A
Charlie Brown Christmas (1965/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
B-/C+ Sound: B-/C+ Extras: B- Main Program: B+
PLEASE
NOTE: A
Charlie Brown Christmas has since been issued in a basic 4K
Blu-ray, but with only standard HDR and the same sound featured here.
Several other developments have happened with the special since, so
this review needed to be updated.
I
have been telling people for years that all the classic animation on
TV was put on film and so many of those programs would be great for
High Definition and especially Blu-ray. Animated feature films get
that kind of respect, so TV animation should to and Warner Bros. has
issued the original A Charlie Brown Christmas on Blu-ray and
it instantly becomes one of the best hand-drawn animated releases on
Blu-ray yet.
The
first Peanuts TV special is still one of the greatest of so
many good ones and as far as Christmas programming is concerned, it
is as important as Miracle On 34th Street and It's A
Wonderful Life or any other classic of the season. It was also
yet another classic that proved TV was capable early on of making
great works of art (yes, that is what I is) as much as feature films.
No, the animation is not great, but for the time and the budget, it
looks very good, is very much up to the look of the classic comic
strip and the Peanuts Specials grew out of this from there.
The
genius Charles Schultz, who created the entire Peanuts
universe, was concerned even in the mid-1960s about the commercial
push on the holiday becoming more prominent than the holiday itself
and vowed to make a program that exposed the hypocrisy and pettiness
(innocent and otherwise) that was building around the holiday, then
bring the whole audience back to the original points of why there is
a Christmas in a way that has endured for almost 45 years and is
bound to survive for hundreds of years after.
This
even works down to the gang trying to create a Christmas play that
Charlie Brown will direct, with disastrous results, but this will not
go as planned. The same can be said for the holiday. The show
remains iconic, vital and since its first broadcast, no Christmas is
truly complete without it. As the holiday was recently radicalized
by certain political forces, turns out Schultz, Producer/Director
Bill Melendez, Producer Lee Mendelson and the rest of the real life
''Chuck's'' creative gang behind the scenes were more on target than
they could have ever imagined. Now, it is the gift to the world that
just keeps on giving.
As
for playback quality, the 1.33 X 1 image is centered in the 1080p
1.78 X 1 frame and if you have seen the new Warner DVD (also included
here) and were impressed with how much better it looked versus all
the previous tapes, broadcasts and older DVD of the show, this
Blu-ray version often looks like the HD equivalent of an expensive
coffee table book of art from the strips with outstanding color and
many fine shots throughout. The only thing that holds back the image
is one too many instances of image detail fringing, suggesting that
maybe this was printed in three-strip dye-transfer Technicolor and/or
some of the sourcing still needed some work. Also, some footage was
changed and advertisers footage cut from earlier versions, which
might effect the original materials. Still, has more than enough
great moments that prove TV Animation on Blu-ray should be a big
market for 2010 (the original time this review posted) and beyond if
the studios are smart enough to back it. The 4K was a scan from the
original 35mm negative, but more work could be done to make it look
better.
A
brand new lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 has been created for the Blu-ray
and though the mix is not a lossless audio format, it fares just a
little better than the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo from the DVD, which
has Pro Logic surrounds. One DVD version came with a CD with limited
tracks from the original Vince Guaraldi music score. The 5.1 mix was
presented in a lossless DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix for the 4K edition, but some new work
on the original soundtrack (one of the biggest selling Jazz albums of
all time) has happened since.
Just
before this regular Blu-ray arrived, Fantasy Records had
issued a high definition/resolution sound Super Audio CD (SA-CD) of
the music and why those tracks are not used here is unfortunate, but
it turns out the source was not as direct as it could or should have
been. Monster Cable even issued their own edition of the album on
regular DVD-Video with DTS 96/24 sound, but some serious work was
done by obtaining the original 3-track magnetic master tapes of the
entire recording session and it resulted in some key releases. There
was a CD set with all kinds of outtakes, a double 45rpm vinyl box set
off of those tracks (pricey at $150.00 retail, but it sold very well)
and much more authentic Super Audio CD form those track, as issued by
Analogue Productions, all now definitive releases of the classic.
Still, there are some vinyl copies some fans will stand by, but it
now makes a newer 4K edition of the special with Dolby Vision (or
Dolby Vision 2) and a more serious audio upgrade something that
really ought to happen.
Extras
include the bonus DVD, Digital Copy for PC & PC portable devices,
lesser-seen sequel It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown
that is worth your time and The Making Of A Charlie Brown
Christmas is a show from several years ago hosted by Whoopi
Goldberg that talks about the unbelievable struggle to get the show
made and aired. A new edition ought to have the footage and shots
removed from the earlier version not seen on the special in decades.
The entire Peanuts catalog did get issued on DVD (reviewed elsewhere
on this site) and Blu-ray, but many of the transfers needed work and
they were the same masters used for both formats. We'll see what
happens next, but even with all the new Peanuts animation
happening, these classics need the best restoration, preservation and
reissues possible.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
