James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 4, 2026

Warner Archive's continued campaign of releasing multi-disc sets of existing Blu-rays at rock-bottom prices is an outstanding way to build your classic movie collection for pennies on the dollar, as each one features overwhelmingly solid A/V specs and sometimes a handful of interesting bonus features too. But the movies are the main draw, and this is one of Warner Archive's best sets to date as it includes four classics featuring James "Jimmy" Stewart; there's The Shop Around the Corner and The Mortal Storm, both from 1940, and two from later in his career, 1953's The Naked Spur and the 1962 Cinerama epic How the West Was Won, where Stewart has more of a supporting role.

For full synopses and appreciations of these four films, please see the review links below.

The Shop Around the Corner (Reviewed by Randy Miller III) - Though it's doomed to lay forever in the shadow of that other Christmas movie starring Jimmy Stewart, "The Shop Around the Corner" is an entertaining and well-acted little gem that's held up perfectly well during the last 80 years. Famously remade as 1998's capable but inferior "You've Got Mail", this charming production pits two clashing co-workers against each other as the stressful holiday shopping season approaches... but despite their professional dislike for one another, Alfred Kralik (Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) have actually been anonymous pen pals for several months. As the drama unfolds at Matuschek and Co. in Budapest, "The Shop Around the Corner" effortlessly works its magic from start to finish.

The Mortal Storm (Reviewed by Randy Miller III) - Frank Borzage's "The Mortal Storm" was one of the few anti-Nazi films produced by Hollywood before America's entry into WWII. Featuring the final on-screen pairing of Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, it's an effective picture where just about everything fits together perfectly. Though purposefully vague about the ethnicity of its "non-Aryan" characters (the studio did, after all, want to sell tickets in Germany), this film and all other MGM releases were subsequently banned in the country during the next five years.

The Naked Spur (Reviewed by Randy Miller III) - Anthony Mann's "The Naked Spur" is a top-tier Western released during the height of the genre's popularity. Extremely influential and entertaining to boot, it's filled with solid performances and boasts a fat-free story that crackles with character-driven tension from start to unforgettable finish. Add in a terrific original score, gorgeous location footage in the Colorado mountains, and terrific dialogue, and you've got a film that still ends up being slightly more than the sum of its well-oiled parts.

How the West Was Won (Reviewed by Greg Maltz) - Clearly the weakest of the bunch, this one endures more for its scope and technical merits than anything else. From Greg's review: "The story mostly follows three generations of the Prescott/Rawlings family through five distinct "acts": the settlers of the Ohio River valley; the gold rush (featuring wagon trains and Indian raids); the civil war; transcontinental railroad development; and the establishment of law and order in the Southwest. None of these subplots are particularly informative or even true to history. But each vignette is entertaining if not always set up or paid off. Part of the problem is that the entire movie had to be produced in 10 months, which made it impossible to use only one director. John Ford, Henry Hathaway and John Marshall each directed segments and the cinematography was handled by William Daniels, Milton Krasner, Charles Lang, Jr. and Joseph LaShelle. With so many key players involved, it's amazing the film has any cohesion at all."

James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For information about each film's 1080p presentation, please see the reviews linked below. Please note that "How the West Was Won" is the regular matted version from Disc 1 of that release, not the "Smilebox" version.

The Shop Around the Corner

The Mortal Storm

The Naked Spur

How the West Was Won

James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For audio details, again please refer to the separate links below.

The Shop Around the Corner

The Mortal Storm

The Naked Spur

How the West Was Won

James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This four-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase with separate hubs for each disc. Like other Warner Archive multi-disc collections, this one repurposes existing poster-themed covers as a paneled collage. One or more modest bonus features are included on each disc and detailed in the review links below.

The Shop Around the Corner

The Mortal Storm

The Naked Spur

How the West Was Won (Disc 1 extras only)

James Stewart 4-Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Archive's James Stewart Collection offers four films from the celebrated actor's deep filmography and, though one of them features more of a supporting role, the variation here offers a little something for everyone including two excellent pairings with Margaret Sullavan. As usual, the A/V specs on each Blu-ray are very solid (though a touch dated for How the West Was Won, as we get the same VC-1 encoded disc from 2008) and the bonus features are good too, meaning that it's a Highly Recommended collection for Stewart fans.