It's A Wonderful Life (1946) Crown Movie Classics - Black and White

* BLU-RAY UPDATE 2 of 2 - The  October 2016 two-disc 70th Anniversary Platinum edition of "It's A Wonderful Life" Blu-ray  is an outright duplicate of the  November 2009 two-disc Blu-ray edition of "It's A Wonderful Life"  - with the EXACT same extras and features. The 2016 edition comes with new packaging that describes itself as a "Platinum Edition" - which in my view, is a marketing gimmick to lure buyers into thinking this re-issue is different from what we got in 2009. In fact, with the 2016 "Platinum" issue - nothing has been added, modified, enhanced or subtracted from 2009. As such, the 2009 Blu-ray issue is still the gold standard for this title - no matter how often the packaging changes - until something significantly new or different is released to customers.* BLU-RAY UPDATE 1 of 2 - The  November 2009 two-disc Blu-ray edition of "It's A Wonderful Life"  contains both the black-and-white and colorized versions of this film in high definition - and is configured similarly to the standard definition  "Two-Disc Collector's DVD Set"  that was issued in November 2007. There are four notable differences: 1) The very few audio defects from the  60th Anniversary Edition black-and-white DVD edition  that was issued in October 2006 have been wiped clean, thus making this 2009 two-disc Blu-ray the new "gold standard" for this title. 2) The old, 14-minute "A Personal Remembrance" featurette memorializing the passing of director Frank Capra in 1991 - with interviews from Capra himself and from actor James Stewart and hosted by Frank Capra, Jr. - has been dropped from the 2009 Blu-ray. 3) The subtitles on both Blu-ray discs have been replaced with a sharper white typeface that looks better on high-definition TVs. 4) A second set of subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH) has also been added to both Blu-ray discs.* All other special extras, i.e., the 1990 standard definition "The Making of 'It's A Wonderful Life'" featurette hosted by Tom Bosley - and a re-release theatrical trailer now rendered in high definition (but not cleaned) - have been carried over to the  2009 two-disc Blu-ray .* As the cost of Blu-ray players and discs continues to fall through the floor, more buyers are taking the plunge and replacing selected titles in their DVD libraries with high-definition Blu-ray discs. Although the Blu-ray edition DOES boast the sharpest images to date - in my view, it's not necessary to make the upgrade. There IS a difference in image quality between the DVD and the Blu-ray - but it's not dramatic enough (especially if you're already using an upscaling DVD player) - to junk your 2006 or 2007 DVDs of this title. Also note that this film is presented on Blu-ray in its original 1:37:1 semi-square aspect ratio format. Like "Gone With the Wind," "Casablanca," and the equally wonderful  "The Best Years of Our Lives"  - the latter which beat "It's A Wonderful Life" as the Best Picture of 1946 - this film was NEVER shot with wide screen cameras.=============================================ORIGINAL 2006 and 2008 PRODUCT REVIEWS BELOW.=============================================* Rather than review the content of this almost universally beloved film, I'm just going to comment about the quality of the 2006 60th Anniversary Edition DVD itself. I've since written an updated review about a new edition of this title, now available in a  "Two-Disc Collector's Set."  Please find that review -- which was posted on December 13, 2008. (Amazon has posted my 2006 review in both places -- even though the  "60th Anniversary Edition" DVD  is DIFFERENT from the  "Two-Disc Collector's Set" . Read my write-up for the  "Two-Disc Collector's Set"  -- to better decide which product you prefer.)* I've owned nearly every version of this title in almost every format available on home video during the past 25 years. It's true that the CONTENT of this Viacom/Paramount DVD -- including its special features -- is identical to the Republic Pictures Home Video release more than 10 years ago.* However, this 60th Anniversary edition is spectacular for several different and extremely important reasons. (I'll address the criticisms some people have leveled about the sound on this 2006 DVD in a little bit, so stick with me.)* You don't have to be a technical expert to immediately notice the striking improvement of the picture AND sound in this 2006 edition. The print is crystal-clear and in my view, has more vividness and sharpness than ALL other previous releases of this title on home video.* Proof? I put my "old" THX-version DVD issued by Republic Pictures / Artisan Home Video (the former DVD gold standard for this title) -- into my Sony multi-changer DVD player -- and watched and listened to every frame of this film AND its special features. I stopped and started this "older" DVD in several spots -- and stopped and started the new 2006 Paramount edition repeatedly -- so I could compare quality almost "side-by-side."* Hands down -- this 2006 version is fabulous. The spots and dirt have been wiped clean, the sharpness and contrast are arguably better than what film audiences saw 60 years ago. There are no ragged spots, no jumped frames and no lint, fiber or hair fragments along the edges or jumping across the screen. I believe the technicians at Paramount (which acquired Republic Pictures Home Video) -- digitally cleaned EVERY frame of the last DVD release -- so that the film now looks like a million dollars. It's almost too pristine, if there is such a thing. No jump cuts, no "jump ahead" sound breaks, no fogged-out scenes, nothing ragged -- with the result being the cleanest and purest version of "It's A Wonderful Life" ever issued in home video history.* It gets better. English subtitles were available on older DVD versions of this title, but the 2006 version has a cleaner typeface, wiping out some of the confusing and unnecessary attributions of "who's saying what" that were disruptive to some hearing-impaired viewers. In this 2006 version, you'll get a mostly straight, line-by-line reading of what's being said -- as it's being said.* Meanwhile, the DVD's special features - which includes the same pair of documentaries produced in 1990 and 1991 - are identical in that they were shot on video tape hence there isn't much improvement in picture quality. However, subtitles that WERE NOT available for these special features - are NOW available in this 2006 edition. The only "extra" that remains unchanged - is the original 1946 trailer. Subtitles are not available and it has the same raggedness and dirt commonly seen with vintage trailers stored separately from the films they used to advertise.* I'm highly critical of re-issued DVDs that seem nothing more than an excuse to squeeze more dollars out of buyers for the same material with new packaging. But this 2006 Paramount DVD version of "It's A Wonderful Life" is the best to date. It is NOT in color. (I own a colorized version for younger people who can't stand black-and-white. Despite controversy surrounding colorization, know that  the 2007 "Two-Disc Collector's Set"  has the same 2006 60th Anniversary black-and-white edition you see here - plus a new "colorized" version. This version uses the same pristine print - but has the added bonus of boasting the best "color" hues ever seen for this film, using the latest image technology available. Despite my preference for black-and-white, the quality of this new colorized version is impressive.)* Meanwhile, let's address the criticisms about the sound on this new DVD. Go back a little bit. Much was made when Republic Pictures Home Video got the THX LucasFilm sound system seal of approval for "It's A Wonderful Life" during the 1990s. But it was still two-channel mono with negligible equalization of sound effects. In this 2006 DVD, you'll get consistent two-channel mono and decent sound equalization to minimize "booming" and over-modulated portions in the film. In the old versions, you had to turn down the volume a notch during the musical portions -- and turn it back up when the dialogue came back. It's a nit-pick, but you really notice the difference if you're crazy enough to do a side-by-side comparison like I did.* As for the digital sound "pops" that perfectionists keep bringing up -- they're right. They're even in the spots noted by another fine reviewer who listed time codes where you can find them. But in my view, unless you brace yourselves for them to arrive like a booming train - unless you purposely crank up your speakers to carry sound throughout your house - yeah, you "might" be annoyed if you demand the same perfection for a film made in 1946 as you would for a film made in 2006. Honestly, the disproportionate attention given to these digital "pops" is, in my view, giving fence-sitters the impression that they're supersonic cracks of lightning that will make people jump out of their seats. I didn't twitch at all. They almost "blended" into the 60-year-old soundtrack. Yes, I know they're digital defects, but do you remember the zillion "pops" scattered throughout dirty prints of "It's A Wonderful Life" with filthy optical soundtracks? The audio on this 2006 DVD still wins. You have EVERY RIGHT to demand perfection for your dollars. But as a person who's more fastidious than average - I don't believe most buyers will care about a few "pops" in a film that's this old. Combine the overall improvements with the relatively low cost of this DVD - and I still say this is the BEST experience of "It's A Wonderful Life" I've ever SEEN and HEARD on home video.* Finally, another reason to buy this DVD. It's old news to some, but it's not widely known that this version of "It's A Wonderful Life" can only be broadcast by NBC. It used to air a zillion times during the holidays on every TV station on earth. It was a quick way to get tired of even a super film you think you know by heart. But Viacom/Paramount now owns this version of "It's A Wonderful Life" and NBC has exclusive licensing rights to air it just once or twice after Thanksgiving. This is a good thing for future generations to appreciate.* So junk the old, buy this version and be happy. It may feel painful, but it's worth it. And no, I DON'T work for Amazon NOR for Paramount Home Video.

One Christmas Eve, thirty years ago give or take, I woke up the house because I was watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on late night television (which was the only way to see it at that time) and as George Bailey ran back to the bridge to tell Clarence that he wanted to live again the station went to a commercial break. As Kenneth Burke said a long time ago, form is the creation of an appetite and the satisfying of that appetite in the mind of an audience. So there I was, getting all ready to start weeping when the snow starts to fall again, and suddenly I am being bombarded with commercials for the sort of projects that are only advertised in the middle of the night. One reason to own your own copy is that not only can you control the breaks, but you can also watch it any time you need a little Christmas.The general consensus is that "It's a Wonderful Life" is a timeless holiday classic, a black & white movie that NBC is proudly airing tonight on Christmas Eve once again, because of the point that Clarence Oddbody, AS2 makes to George when he tell him, "Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends." The point is underscored as the film's benediction when Clarence writes that reminder in the copy of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and when Harry Bailey proposes a toast to his big brother George as "the richest man in town." The grand irony here is that the only person who does not know these things ends up being George Bailey himself, and the fact that Jimmy Stewart is perfect in the role does not hurt either.But I would contend that "It's a Wonderful Life" is also a timeless classic for the simple reason that it makes you cry even more the second time around. Once you have seen Frank Capra's 1946 film you cannot help but notice how everything in the nightmare sequence is set up earlier in the movie. Certainly you remember what happened with Mr. Gower and when Harry fell through the ice, but the first time through did you pick when Mary said she married George to keep from being an old maid? Once you know the story the whole opening litany of prayers ("Something's the matter with daddy") can get you chocked up. For me I lose it when young Mary leans over into George's bad ear and says, "George Bailey, I'll love you 'till the day I die" (and not because I am deaf in one ear either, but because I am a hopeless romantic).Like so many of the director's classic "Capra-corn" films, namely "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," and "Meet John Doe," the story of George Bailey is basically a crucifixion story. Voltaire once said that the crucifix represents the wise man assassinated, and in each of those films there is certainly a point where the hero is symbolically crucified in public: to wit, the impeachment in the Senate, the competency hearing, and the mass rally. But only George Bailey actually descends into Hell as he sees what the world would have been like if he had never been born. Such stories have become a commonplace on television ("Smallville" did it for Lex Luthor earlier this month and I have fond memories of the one "Moonlighting" did), and there are countless movies in which the main character gets a chance to see the road not taken. The genre goes back at least to "A Christmas Carol," but whereas Ebenezer Scrooge is the ancestor of Mr. Potter, George Bailey has always lived a good life. George is so selfless he claims he was the one that lost the money when he goes to Mr. Potter for help. The guy cannot help but do the right thing.Granted, there are some imperfections in this divine film, just as a Persian carpet always contains a flaw. For me the initial levity of Clarence as a blinking star is a bit too cute after the stage is set up by the people of Bedford Falls on bended knee entreating for divine intervention for George. But once Henry Travers shows up as Clarence in person that is rectified (I like the way he tells George, "You've never been born," as if what was about to happen was the most natural thing in the world. However, the errors I recall now with regards to this film are my own. The first couple of times I saw the film I thought that Mr. Potter showed up at the end to join in the festivities because the magic of Christmas was such that even his heart grew to the right size. For years I was convinced that when they are searching Uncle Billy's hovel for the missing money and it looks like somebody will be going to prison that George not only says "It's not going to be me," but adds "for once in my life it is not going to be me."The romance between Stewart's George and Donna Reed's Mary stands on its own: you could do a movie that ends with them on their wedding night and have a winner. Still, the reason that the ending is so glorious is that "It's a Wonderful Life" gets really dark before the dawn. The extreme closeup that Capra shoots of Stewart when the enormity of the fall hits George is absolutely harrowing, as is the terror in his face when the spinster Mary collapses and George has totally lost it, because we understand exactly what that means. In the end we come back to Clarenece's message because George's only problem is that he does not know this simple and profound truth (and because Mary and the people of Bedford Falls have taken care of the missing money regardless of Clarence's intervention). That is why this is a wonderful movie.

Firstly I must point out the sumptuous art-deco look of the Steelbook case for this release. Some artwork chosen for other classics can leave a sour taste in comparison to one's love of a film - but this design is absolute perfection.And to the film itself: I won't waste anyone's time by going over the characters and plot of this 1946 festive gem, as it's been done numerous times - and far better than I could. All I will say is that every time I watch It's a Wonderful Life, I never manage to reach the end without being choked with tears to the point I cannot speak.Now to the meat and potatoes of this 4K release - the point of Ultra High Definition is to enhance the colours lost or muddled in Standard Definition - a process begun with the Blu-ray format. As this film is in black & white there are far fewer colours to enhance - though the grain dances happily around the screen as if enjoying it's own Christmas party.When the Blu-ray was released, a colourised edition was included also - and that was when the higher definition could really do the film justice, and it looked great. With the 4K release, only the black & white option is available, and for that alone it appears to be a glaring missed opportunity in showing off the true benefits of the UHD upgrade.Overall, despite the nit-picking, I can't give this film any less than five stars or I'd need punching in the face...

This is a wonderful film. One which is full of the feel good emotions.James Stewart is perfectly cast as the small town young man who yearnsto leave the insular town of his birth. But helps out his father to make asuccess of the family business. But when Stewarts character experiencesa huge crisis he comes to the point of seriously wanting to take his ownlife. Enter then Clarence a guardian Angel. Clarence takes George ( Stewart ) on a troubling journey. One which makesGeorge realise that he is a massive part of the community. How he has beenso essential to his wife and children and his family. That if George had neverexisted his loved ones lives would have been poor and wrecked, both in anemotional way and practical sense. Usually A Wonderful Life is shown on television over Christmas time. Butdon't wait for the festive season to catch this remarkable film of redemptionand celebrating life.A Wonderful Life Film.ThanksCraig ; )

Whenever I get round to reviewing classics like this I always really struggle, because let's face it, these kinds of films don't need reviewing, everybody knows that these films are classics for a reason. Classics are classics because they ignite something inside of you, something that reignites every time you watch them, whether that ignition is nostalgia, happiness, wonder or sadness it's these strong emotions that make up the metaphorical fire in our heart that will keep us loving these films for all time. By this definition, It's a Wonderful Life is very much a Classic.This film is deeply personal to me, because it was my Mums favourite, when I was younger I had some sort of an immature aversion to anything black and white so I never wanted to watch it with her, until the last Christmas we had together, knowing that this was her favourite film I asked if we could watch it together. We got about half way through before my brother stormed in and we had to turn it off. From what I did watch with her, I thought it was ok, but I didn't quite get it, it just seemed like a film you would watch on any old Sunday afternoon when there wasn't anything else to do.After my Mum died I really wanted to get around to watching it but I still didn't for a few years partly because I think I was still a little bit sad and partly because you develop traditions at Christmas and sometimes they tend to get in the way (Love Actually I'm looking at you!).When I finally got hold of the bluray I was very excited to watch it, and insisted that my wife watch it with me as well because I wanted her to experience what it was that my Mum had experienced and what I was yet to experience, I know she was reluctant at first because she has the same aversion to old films as I used to. But she is the best wife ever, so she obviously still made the effort to sit and watch it with me.I'm not ashamed to say that I started to cry at the last scene of the film, and I am starting to well up a little bit as I type this. The reason being is that I finally knew and I now know why this was my Mums favourite, this film embodied her whole attitude in life.Just like George Bailey she had not had an easy life, she had not been able to pursue her dreams, and she had to sacrifice everything for everybody that needed her. She dealt with it all by not letting it get her down; being the best person she possibly could be, for every one around her. I don't think she ever realised it, but my Mum actually had a Wonderful Life, in the same sense as in the film in that without her selfless sacrifices, a whole lot of people would have been a lot worse off.I'm sure this film lives on in many different people's hearts because they connect with it on various levels, but this film is a classic to me, because it reminds me why my Mum was my hero, why she was my best friend and why I can only hope to aspire to be close to the kind of person that she was.

I love this film it is a truly feel good movie with James Stewart giving a great performance.There are two versions of this film on one disc the original black and white version and a colourised version. The colour version is amazing it looks like the film was filmed in colour and not in b/w.I would recommend this disc to anyone.

This was a second-hand copy in "ordinary" format. I don't think the second-handedness is what caused it to be unwatchable, with terrible sound and very grainy picture. Suspect that "cleaning up" of old films has vastly improved the quality since1991, so newer formats are probably excellent. I didn't see the point in opting for Blu-Ray for a 1946 film. Now I do. Watched it on terrestrial, which had excellent quality, and sub-titles (which this copy didn't).