It’s a Wonderful Life Fully Restored on 4K Ultra HD Arrives in Time for the Holidays

One of the most beloved Christmas classics, It’s a Wonderful Life, has been painstakingly remastered over the last year and is set to arrive digitally on November 20th. That means, you’ll be able to enjoy one of your favorites in time to enjoy with (or after) your Thanksgiving meal. 

As you wait check out this swanky comparison video that shows just how much work went into the transfer and how awesome it looks: 

Paramount Pictures proudly presents a brand new 4K digital restoration of one of the most beloved films of all time: It’s A Wonderful Life.  Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell and Henry Travers, director Frank Capra’s heartwarming classic has made an indelible impact on popular culture and continues to be a cherished part of many families’ holiday traditions.  

The studio spent over a year painstakingly restoring this treasured film, using the original nitrate negative along with two fine grain masters made in the 1940s.  Each element was carefully scanned using the very latest technology to both preserve the delicate negative and create the best possible digital image.  Fortunately, 13 of the 14 reels of the original negative survived, but portions had begun to deteriorate so the best image was selected from one of the three original sources on a shot-by-shot basis.  The result is a more vibrant and detail-rich picture than has ever been available before.

It’s A Wonderful Life will arrive on Digital 4K Ultra High Definition November 20, 2018.  The perfect film to enjoy over the holidays, the release will also include new interviews with contemporary filmmakers and restoration experts about the movie’s extraordinary sound, music, cinematography and visual effects, as well as the meticulous process of preserving and revitalizing this iconic masterpiece.

Will you be picking this up later in the month? 

-Jordan 

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Jordan Maison
Editor-in-Chief: Writer and cartoonist who went to college for post-production, he now applies his love of drawing, movie analysis, filmmaking, video games, and martial arts into writing.