It's a Wonderful Life 4k Blu-Ray Review

December 11, 2019 at 8:06pm
By Jason Stettner

This was my first time viewing the film, and it’s incredible that something so old continues to delight and surprise so many years after its initial release. This was a particularly remarkable rendition with the transition to a 4k mastering, and the technology behind it was fascinating to learn about.

That aside, this narrative follows the life of a man. It stars James Stewart as George Bailey in an absolutely stunning performance. This man is questioning is life when things take a turn for the worst one day. To counter this, an angel from Heaven is sent to help him understand what life would be like without him. It’s an odd premise in today’s society, but this was just perfect.

They spend a long time building up who he is, so that when you see the fall it’s quite heartbreaking. I never anticipated such a pay-off as I wasn’t initially sure how this would go from the start. It turns into one spectacular and truly earned of its title, of purely an iconic film. I also wanted to mention the portrayal of love over the years to his wife Mary (Donna Reed) was truly moving.

It's a Wonderful Life 4k Special Features

The It’s a Wonderful Life 4k Blu-Ray comes with a number of special features. Some of these are available to view on the actual 4k Blu-Ray disc as opposed to just the regular one. With the 4k disc you’ll get a gorgeous 4k mastered version of the black and white film. The regular blu-ray contains the colored version that was done years back. The menus are easy to work through as well.

The features included on the main disc are “Restoring a Beloved Classic in 4k", “Original Cast Party Home Movies” and one that looks at the production of the sets. There definitely could have been more on the main disc, but what was presented certainly depicted a fascinating look at the work behind this update. It’s marvelous to see how they patched together a higher resolution version that looks clean while dealing with the dangers of time on the original reel.

The Conclusion

The It's a Wonderful Life 4k Blu-Ray package provides an absolutely remarkable restoration of what’s an all time classic film. It could have perhaps used some more extra features on the main 4k disc, but what is there was fascinating to view. This was a great movie, with depth and a timeless quality to it that was moving. I hadn’t anticipated having such a reaction to it with this being my first viewing of the film, but it holds up well and will likely continue to do so.

The work on this restoration was incredible, I was blown away by how clean and seamless it all was. I appreciate that aspect even more after having gone through the extras on this one to understand the process. That aside, the story here is great and it’s an impactful tale that should continue to be something that’s worth a watch for a long time to come.

It's a Wonderful Life 4k Blu-Ray Review
Provided by Paramount Home Media Distribution

Rating Overall: 10