Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

It's a Wonderful Life 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

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.

It's a Wonderful Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

It's a Wonderful Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

It's a Wonderful Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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.

• Restoring a Beloved Classic (2160p/HDRp, 13:03): Andrea Kalas, SVP, Archives at Paramount Pictures; and Laura Thornburg, Executive Director, Film Preservation at Paramount Pictures; discuss the 4K restoration process: the nitrate 35mm film source and the look that brings to the screen, the urgency in saving the negative, the digital restoration tools, grain management, the benefits of high dynamic range, the visual superiority of today's version compared to the original, blending elements from the nitrate negative and two fine grain masters, the UHD version's superiority, and more.
• Secrets from the Vault: It's a Wonderful Life (1080p, 22:11): Craig Barron, Creative Director/VFX Supervisor/Historian; and Ben Burtt, Sound Designer/Filmmaker/Historian discuss Frank Capra's career success, departure from Columbia, and founding of Liberty Films. In that context, the piece looks at this film's construction: shooting winter in summer, creating proprietary artificial snow for the film, the manner in which sound is used in the film, the film's cinematography, cut footage, the film's failure at the box office on release, and gaining traction on television. It ends with a look through some home footage from the film's wrap party.
• It's a Wonderful Wrap Party (1080p, 8:04): Vintage footage from the It's a Wonderful Life wrap party previewed in the above supplement.

It's a Wonderful Life 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.