Thursday, October 3, 2013

White Christmas



Bing Croons....Rosemary Swoons....Watch It In June!
This review refers to the Widescreen Collection(Paramount)DVD edition of "White Christmas"...

This DVD should be held up as an example of what DVDs are all about.The transfer and restoration of this 50 year old film is superb. It is the reason we are willing to spend a little more to upgrade from VHS and are awed when we see the wonderful results. Filmed in "VistaVision", the widescreen picture lets you take in every scene of this wonderful classic from edge to edge. The picture is clear, sharp and in glorious technicolor.The colors are beautiful and vibrant.
You have the choice of viewing it in DD5.1 surround or the restored Mono. For those looking for some special features, Rosemary Clooney helps out with a retrospective interview and also commentary. There are English subtitles for those needing them and may also be viewed in French(mono).

The film is a treasure in itself. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye,Rosemary Clooney,and Vera-Ellen are the stars of this 1954...

Beautiful...like you've never seen it before!!
I do not have to relate the story of White Christmas. Anyone who watches Christmas movies has seen it over and over. It is a highly entertaining film that leaves you with a good feeling inside. The stars, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney are all wonderful.

The new Blu Ray transfer is magnificent. The picture is so sharp, so crystal-clear, so detailed and so alive with brilliant color, that it is hard to believe that the film is over fifty years old. While watching it, I almost felt like I was there in person. Fortunately, the picture was shot in real Technicolor, and was filmed using Paramount's VISTA-VISION, which created a much larger image on the film allowing for incredible sharpness of vision. The newly remastered 5.1 DTS soundtrack fills your viewing room with rich, lush sound and sharp dialog.

You cannot go wrong by buying this new Blu Ray of White Christmas. It's a film the whole family can enjoy.

New 2007 "remaster" huge disappointment!
Recently, Paramount has offered us wonderful new DVD-issues of classics like To Catch a Thief and Funny Face, both shot in Vista-Vision, and now looking better than ever on home video thanks to Paramount using original camera materials for the transfers. Naturally, I expected that the same loving treatment would be given an old favorite like White Christmas, which was the first feature film shot in Paramount's superb wide-screen process called Vista-Vision.
Not so! This new "remaster" is just as dreary-looking as the older DVD. Grainy and soft with an unstable look and dull colors except in some brightly lit "performance" scenes. Also lots of dirt marks and scattered speckles, plus an ugly splice or two. And NO new extras! Where is the expected featurette about the Vista-Vision system - newly made or at least some old promotional reel taken from a shelf in the archives? A huge disappointment! And by the way, where are all the many beloved Paramount classics from the fifties and...

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