White Christmas - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
It’s that time of year again. Christmas is right around the corner and what better film to review than one of my personal favorites, “White Christmas”. The film was released on Blu-ray 4 years ago, but this year we have the definitive release to coincide with its 50th anniversary. Jam packed with extras, a DVD copy, a bonus feature DVD as well as a music CD with songs from the film, this 4 disc set brings back all the happy memories from my past, with the family getting together around a 13 inch Lucky Goldstar TV to watch it on our VHS player. Fast forward many years and the movie still has just as much charm and panache as it did 25 years ago when I saw it for the very first time. It’s got songs, it’s got dance, it has comedy, romance, and all around Christmas. What more could you ask for?

Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) and Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) are old army buddies who decided to create a vaudeville act together after World War II ended. Now they’re a huge success and making money hand over fist, traveling around the nation playing in nightclubs for fancy people. Just before Christmas in 1954 the pair meet up with the sisters of an old army buddy. Rolling their eyes at the thought of struggling along with a couple of wannabe entertainers the duo ends up almost tripping over their own tongues when they meet Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen). They’ve gone off the deep end and got their hearts in the mix. Bailing the girls out of a tight spot with the law the 4 entertainers end up on a train to Vermont and are forced to take lodging in a bed and breakfast. A bed and breakfast that happens to be owned by their old commanding officer, Major General Thomas F. Waverly (Dean Jagger). It so happens that General Waverly has sunk all of his money into this bed and breakfast with some bad results. No one seems to be wanting to come and he’s on the verge of bankruptcy. Seeing an opportunity Wallace and Davis decide to bring their whole act to Vermont and act as the center stage, bringing in new clients for the old man. Betty and Judy are ecstatic as well and throw their own act into the mix to garner even more support.

When people spend time together, especially when smitten, something starts to happen. Phil and Judy see their partners having a spark and they do their best to be matchmakers. Soon enough Bob and Betty are seeing more than just stars in each other’s eyes. That is, until a misunderstanding sours Betty against Bot and forces Betty out of the act.

Even though they’ve brought in more customers, Bob and Phil decide to pull off one more stunt to show their appreciation for the old General. Pulling in all the favors he can think of, Bob reaches out to the men of their old battalion and requests that they all come in on Christmas Eve to give a giant Christmas party for their commanding officer.

White Christmas has to be my very favorite Christmas movie of all time. It’s not an overtly Christmas movie, being that it doesn’t bash you over the head with the holiday every chance it can. Instead it’s more about the perseverance and love of the Christmas season that really makes it the Christmas classic that it is today. Sure it’s got the snow at the very end and the Christmas celebration, but the characters coming together to show their support and love for each other and the old man that cared for them in the trenches is the real sign of the season. Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby are the perfect foils for each other, as Danny is an incredibly skilled comedian who can sing and dance like an angel, while Bing Crosby’s famous contrary disposition works well as the straight guy. Well, and no one’s complaining about the man’s ability to sing I can tell you that! Rosemary Clooney (yes, she’s George Clooney’s Aunt) and Vera Ellen work the same way as the sisters. Rosemary is the husky voiced singer and Vera can dance better than Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby put together. All 4 of them work fine both as couples and as enemies depending on the point of the movie.

The movie is not only a heartwarming family film, but a wonder technical achievement as well. Shot in Paramount’s Vistavision technique, it is the guinea pig in a long series of films to come. The songs are beautiful, from the all famous “White Christmas”, crooned by Bing himself down to the song and dance numbers, it just meshes on all levels. Danny adds his own slapstick humor to the dance routines and Bing works his doe eyed magic to the screen in a way that turns this movie from a decent movie up to the classic it is today.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

Ohhhhhhh my. I absolutely adore when old classics get the 5 star treatment they deserve, and this is one of the biggies. I remember all of the hullabaloo about the 4K remaster for the 60th Anniversary Diamond Edition Blu-ray, but this is SUPERB. According to Paramount this went through a full restoration process including the striking of a brand new 4K master specifically for the 70th anniversary of the film. And boy oh boy did this one come through in spades. I have honestly never seen White Christmas look THIS good. The 2014 Diamond Edition remaster (the included Blu-ray is the 2014 disc, and for once Paramount made this a combo pack!) was fantastic, but compared to this we’re not talking about the same ball park. The 4K UHD just outclasses the Blu-ray without any problem whatsoever.

The film has always been a very grain heavy production, and on a 95 inch screen the 1954 film looks great, but grain resolution has always been a bit chunky in my opinion. The 4K UHD handily takes care of that, with the grain structure looking finer and more natural. If any digital tinkering or DNR type product was used it was very judicious as fine details on faces and clothing are stunning. The Dolby Vision enhancements are put to good use, as White Christmas has always been a ridiculously colorful affair, and the all the various primaries and pastels used throughout literally pop off the screen. Every once in a while I noticed a soft focus shot (usually when someone steps into the foreground, weirdly mid range shots look the cleanest) here and there, but overall this is fantastic. About the only real thing I could complain about is the fact that the upgraded resolution really shows off the makeup used on faces to aid with the cameras of the day. I never noticed it on the Blu-ray due to the softer look, but things are just so razor sharp that you can actually see the makeup contrasting against natural skin at times (kind of like how the Blu-rays made it noticeable for Worf in Star Trek: TNG when they got remastered). But then again, that’s more a testament to how good this 4K upgrade is, if we’re able to detect even minute things like that. All I can say WOW, Paramount outdid themselves.









Audio:

with this new 4K UHD disc there are two English tracks here to enjoy. A fully restored mono track in DTS-HD MA lossless and a fully restored 5.1 DTS-HD MA remix track that were both struck back in the 2014 Blu-ray release. The mono track sounds better than it ever has, and shows plenty of punch, but I the purist in me hates to admit that I enjoy the 5.1 track a little more. It was mixed incredibly well and doesn’t suffer as much from the curse of remixes. E.G. hearing things in the surrounds that weren’t meant to be there. The dialogue is clean and clear, with only minimal distortion when a person gets really emphatic. It’s almost like you’re hearing the very last of a word end on a harsh note. Nothing major, but noticeable to the discerning ear. LFE comes through pleasantly with some nice oomph during the musical number and to accentuate powerful things like a train leaving the station. I really liked the use of the surrounds for such an old remix, as the hustle and bustle of the train station, and the chaos of the war come through nice and clear. The surround also add a nice degree of immersion when the copious song and dance numbers kick up.













Extras:

• Commentary by Rosemary Clooney
• WHITE CHRISTMASSing-Along
• Classic Holiday Moments
• Assignment Children
• Backstage Stories fromWHITE CHRISTMAS
• Bing Crosby: Christmas Crooner
• Danny Kaye: Joy to the World
• Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS
• Rosemary’s Old Kentucky Home
• WHITE CHRISTMAS:From Page to Stage
• WHITE CHRISTMAS:A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney
• Photo Galleries
• Theatrical Trailers















Many people have that “quintessential” Christmas movie that gets watched every year out of pure tradition. Some watch Die Hard (yes, it’s a Christmas movie, I’ll die on that hill), others Miracle on 34th Street or It’s a Wonderful Life, but for me it has ALWAYS been White Christmas. I can sing along to every musical number and watch every dance routine, never tiring of the film’s charm. The comedy is spot on, and both Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby dazzle audiences with their Straight man/Funny man contrast. The 4K has been a LONG time coming, since the last time we got a remaster was back 10 years ago with the 60th Anniversary Blu-ray. Said remaster is well worth every penny spent, and the discs come decked with extras. Although on that note, the extras are housed on the Diamond Edition Blu-ray that was included, but said Diamond Edition Blu-ray actually came with a DVD with some legacy extras, and since that disc is missing in that set we're missing a handful of small extras that was present on the old Blu-ray set. Not a big deal, but just something to take notice of if you still have your 2014 set. MUST Buy.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Vera-Ellen
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Written By: Norman Krasna, Norman Panama
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English (restored) DTS-HD MA Mono
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
Studio: Paramount
Rated: NR
Runtime: 120 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 5th 2024