THE EPITAPH: VOL. 59
4K CHRISTMAS CLASSICS EDITION!
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) - A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) - ELF (2003) - THE POLAR EXPRESS (2004) - THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SPECIALS COLLECTION (1964-1970)
This edition of The Epitaph we have five Christmas classic upgrades from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. I am pleased to say that every single one of them a beloved yuletide classic, and each of them are worth double and maybe even triple-dipping to upgrade. In some instances these films have never had a top-notch home video release, not even on Blu-ray, and these new Ultra HD releases present them at their best, they've never looked better on home video. So, grab a mug of nog or spiced cider and have a merry ol' time watching these Christmas classics this year in 4K!
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 97 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Diane Ladd, E. G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Miriam Flynn, Randy Quaid, Cody Burger, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, William Hickey, Mae Questel, Sam McMurray, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Guest, Brian Doyle-Murray, Natalia Nogulich, Nicolette Scorsese, Alexander Folk
I remember my late father introducing me to National Lampoon's Vacation as a kid, telling me "you gotta see this, you will love it" - and sure enough he was right, I loved it, and thus began my lifelong love of all things Griswold. This entry was my first experience actually catching the Griswold family adventures first-run at the cinemas, at the Pyramid Mall in Ithaca, NY. This time out the ever optimistic, but perpetually stumbling, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase, Spies Like Us), along with his wife (Beverly D'Angelo, The Sentinel), and children Rusty and Audrey, this time played by Juliette Lewis (Kalifornia), Johnny Galecki (TV's The Big Bang Theory) - host a old fashioned family Christmas get-together. They invite Clark's parents Clark Sr. (John Randolph, King Kong) and Nora (Diane Ladd, Wild At Heart), as well as Ellen's irritable parents Art (E. G. Marshall, Creepshow) and the lushy Frances (Doris Roberts), plus Clark's stogie-smokin' uncle Lewis (William Hickey, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie) and senile wife Bethany (Mae Questel, the original voice of Betty Boop!); who wraps a cat as a gift and puts cat food in her Jell-O mold. Cark sets out to make everything perfect but it's the Griswolds so things go imperfectly, including the unannounced and uninvited arrival of Ellen's white trash cousin Eddy Eddy (Randy Quaid, ID4) and his wife Catherine's (Miriam Flynn, Vegas Vacation) along with his kids Rocky (Cody Burger, Petshop), who has an unidentified lip-fungus, and the sweet but foul-mouthed Ruby Sue (Ellen Hamilton Latzen). The comedy comes fast and loose in this one, with Clark fretting that his tight-ass employer (Brian Doyle-Murray, Caddyshack) might not given him his holiday bonus, and feuding with yuppie neighbors Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seinfeld) and Todd (Nicholas Guest, The Longriders), not to mention his dealing with grumpy, senile, tree-burning, and sewer blowing-up family antics, and his own endeavor to get 25,000 Italian twinkling lights to work and coating the bottom of his snow sled in an experimental super-slippery, non-caloric, non-stick spray that he's developing. As a kid I loved the fun family antics, as an adult I just love Clark Griswold's optimistic and idealized, often misguided, vision of family life, I think it's quite heartwarming and super-charming. The new 4K UHD is a huge improvement over the 2018 Blu-ray, the 4K resolution reveals more nuances in the close-ups of textures and facial details, the film grain is naturally resolved, and colors - aside from a teal-push, looks much improved. We also get the film in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio which is appreciated. Audio comes by way of DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with optional English subtitles and sounds great. The surround is not the most active but the uncompressed track delivers dialogue, the Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks) score and soundtrack with a couple of fantastic holiday tunes Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters, Ray Charles, The Moonglows, and Mavis Staples, sounds better than ever. The Blu-ray that accompanies this set is a recycle of the 2105 Blu-ray, which is a bummer, but the new HDR10 color-grading and improved visuals on the 4K presentation make this a must-own upgrade IMHO. It was of such high caliber that it felt like I was seeing the movie for the first time. I don't know about you guys but for me the Christmas season doesn't officially start till I've heard Mavis Staples croon "It's that time, Christmas time is hear..." at the start of the film with the awesome animated intro. The 2-disc release comes arrives with a single-sided wrap and glossy slipcover, inside there's a Movies Anywhere digital UHD code for the film, including the extras.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with actors Randy Quaid, Beverly D'Angelo, Johnny Galecki, Miriam Flynn, director Jeremiah Chechik, and producer Matty Simmons
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) +
+ Extra on Blu-ray only
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 94 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Bob Clark
Cast: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, R. D. Robb, Zack Ward, Yano Anaya, Tedde Moore, Jeff Gillen, Leslie Carlson
The late Bob Clark (Black Christmas) directed adaptation of Jean Shepherd's “In God We Trust: All Other Pay Cash" is undoubtedly one of the most popular, and oversaturated, Christmas classics of all-time. Clark had a crazy filmography, one that included low-budget horror-comedy (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), seminal Holiday slasher (Black Christmas), R-rated sex-comedy (Porky's) and an underrated Sherlock Holmes tales (Murder By Decree), but it's this nostalgic warm-hearted Christmas tale set in a 1940s-era Midwestern town about a seven-year-old boy, named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley, Death Valley )who so desperately wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Told in episodic fashion and warmly narrated by author Jean Shepherd. The new 4K UHD presentation looks phenomenal, the flick has always had a fuzzy, softy-focus look to it and the previous Blu-ray was ugly looking by comparison. The new 4K resolution offers a much better resolved and finely detailed viewing, much better than I had anticipated, with punchier colors enhanced by the new HDR10 color-grading. The 2.0 DTS-HD audio sounds vintage but clean and well-balanced. The only extra on the UHD is the archival Audio Commentary with Bob Clark and Peter Billingsley, all the other extras, including the commentary, are featured in the Blu-ray disc, which I am happy to report is the new scan minus the HDR10 color-grading, dumbed-down to 2K, and it looks terrific. The 2-disc release comes arrives with a single-sided wrap and glossy slipcover, inside there's a Movies Anywhere digital UHD code for the film, including the extras. For those interested a sequel co-written and starring Peter Billingsley A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), is coming to HBO Max on November 17th, which after seeing this and seeing the nostalgia heavy trailer I am kind of interested in checking out.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Bob Clark and Peter Billingsley
- Another Christmas Story (18 min) +
- Daisy's Red Ryder: A History (5 min) +
- Get A Leg Up (5 min) +
Christmas In Ohio: A Christmas Story House (21 min) +
- Jean Shepherd Original Radio Readings - The Red Ryder Story (38 min) +
- Jean Shepherd Original Radio Readings - Flick's Tongue (30 min) +
- Leg Lamp Spot (39 sec) +
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) +
- Digital Copy
+ Extra on Blu-ray only
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 97 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen (1.85:), 1080p HD Widescreen
( 1.78:1)
Director: John Favreau
Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart.
In general I am not, or at least was not, a huge Will Ferrell fan, especially at the time that Elf was released. I became a fan with this film and Anchorman which arrives a year later, but even still his brand of humor and his films are at about a 10% success rate for me. This Christmas comedy tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later, now an adult, Buddy (Ferrell) and over six-foot tall learns he is not an elf at all, which is revealed to him by his adopted elf father Papa Elf (comedian Bob Newhart). He then journeys to New York City to find his "naughty list" birth father Walter Hobbs (James Caan, The Godfather), who it turns out doesn't want to have anything to do with him, scoffing at the whole Elf from North Pole notion. Buddy meets a store-elf at a department store, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel, who went on to be one-half of popsters She & Him) who becomes a love-interest for the elf-out-of-the-North-Pole flick. Buddy ends up having to not only save his father's failing business but also has rescue Santa on Christmas Eve and save Christmas. The new scan look phenomenal, the 2008 disc was pretty trash with heavy DNR, but this UHD is top-notch. Grain looks fantastic, texture in the elf costumes and facial features quite a nice Christmas surprise. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles and sounds great. The inly extras on the UHD are the commentaries, all others are on the Blu-ray disc which sadly is the recycled (2008) Blu-ray disc. The 2-disc release comes arrives with a single-sided wrap and glossy slipcover, inside there's a Movies Anywhere digital UHD code for the film, including the extras.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Jon Favreau
- Audio Commentary with actor Will Ferrell
- Tag Along with Will Ferrell (7 min)
- How They Made the North Pole (12 min) +
- Lights, Camera, Puffin! (7 min) +
- Kids on Christmas (7 min) +
- Deck the Halls (10 min) +
- Santa Maria (7 min) +
- Christmas in Tinseltown (7 min) +
- Music from Elf +
- Film School for Kids Featurette (21 min) +
- Deleted/Alternate Scenes (12 min) +
- Thats A Wrap (12 min) +
- Elf Karaoke (4 min)
- Trivia Track
- Focus Points
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) +
- Digital Copy
+ Extra on Blu-ray only
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: G
Duration: 100 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA with Optional English, Spanish, French DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Widescreen (2.40:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, Eddie Deezen
The Robert Zemeckis (Used Cars) directed adaptation of the same-titled children's book by Chris Van Allsburg is a creepy modern day classic, telling the fantastical tale of a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole. What makes it so creepy is the at-the-time ground-breaking motion capture technology and animation that allowed Hanks to play not just the main character of the main kid, but also the kid's father, the conductor, the mysterious train hobo, and even jolly ol' St. Nick! Despite the uncanny valley nature of the faces seen the film still manages to capture the magic and wonder of the beloved source book, about a cynical kid who is taught that the Christmas sprit never fades for those who truly believe, symbolized here by a Christmas bell that is gifted to the kid by Santa Clause. The talented voice cast also includes the unmistakable talents of Eddie Deezen (1941) as a - surprise surprise - high-strung obnoxious kid. I don't have the love of this film that I do for Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story, but it is a film I revisit every couple of years during the Christmas season, and I kind of have come around to the eerie animation style of it, which I bet gives kinder-trauma nostalgia for kids who caught it at a young age. The new UHD from WB looks fantastic, for those who might not think that UHD upgrades of modern digital-animated films are noteworthy I say to you - take note! The 4K resultion squeezes some appreciable fine detail from the 2K source, but the big-bang for your buck here comes from the HDR10 color-grading bump, which offers deeper black and more saturated colors, giving the animation a more layered and look with the perception of greater depth, the refreshed image is truly is marvelous. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD 5.1 with optional English subtitles, and it sounds great, and is probably the same DTS track that appeared on the 3D Blu-ray. There are no extras on the UHD, all the archival extras are on the accompanying Blu-ray, which notably is the new scan and not a recycle of the previous release. The 2-disc release comes arrives with a single-sided wrap and glossy slipcover, inside there's a Movies Anywhere digital UHD code for the film, including the extras.
Special Features:
- You Look Familiar (4 min)+
- A Genuine Ticket Ride (14 min) +
- True Inspirations: An Author's Adventure (5 min) +
- Behind the Scenes of 'Believe' (4 min) +
- Flurry of Effects (8 min) +
- Smokey and Steamer (7 min) +
- Josh Groban at the Greek (5 min) +
- Meet the Snow Angels (3 min) +
- Theatrical Trailer +
- THQ Game Demo (4 min) +
+ Extra on Blu-ray only
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
We ALL grew up watching the Rankin/Bass produced Christmas classics, and I am old enough to remember when to watch these animated and stop-motion animated classics only one time a year on a single night, and if you missed it you couldn't watch it again till the next year - unless you taped it off off the TV onto VHS. That we now have these yuletide nostalgia trip on restored 4K Ultra HD and you can watch it whenever you want as many times as you want is terrific news, especially for you Christmas in July weirdos out there. All three films have been restored in 4K with a new HDR10 color-infusion, and the results are pretty fantastic. The two stop-motion films offer superior results, crisply rendered and finely detailed in 2160p UHD you can see minutia of the texturing of the stop-motion figures and backgrounds like never before. The animated Frosty the Snowman looks superior to previous Blu-ray editions but doesn't exhibit the wow-factor upgrade that the stop-motion flicks do. Double-good news, the accompanying Blu-rays are not recycled Blu-ray discs of the previous releases, these are the new 4K restorations dumbed down to SD without the benefit of HDR. Triple good news, the extras are featured on the UHD and BD discs, so no having to switch-up the disc to enjoy the vintage assortment of extras. The six-disc UHD/BD set arrives in a an oversized black, flipper-tray keepcase housing the six disc, this comes in an embossed slipcase. Inside there's a single redemption code to redeem all three films in digital UHD copy of the films, but sadly the digital copy has no extras.
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964)
Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 52 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 Mono, Spanish and French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Fullscreen (1.33:1), 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Larry Roemer
Voice Cast: Burl Ives, Larry Mann, Billie Mae Richards, Paul Soles, Stan Francis, Alfie Scopp, Janis Orenstein, Paul Kligman, Carl Banas, Corinne Conley, Peg Dixon, Bernard Cowan
Special Features (UHD/BD):
- The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass (47 min)
- Restoring the Puppets of Rudolph (4 min)
- Reimagining Rudolph in 4D (11 min)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Attraction Film (11 min)
- T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games (14 min)
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (1969)
Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 26 min
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 Mono, Spanish and French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Fullscreen (1.33:1), 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Directors: Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass
Cast: Jackie Vernon, Jimmy Durante, June Foray, Billy De Wolfe, Paul Frees
Special Features (UHD/BD):
- The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass (47 min)
- Original Pencil Test (1 min)
- Audio Commentary with Animation Historian Mark Evanier
SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN; TO TOWN (1970)
Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 51 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p UHD Fullscreen (1.33:1), 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass
Voice Cast: Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees, Joan Gardner, Robie Lester, Fred Astaire
Special Features (UHD/BD):
- The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass (47 min)
- Commentary with Animation Historian Greg Ehrbar