A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 21, 2024

The Hallmark Channel, and its Christmas movies, are synonymous with Christmastime, and in fact I would dare to say that Hallmark movies have become a Christmas tradition in and of themselves, to some degree or another, for many people. People love them and many even plan to watch as many of them as possible, planning Christmastime schedules around the deluge of new releases and returning favorites every year. Some watch for the sheer enjoyment, for the “comfort” in the formula, while others find them ridiculously goofy and predictable and find holiday fun in poking fun at those who truly enjoy the sappy, repetitive pictures. Love them, hate them, or deride one side or the other, there can be no denying — let’s just be honest here — that there is a predictable nature to them. We know who is going to kiss at the end and fall in love for their “happily ever after” just minutes in. And in the deluge of films produced, within the strict formula and with a Christmas setting, only a few stand out as in any way different or unique and only a few make their way to Blu-ray. A Biltmore Christmas accomplishes both. Instead of a traditionally sappy Christmas romance with a trite plot involving someone finding love in a small town, Hallmark hits this one out of the park with a blend of romance, mystery, and time travel: a true formula breaker!

When a jaded screenwriter named Lucy Collins (Bethany Joy Lutz) tries to write a script for an updated remake of a longtime Christmas classic called His Merry Wife!, she runs into resistance when the studio dislikes her modern and more realistic ending. The studio sends her to The Biltmore Estate to see the setting of the original film and help her better understand how to accomplish the rewrites to her script to include a more traditional “happily ever after” ending, much like that from the original film. Once she arrives at The Biltmore Estate, a magical hour glass transports her to the original movie’s set in 1947. Lucy must decide if she wants to meddle in the past or continue her mundane existence in the present, a decision which is complicated when she begins falling in love with one of the film’s stars.

The film admirably blends the dual 1940s and 2020s settings within the story. Both the costuming and scripting lend themselves to believability within the time travel genre, with the film looking and sounding exactly like one would expect of a contemporary tale and a fantastical throwback to a period of high glamour and art. Filmed on location in Asheville, North Carolina at The Biltmore Estate, the setting for the film, and for the film within the film, certainly adds to the grandeur of the era depicted in and in the shooting of His Merry Wife! while the same setting offers a beautiful backdrop that oozes with history that is a necessary component in selling the time travel elements as Lucy sees the location from two very similar, yet at the same time two starkly different, perspectives.

Kristopher Polaha plays a believable 1940s actor named Jack Huston with the expected over the top flair but also bringing a sincere humanity to the character that is necessary as the story and romance develops. Polaha’s screen chemistry with Lutz is terrific, especially as the relationship really starts to blossom. Paired with the time travel dynamics, viewers will be left hopelessly juggling their very real desires to see them get together at the end but also, maybe, rooting for that unpredictable or more realistic ending that Lucy pushes for in her remake of the film. That's really one of the real draws of the film: how it will end itself, if it will go for “classic” or “modern.” Indeed, her story is the real driving force here as the film toys around with her response to the original film's end and her desired remake finale and how those jive with her evolving desired reality through time. Annabelle Borke (Ava Hayward) and Colton Little (Claude Lancaster) do an outstanding job as the supporting cast from the 1940s. Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame gives a dashing and charming, if not very familiar, performance as Winston, the meddling tour director at Biltmore. A.K. Benninghofen likewise nails her performance as the meant-to-be-annoying super fan/side kick character, Margaret.

A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hallmark brings A Biltmore Christmas to Blu-ray (via a BD-R disc) with the typical high yield image for the studio's (albeit somewhat limited) Blu-ray releases. The picture was digitally shot, of course, but it delivers a very clean, hearty, and complex image that captures the high yield complexities around the Biltmore movie sets, dense period clothes, and complex faces with ease. It's sharp corner to corner and viewers will easily be able to soak in every detail and texture the movie has on offer. Colors are rich and full, with natural but noticeable intensity across the board. Colors do seem to push, moderately, to the overly saturated side of the ledger in the "past" scenes and sequences: flesh tones go a bit red and green plants look overcooked: the contrast is definitely dialed up a bit. It's not subtle, yet it's also not overly powerful, but there is a sense of it being different enough to notice. The "vintage" black and white clips are presented at 4x3 and look remarkably good. These appear to have been digitally shot as well with some digitally added grain structure to give the material a throwback look, and a few pops and speckles have been added, too, to give it that final "aged" authentic look. Elsewhere, in the color 1.78:1 scenes, the image is clean without source issues like noise or any noticeable encode faults. This is a very nice image from Hallmark.

A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Biltmore Christmas arrives on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It actually does take advantage of the multichannel surround content, albeit often in subtle ways. For example, a phone rings in the background at a studio office in the opening moments of the film. Additionally, there is a nice, tangible musical element in the back channels, delivering good, healthy, crisp, and well balanced surround usage to offer greater music fill. Certainly, music is predominantly focused up front, but the music is overall very rich and full with a surprisingly good body to it. It's definitely the sonic highlight. Still, there is some good rich atmosphere in some "busier" locales, such as at a train station at the 59-minute mark (including a decently hearty rumble when a painfully obvious CGI train rolls by at the end of the scene). The track does not make any real sonic splash, but this is obviously not that kind of movie. Yet it's a great track within its naturally modest constraints, nailing everything that is thrown at it, including rich, clear, and lifelike centered and well prioritized dialogue.

A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of A Biltmore Christmas contains no supplemental content. The main menu screen offer a static image with no sound. The only options are to play the film and toggle subtitles on and off. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

A Biltmore Christmas Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a lot of fun with A Biltmore Christmas. It's nice to find a Hallmark movie that departs from the cuddly comfort zone that has made the films so popular while still adhering, albeit much more loosely (and even with some uncertainty) than the studio's more standard fare components. It's narratively engaging through the time travel elements, the characters are well drawn and acted, and the movie looks gorgeous, and how could it not given the place and time(s) in which it takes place. It's a shame that the Blu-ray is barebones, especially with some supplements available on Hallmark's own website, but at least the video and audio presentations are of a very high quality. Recommended.