8.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
George Bailey is a small-town man whose life seems so desperate he contemplates suicide. He had always wanted to leave Bedford Falls to see the world, but circumstances and his own good heart have led him to stay. He sacrficed his education for his brother's, kept the family-run savings and loan afloat, protected the town from the avarice of the greedy banker Mr. Potter, and married his childhood sweetheart. As he prepares to jump from a bridge, his guardian angel intercedes, showing him what life would have become for the residents of Bedford Falls if he had never lived.
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell (I), Henry TraversFamily | 100% |
Holiday | 75% |
Drama | 47% |
Melodrama | 46% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Paramount has re-released Director Frank Capra's timeless 1946 film 'It's a Wonderful Life' to UHD for the first time. This new UHD is sourced from a 4K restoration from the original nitrate negative, spliced together where necessary with footage from two fine grain masters. Paramount has also included three new extras and a new Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mono soundtrack. The studio has also released the film to the Blu-ray format, but the Blu-ray included therein is not bundled with this set. Rather, it's colorized version from 2009. The remastered Blu-ray is only available separately.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
It's a Wonderful Life was recently restored from the original, though at times badly deteriorated, nitrate negative and two fine grain masters.
Rather than recount details here viewers are urged to watch the excellent supplement that Paramount has included on the disc (Restoring a
Beloved
Classic) that offers an in-depth
analysis of the process.
Paramount brings It's a Wonderful Life to the UHD format with a 2160p/Dolby Vision video presentation. It's a very high quality image. Of
perhaps most obvious note is the grain structure and how it visibly differs from the remastered Blu-ray. The 4K resolution renders it with a bit more sharpness (explained
within
the context of the
supplement as part of the nitrate negative) than any other format can yield.
There are some fluctuations, most of which are due to the splicing together of the three sources, but the nitrate negative does appear to carry the
movie for the bulk of its runtime. Grain does appear faithful to the source, and it's a vital part of what is a total overhaul for the movie's sharpness
and
stability. Clarity soars, with textural intimacy and sprawling visibility well beyond the Blu-ray version's capabilities. The period costumes, props, and
set
pieces are treasures for visual exploration; the picture thrives on displaying its characters and places and things, all of which the UHD presents with
remarkably
true and trouble free complexity. The UHD practically begs audiences to touch dense period attire -- overcoats, scarves, hats, neckties -- and explore
every nook and cranny set design touch. This is in some ways a time portal.
Dolby Vision brings a significant refinement to the grayscale. Blacks are deep and dense without veering into
crush while crisp brights and whites are rich and present with vitality and punch. The middle ground is where the image shines, though, finding more
stable nuance and tonal intimacy that more traditional SDR boundaries cannot approach. The image is free of any signs of glaring print damage and
shows no obvious encode faults. Fans should be overjoyed.
Note that the colorized version included on disc two is the same as presented in the 2009 Blu-ray package. Please click here for a few thoughts.
For its UHD release of It's a Wonderful Life, Paramount has included the same Dolby TrueHD two-channel mono soundtrack featured on the Blu-ray. The presentation offers no major departures from the previous 2009 Blu-ray, here simply presenting the film's sonic essentials with pleasant clarity and good front-center placement. Imaging is indeed a strength, with dialogue in particular never sounding outstretched too far to the ends or settled somewhere even some small distance way from true middle. It's balanced and is further bolstered by good detailing and authority. The track finds modest expansion to the sides when the situation warrants, such as a scene in chapter nine during a meeting following Peter Bailey's death. Various environmental details are nicely integrated, whether light insect support at night or more robust din around the city. Certainly nothing really breathes, but effective detail and generally good placement within the track's limitations help set several scenes to positive impact. Music plays with fine front-end detail and appropriate spacing.
Paramount's new UHD release of It's a Wonderful Life contains three new supplements and leaves behind the two that were previously
included on the 2009 disc (The Making of It's a Wonderful Life, Theatrical Trailer). As noted above, this set does ship with a second Blu-ray
disc
that houses that colorized version of the film. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Paramount has done right by It's a Wonderful Life. The film finds new life on UHD. The restoration work is very impressive. The movie is, of course, one of the great cinema classics. Paramount has included a few new extras to sweeten the deal. Very highly recommended.
1946
75th Anniversary Edition
1946
2-Disc Collector's Edition Gift Set
1946
1946
Platinum Anniversary Edition
1946
1946
1951
1994
2008
Warner Archive Collection
2016
2000
2018
1993
1984
2017
25th Anniversary Edition
1985
1989
2009
2020
Warner Archive Collection
1963
2014
Warner Archive Collection
2015
2005
1938
1985
70th Anniversary Edition
1947