30th Anniversary Edition As Mean-Spirited As Scut Farkus!
This was the perfect opportunity to REALLY do it right. One of the most beloved holiday movies of all-time was having its 30th anniversary, and there's a huge fanbase waiting and willing to pay for the ultimate in a quality remastering of both the video and audio of A Christmas Story. So what do we get? Some modest tweaks to the mono audio and no video improvements at all. It's such a cynical ploy to re-sell the same movie while making the most minimal effort possible to improve it, that it feels like Scut Farkus just took my money.
While I appreciate the added featurette, this 30th Anniversary Edition could have been and should have been SO much better than this. Obviously, this is a five-star+ movie, but I'm being generous in giving this Anniversary edition three stars for the effort in creating it. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my review, and I hope you find it helpful in making a buying decision.
Same transfer as before, no noticeable improvements
I received this yesterday and did a spot check today. The new BD looks to be the same visually as the earlier BD issue. The DTS sound was clean enough, but as the original mono soundtrack isn't exactly a barn burner, there's no great improvement.
Extras: Being able to access an HD digital version is a plus, and the BD includes a new featurette entitled "Christmas in Ohio: A Christmas Story House," which runs 21:19 and features an all-growed-up Ian Petrella (aka Randy) and Brian Jones, founder of the "A Christmas Story House" in Cleveland. Also, the original recordings by Jean Shepherd that appeared on the 20th-anniversary DVD edition but were missing on the earlier BD have returned. What's still missing are the 20th-anniversary trivia & decoder ring extras from the DVD, which were sort of lame anyway. Watching some of the extras as the participants keep referring to the 20th anniversary of the film (the edition for which the extras were originally filmed) emphasizes how...
30th Anniversary A Christmas Story Blu-ray
According to my receiver this newest released version (Nov 5, 2013) of "A Christmas Story" on Blu-ray's audio is in one channel DTS Master HD. I do notice an improvement in the sound vs. the 2008 "A Christmas Story" on Blu-ray, however it IS still showing only in mono like it did in 2008 (rats). I enjoyed the added extra feature showcasing the house in Cleveland, OH and gift shop and museum! Go see this house in Cleveland, OH - you'll love it if you love the movie! I couldn't believe how the street today looks like it does in the movie, with the exception of the neighboring house missing now (burned down, they say) and some minor painting and minor landscaping changes on other neighboring houses! Kudos to those involved in refurbishing that house! - This is being posted on Nov. 7, 2013.
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