It’s a Wonderful Life - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Nov 13, 2009, 12:53 GMT

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will ...more

The perennial Christmas classic comes to vivid life in this high definition transfer.  George Bailey never looked so good.  It’s a wonderful Blu-ray.  Teacher says an angel gets its wings when Blu-rays look this good.  

George Bailey’s (Jimmy Stewart) life is in a shambles and he wishes that he wasn’t ever born.  He’s about to jump off of a bridge and end it all when somebody crashes into the water.  George jumps in to save the fellow.  It seems that the prayers of George’s friends and family have reached the ears of the Almighty. 

They’ve sent Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel first class, to earn his wings by helping out George.  So he sits and listens to the story of George’s life and decides to show him what life would be like if he was never born.  Clarence grants George’s wish and shows him a world where he was never born and George discovers that it’s a wonderful life after all.  

Tis almost Christmas and some folks don’t really begin the holiday till they watch this classic of the season.  What might surprise some is that the film didn’t do well at the box office when it was first released.  Director Frank Capra had formed a production company called Liberty Pictures and the movie failed to meet expectations and didn’t earn back its production costs. 

It was nominated for five Academy Awards but walked away with none.  It wasn’t until later years when it became a staple of Christmas television viewing that the picture gained a sterling reputation and has grown beloved of the public as well as critics.  It shows up on many “best of” lists.  No one was as shocked as the late Frank Capra that the film had developed a life of its own, not that he wasn’t thrilled that the film was rediscovered and embraced. 

The joke goes that you could turn your television to any channel during Christmas and could find a showing of It’s a Wonderful Life.  One of the first VHS tapes I bought was the colorized version (Hey, it was the only one available) of It’s a Wonderful Life and the film and others are holiday traditions at my house.  Ironically it was copyright renewal and the film falling into the public domain that caused the film to be shown on numerous television channels and people discovering it. 

Those issues have been resolved and the copyright renewed so that only one network can show the film during the holiday season.  Paramount currently has the honor of bring the film to Blu-ray.  The black and white transfer is stunning and detailed.  It was very impressed. 

Disc two also features the colorized version of the film and it looks pretty good too (the technique has much improved from that blurry VHS tape of yore that I bought) but purists will want to stick with glorious black and white.  
It’s a Wonderful Life is presented in fullscreen.  Special features include the 22 minute “The Making of It’s a Wonderful Life” (standard defintiton) hosted by Tom Bosley.  You also get the 2 minute theatrical trailer in high definition. 

If there’s any “coal in the stocking” it’s in the special features section.  There was a personal remembrance of Capra that was on the DVD release that’s missing here and sadly no new material or commentary found its way onto the Blu-ray.  

It’s a Wonderful Life may be a film that’s brought out at the holiday season, but the powerful performances and storyline deserve viewing year round.  The transfer is stunning and I might’ve given it 2.5 stars because of the lack of special features, but that transfer made me give it the full measure. 

It is a film deserving of a full blown, newer special edition but I might not expect that till next Christmas.  Hope you and yours have a good one this year.  

It’s a Wonderful Life [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.