Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray Movie Review

Nothing scandalous about this gem of a Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 2, 2014

My, how Washington has changed since 1939 when Director Frank Capra so eloquently captured the nation's political heartbeat in his wonderful film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. No longer do reporters stampede out of Senate chambers in a race to a bank of landline telephones to report the news to their editors. Now, they simply live tweet anything of interest right there from their iPhones. And....uh, well, hmmm. Maybe the nation's capital really hasn't changed all that much after all. It's still a cesspool of corruption and shady deals, pork-laden bills, hidden agendas, a habit of passing legislation without reading it, and a general vulnerability to corruption for even the most admired of statesmen whose eloquence behind a microphone and squeaky clean public persona hide dirty truths regarding system manipulation for personal gain. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of the few films so many decades removed from its release that still rings eerily and uncomfortably true today. Washington may harbor the dirtiest open secrets in the world and lay claim to the greatest collection of two-faced hooligans in existence, and this film perhaps more so than any other proves once and for all that, indeed, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Standing tall.

When Senator Sam Folley suddenly passes away, a state governor (Guy Kibbee) is obliged to name a successor. He's pressured by the corrupt Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold), who controls both much of the state's print media and the state's remaining senator, Joseph Paine (Claude Rains), to name his hand-picked man, Horace Miller. However, public backlash forces the governor to reconsider the choice in favor of a more popular candidate. The governor's children, on the other hand, request he name the politically inexperienced head of their "Boy Rangers" outfit, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), a proud American and a man who loves the system and the nation's history, to the position. When fate and the flip of a coin leave the governor with no choice but to name Smith -- a man with no political aspirations, a fear of public speaking, and no agenda -- to the vacancy, it's the surprise of the year in Washington and one that doesn't necessarily sit well with his new, established senate colleagues.

Smith arrives with childlike enthusiasm not for his role in the legislative process but instead for the opportunity to see the city he so admires up-close and personal. His career gets off to a rocky start when he's wrongly depicted in the press as cartoonish outsider with no concern for his new position, a sideshow, so to speak, in a town where external flaws are the exception rather than the rule. Like many things in life, Smith's crusade begins innocently enough when he's pressed to name his agenda. He seizes the opportunity to champion the only thing he knows and makes the Boy Rangers and the molding of young minds the centerpiece of his would-be signature legislation. Coincidentally, conveniently, and without his immediate knowledge, his idea clashes with a deeply rooted political scheme meant to line corrupt pockets, not save innocent youth. Suddenly, the no-experience outsider finds himself in a deep, dirty grafting scandal that threatens his agenda and, just as important, his good name and stature. With the help of his secretary, Saunders (Jean Arthur), he decides to take a stand, even if it costs him longstanding friendships, his senate seat, and even the very ideas and ideals he holds so dear.

Though it may be old enough to be well into its medicare years, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington remains even today a spry, engaging, and meaningful film about idealism versus corruption, reality versus illusion, and standing tall in the face of unbeatable odds and against a deeply damaged system for the sake of one's own values. The picture is a pure masterpiece of cinema, a film that slowly reveals its truths and molds its main character from feeble rookie politician to determined crusader. None of it really comes as much of a surprise, but here is a great example of the exception to the rule, when core story values and principles, not to mention fantastic performances and simple yet effective filmmaking, can turn a relatively open story into a tight, detailed, enthralling narrative. The heroes and villains are not particularly hard to spot from the get-go, but it's in how the movie fine tunes them, how it goes about evolving the story, and how the themes become exposed and examined where the film truly shines brightest. It's a fascinating take on how pure, unadulterated idealism and patriotism cope with the sudden exposure to the harsh realities that exist beyond the Washington façade -- the monuments, the textbook blurbs about how the system works and how the framers shaped it -- and whether the temptations of corruption or even the allure of the easy life for a de facto patsy who has basically been "hired" to an elected position to twiddle his thumbs are enough to warp the mind and break the soul of even the most altruistic individual. The answer, again unsurprisingly, is "no," but it's in how "no" becomes something larger than a man and his entire belief system that makes the movie work, and work so well as to label it a "classic."

The larger story is encapsulated in Smith's relationship with Paine, a man he greatly admires but who turns out to be something other than Smith has been led to believe. That microcosm only doubly reinforces the idea of the power of the illusion and the dire reality of the truth. James Stewart's portrayal of the naive, easily distracted young senator captures that evolution beautifully. In what is arguably the highlight of his film career, he molds Smith into a character who is both endearing and clumsy but who becomes a firebrand for truth and justice (but not the American way, or at least the secret back room dirty politician American way) by the end. Stewart makes the audience believe in him and his cause but also relate to him on a personal level, feeling his uneasiness and soaking up his patriotism and excitement when he recalls visiting some of Washington's greatest landmarks in person rather than admiring them from the afar by way of text and photograph. As he becomes exposed to the seedy underbelly that awaits him, he makes the audience feel as uncomfortable as he does while exciting the viewer as he becomes more determined to stay the course and see the corruption's exposure through to whatever end may await him. Even the character's name evokes both extremes. "Jefferson," on one hand, will instantly bring to mind one of America's founding fathers and the nation's third president, evoking a sense of political authority and historical relevance. On the other hand, "Smith" evokes the notion of the everyman, the common American who may lack name recognition or prestige but who understands common values and truth over the fiction meant to mask fact. Stewart is surrounded by several other strong performances, none of which equal his but that do elevate the movie by a significant margin, including that of Claude Rains whose verbal sparring with Stewart on the Senate floor in the final act makes for the film's best moments. Harry Carey is also wonderful in a smaller, more isolated role as the president of the senate.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington arrives on Blu-ray with a gorgeous "restored and mastered in 4K" transfer presented in 1080p. The black and white film, featured here in its original 4x3 aspect ratio with vertical black bars flanking the image, looks spectacular in every regard. Only some lightly scratchy transitional shots and a few softer moments interfere with a pristine, lightly grainy, and immaculately detailed presentation. Indeed, the image is naturally sharp but not aggressively so. Fine close-up details, such as clothing seams and lines and facial features, look great. Small background details, whether desks in the senate chamber or books along a shelf, are of reasonably good, well-defined textural quality. The grayscale is well preserved with subtle nuance across the film. Black levels are consistently deep with only a couple of shots appearing to go slightly pale. The image, outside of those scattered transition shots, enjoys a blemish-free appearance. Certainly this is the best the film has ever looked for home consumption and it's another gorgeous "mastered in 4K" Blu-ray from Sony.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington features a DTS-HD Master Audio mono soundtrack. The track is expectedly a bit weak in terms of range and clarity, but it suffices considering source and age. Clarity is baseline satisfactory. Absent is any sort of unwanted hiss or other unnatural addition to the presentation. Music lacks punch or presence, producing a slightly muddy, cramped, unfocused sound, but again the basics come through with sufficient stage presence. A few basic sound effects, such as a passing train, fail to produce much in the way of muscular authority, again expectedly so. Environmental effects, such as the din inside the bustling sent chamber, are present as little more than basic ambient recreations, obviously lacking the sort of immersion one would expect of a more modern presentation. Dialogue, which represents the primary ingredient here, is focused and usually firm and clear, with only the occasional drop into shallower territory. All things considered, this is a good presentation for a film at age 75.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington contains an audio commentary, a number of vintage features primarily centered on the film's director, Frank Capra, and a feature-length documentary on Frank Capra hosted and narrated by Ron Howard. A UV digital copy code is included with the Blu-ray. The DigiBook packaging contains an assortment of photographs, the essay Democracy's Finest Show! The Making of Mr. Smith Goes to Hollywood by Jeremy Arnold, and a main cast list with selected filmographies.

• Audio Commentary: Director Frank Capra's son, Frank Capra Jr., shapes the history behind the movie, casting the film and the resultant performances in big and small parts alike, budget and some of the technical secrets of the shoot, recreating the senate chambers for the film, Frank Capra's work on the film, and much more. This is a fantastic, well spoken, highly informative, and consistently enthralling track. A recommended listen for all Blu-ray owners. With optional English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles.
• Frank Capra Jr. Remembers..."Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (480i, 4x3, 11:51): Director Frank Capra's son discusses story basics, the picture's place in history, location scouting in Washington, casting with emphasis on Jean Arthur, story prompts, the picture's ending, and lessons learned from it.
• Conversations with Frank Capra Jr.: The Golden Years (480i, 1.78:1 and 4x3, 17:53): A look at the film's place in history and an examination of the 1930s, a timeframe Capra, Jr. considers Hollywood's "golden years." The piece looks at Capra's evolution as a storyteller, themes in his films, his style and filmmaking attributes, his personal and spiritual connections in his films, and more.
• Frank Capra: Collaboration (480i, 1.78:1 and 4x3, 19:20): A multiparticipant look back at Capra's life and career, the people who elevated his work and worked with him throughout his career, his work and relationship with actors, themes and structure in his films, and more.
• Conversations with Frank Capra Jr.: A Family History (480i, 1.78:1 and 4x3, 25:56): Frank Capra's son looks back at the family's life, including immigration to California, life influences that shaped Capra's films, Capra's history in the film industry, and the family's life with a filmmaker.
• The Frank Capra I Knew (480i, 1.78:1 and 4x3, 13:05): Jeanine Basinger, Curator of the Frank Capra archives at Wesleyan University, shares her memories of the famed filmmaker.
• Frank Capra's American Dream (480i, 4x3, 1:49:02): This feature-length documentary, narrated and hosted by Ron Howard, takes an intimate look into the life and films of the acclaimed director. The feature contains a number of high profile interviewees, including, but not limited to, Martin Scorsese, Garry Marshall, John Milius, Robert Altman, Michael Keaton, Richard Dreyfuss, Angela Lansbury, Garry Marshall, Marshall Herskovitz, Bill Duke, Oliver Stone, and Peter Falk.
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:43).
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington International Trailer (1080p, 3:55): From the text that appears before the trailer: "This international textiles trailer includes rare footage that is not in the final release version, including that of Jefferson Smith in a parade in his hometown."

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is timelessly brilliant, unfortunately so, in a way, considering that the system hasn't improved a lick in 75 years, but the movie is at least a delight to watch, one of the true treasures of the cinema medium that, thanks to Sony's immaculate Blu-ray, almost looks brand new. Pair the disc's solid enough soundtrack and very healthy collection of vintage extras with its contemporary relevance and it's an easy choice for a high spot on 2014's top-ten best-of Blu-ray releases. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington earns my highest recommendation.