfortunately, news about the Blu-ray transfer is rather...mixed. Presented in full-frame 1.37:1, this AVC-encoded, 1080p high definition presentation sits on a dual-layered BD-50, and it's permitted an extraordinary average video bitrate above 35 Mbps - in fact, the movie frequently hits 40 Mbps. While the effort is appreciated, the underlying HD master has big problems, leaving much to be desired.

    The restoration was at least meticulous, as the transfer is stable and it's far more tolerable than the poor quality DVD editions that we've been forced to live with for so long. Nevertheless, there are some video artefacts, such as minor telecine wobble (see the opening titles or the still frame of Stewart at 12:10), occasional white specks and flecks, and other instances of print damage. The archival footage of World War II is riddled with all sorts of artefacts, with several lines running down the screen, heavy flickering, and other issues. None of this is overly bothersome, mind you - what is troublesome is the heavy use of digital noise reduction, which robs the image of filmic texture and fine detail. The grain which does remain looks unnatural, with occasional frozen grain - at no point does the movie look organic or richly detailed. The DNR results in smeary faces, while George's stubble at 95:50 is poorly defined, even though the shot moves in close on his face. In the same shot, hairs on his hand look equally poor. Details also disappear at times when characters move, while pieces of paper and signs are occasionally hard to discern. The optical shots, such as the opening titles or any transitional shots, fare the worst - they've been scrubbed of grain, and look hideously soft and unrefined as a result. Worse, some nasty artificial sharpening also rears its head; one optical shot of George and Uncle Billy at the train station at the 35-minute mark is sharpened, resulting in ugly digital artefacts. Ugh.

    From a distance, the transfer is mildly tolerable, but a closer examination reveals the limits of the transfer - again, DNR erases the finest textures. Some static shots look adequate, particularly textures on clothing, but on the whole, it's hard to perceive this Blu-ray as anything than a disappointment of smeariness and edge enhancement. And especially with the 2018 4K remaster now available via streaming and on disc, the shortcomings of this transfer are all the more apparent. At least contrast is strong, with adequate image depth and agreeable black levels, even if the transfer cannot attain the definitive inkiness afforded by High Dynamic Range. Additionally, Paramount's encoding is rock-solid - I was unable to detect any evidence of aliasing, banding, ringing, black crush, macroblocking, or any other anomalies. Ten years ago, if I were watching this Blu-ray on a 32" HD television, I would have found it to be a satisfying revelation after owning the movie on DVD. But with home video technology having advanced so much in the last decade, and standards changing now that consumers are privy to how good film can really look in remastered 4K, this Blu-ray transfer of It's a Wonderful Life is antiquated. Casual viewers might not mind it so much, but ardent videophiles (like myself) will have issues.

    Disc 2 of this set contains the colourised version of It's a Wonderful Life, which will make purists balk. For my money, the only way to watch It's a Wonderful Life is in black & white, but credit where credit is due: the colourisation isn't as appalling as expected. Still, the colours are less than perfect, as skin tones look a bit strange in particular, and the results are no match for the deep, contrasty B&W photography. Also, it makes some locations - such as the ice lake where George and Harry go as kids - look like sets. The colourised version is based on the same restoration which created the basis for the black & white transfer on the disc, so the problems remain the same. Thus, digital noise reduction is apparent throughout, resulting in smeary textures and a lack of filmic texture, while the grain which does remain is occasionally problematic. Writing on labels, pieces of paper, and signs disappear at times, and textures never pop. Optical shots look soft and unrefined, and there's still telecine wobble and occasional scratches and specks. There are some great-looking shots, and casual viewers probably won't have any issues, but videophiles will be disappointed. For what it's worth, though, the encoding is still robust, with the bitrate constantly remaining above 35 Mbps. I guess this is the best we'll ever get with the colourised version, unless Paramount pays for the movie to undergo the process again, using the 4K restoration.

    Several subtitle tracks are available on the disc, including English and English for the hearing impaired. I had no issue with any of the English tracks I sampled.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The primary audio option on this disc is a lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. French and Spanish mixes are also available, but I concentrated on the English track for the purposes of this review. A lossless encode is sorely missed, as clarity is affected, and the track is not as pristine as it could've been. (Rest assured the 4K remastered version sounds a lot better.) This mix is on the same level as a DVD: it's serviceable (no popping, clicking, hissing or any other significant artefacts) since dialogue is comprehensible and it gets the job done in other respects, but it could be better. There are no sync issues. Also, no subwoofer or surround sound use is apparent, since this is a mono mix - it comes through the front speakers exclusively. On the whole, like the video transfer, this audio mix would've been fine ten or fifteen years ago, but technology has advanced. It's worth noting that audio and subtitle options are identical on the colourised version; therefore, opinions remain unchanged.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

A pitiful selection of extras is included, which is a disgrace for a film this esteemed. All of the extras are found on Disc 1, as Disc 2 only contains the colourised version of the film.

The Making of It's a Wonderful Life (SD; 22:45)

A dated featurette clearly intended for TV syndication, which is presented here in poor quality standard definition, here we have a 20-minute piece about the making of It's a Wonderful Life. Hosted by Tom Bosley, the featurette traces the film's origins as a short story written for a Christmas card, before RKO Pictures bought the film rights to said story. Casting is covered, with Bosley going over the actors who were considered and pursued for each role, while Bosley also sheds light on the strict content rules which governed productions (words like "jerk" and "lousy" were unacceptable). Interviews with Capra, Stewart and Sheldon Leonard (who played Nick) are included, as well as film clips and photographs. It's a good quality "making of", but it's a tragedy that this isn't longer.

Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:48)

The original theatrical trailer, remastered in 1080p high definition. There is a tonne of film artefacts, but grain is left in-tact at least.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The same discs were issued in the United States back in 2009. However, a remastered Blu-ray, as well as a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray were released in 2019. The same discs are available in Australia. Therefore, it's a tie.

Summary

Its reputation speaks for itself: It's a Wonderful Life is essential viewing. It's a quintessential Christmas movie, though it can be watched at any time of the year. It's a touching, wonderfully-acted drama that confidently stands the test of time.

News about Paramount's Blu-ray is...unfortunately mixed. The 1080p video presentation is watchable, but the DNR and edge enhancement make it a missed opportunity, both in colour and in B&W. The audio is serviceable but unspectacular. And there's very little in the way of extras. For fans who just want to upgrade their old DVDs for cheap, this is worth picking up at sale price. For everyone else, I recommend the 4K remastered version.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
Display	LG OLED65E6T. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W
Speakers	Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up

Other Reviews NONE