Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star as war veterans who become one of the hottest acts in show business. When they encounter a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen), they’re off to Vermont for a holiday celebration unlike any other. Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS was directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and features a host of memorable songs including “Snow”, “Sisters”, “The Old Man,” “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” and, of course, the immortal classic “White Christmas.” – synopsis via Paramount Pictures.
WHITE CHRISTMAS is directed by Michael Curtiz. He is known for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CASABLANCA, and MILDRED PIERCE. His career ran from 1912 to 1961 and he directed 178 films. This is quite an accomplishment and is something akin to Mack Sennet who did 308 films in his career.
Curtiz’s direction and production value, along with Loyal Griggs’ cinematography is incredible. This was when there was no CGI and everything you wanted to do was practical. Two scenes that show the creativity of the period are during the opening war number and the song The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing.
First, the WWII scene with the dedicated landscape and cobbled-together stage area gave this visceral feeling that these soldiers are spending Christmas in a war zone. They use backdrops of the landscape to make the area appear larger. The set is also functional to set up a main plot point after the soldiers.
Secondly, the dancing scene of The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing was choreographed on an interactive stage. There are things like a hidden zip-line and a boat that has a louder surface to hear the tapping of Danny Kaye’s and Vera-Ellen’s steps.
This is an incredibly important film to cinema and it is not because of it being a Christmas staple or widely-loved musical. It is because this was the first film to use a filming format named VistaVision.
Created by Paramount in 1954, VistaVision is a 35mm film format with a higher resolution that is shot by rotating the film in the camera gate. This is the precursor for the 70mm IMAX and the OMNIMAX formats due to their use the sideways oriented film.
Cast
Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace
Danny Kaye as Phil Davis
Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes
Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes
Dean Jagger as Major General Tom Waverly
Mary Wickes as Emma Allen
VIDEO QUALITY 5/5
The video is a 2160p HEVC with Dolby Vision and HDR presentation. The images are beautiful. This is a good representation of a film in the 4k format done right. There is a healthy grain here and no excessive EE here that I can see. With the inclusion of Dolby Vision and HDR, the colors are marvelous. Primaries are especially bold such as the blues in clothing and the cast’s eyes. The reds in the costumes during I’d Rather See A Minstrel Show and the end song, White Christmas, are brilliant. This isn’t to discount other radiant colors in the movie. Simply put, the color grading is on point. The details are crisp and do show some of the finer details that may have been lost before the remaster was prepared. The blacks are dark and some of the shadow detail isn’t lost at all. To be fair, there aren’t a whole lot of the dark scenes that other movies have. The scene around the song “Count Your Blessings” is about as dark as the film gets. I am highly impressed with the remaster work that has been done by Paramount.
Note: Some of the screens I chose to use make sense to show off the restoration of a particular scene or an uptick in details for this release.
AUDIO QUALITY 4/5
The audio is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono mix. The music should be the main draw but it shadows in comparison to the video. Please, allow me a moment to explain. I listened to the mono mix at some key points and songs to find out what I already suspected: it is a bit claustrophobic. Most mono mixes feel this way due to them using the center channel or split in the front with the balance being centered. As for the actual quality of the 5.1 mix, it does its job and expands the sound field enormously compared to the mono mix. Because this 5.1 mix is based on a mono mix and then divided into a multiple-channel track, some channels don’t get as much play as others until the songs happen to bring them to life. They are filled with very light LFEs layered under the meds and highs. The effects and ambient sound are on the lighter side and have a canned sound from being stock effects. The dialogue is clear and prioritized nicely.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING 4/5
-Audio Commentary: with Rosemary Clooney
-WHITE CHRISTMAS Sing-Along
-Classic Holiday Moments: These are clips from TV that are Christmas-related.
-Assignment Children: This is a piece about UNICEF within optional Michael Bublé.
-Backstage Stories from White Christmas: This extra gets into the stories and history of the production. It also gets into VistaVision so give it a view.
-Bing Crosby: Christmas Cooner: This is about the famous voice and his career.
-Danny Kaye: Joy to the World: This is about the song and dance man from a few interesting perspectives.
-Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS: This is about the history of the song.
-Rosemary’s Old Kentucky Home: This is about Clooney’s favorite spot.
-WHITE CHRISTMAS: From Page to Stage: this is about creating a Broadway version of the film.
-WHITE CHRISTMAS: A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney: This is Clooney looking at her time and relationship with Paramount.
-Photo Galleries
-Theatrical Trailers
Disc Details
2-Disc Set w/ 1 4k UHD and 1 Blu-ray
Digital Copy
Slipcover included with the initial release
Running Time
120 mins
Edition Ratings
Unrated
Region Coding
Region Free
4k UHD
Video Resolution
2160p HEVC / H.265
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
HDR
Dolby Vision
HDR10
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
German Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish Dolby Digital Mono
French Dolby Digital Mono
Italian Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles
English
English SDH
German
Spanish
French
Italian
Japanese
Blu-ray
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
French Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish
Portuguese
THE FINAL WORD 5/5
If it isn’t obvious, I love this movie and I’m trying to be objective but my bias shows. It is a 70-years old Christmas classic with songs that are heard from about November 15th until the end of the Christmas Day. Paramount Pictures has a done the film justice with this release in every way.
The video is superb. I, like many others, feel that the Blu-ray is already a stellar version of the film but the 4k UHD version is levels better.
The audio that doesn’t involve a song are a bit light but that’s not what is putting people the seats. The music by Irving Berlin, the wonderful cast, the feels for the holidays, and the opportunity to lose yourself for 120 mins in cinema is why people are here and wanting to see this classic presented in a beautiful format.
The extras included are loaded with worth-while information. If you’re a fan, make sure to watch them. They are very good.
This is easily on the short list of one of the best 4k remasters and examples of the format’s abilities. I highly recommend picking this one up and adding it to your collection.
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