George Bailey (James Stewart) is a family man in the most traditional sense of the term. He has devoted his life to both his family and his home town of Bedford Falls. If it wasn’t for his father’s Building and Loan company, the miserly Frank Potter (Lionel Barrymore) would control the whole town and have the folk of Bedford Falls under his thumb.

George desperately wants to broaden his horizons but fate deals him a poor hand on many occasions. First, his poor father dies and he has to abandon his plans for college to takeover the family business – sending his brother to college instead and waiting 4 years for him to return. But when he does return, he’s married and has no wish to take over from his older brother.

George stays on in Bedford Falls and eventually decides to marry his childhood sweetheart Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) but there’s ‘a run’ on the business on their wedding day. Having saved it with their honeymoon money, George is in trouble once again when his absent minded Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) unknowingly passes the business takings to Potter in the bank on Christmas Eve. Potter keeps the money himself, knowing that without it he can force the closure of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan Association once and for all. When the bank examiner discovers the error, George becomes desperate and goes to Potter for a loan. Potter takes great delight in taunting and demeaning the already downtrodden and down beaten George and then still refuses to lend him any money. George decides that the only way to save the business, stop Potter’s takeover and himself from jail is to take his own life.

His own underlying faith in humanity saves him when another man jumps into the icy river before he has a chance to. But the man is actually Clarence (Henry Travers), George’s guardian angel (that’s angel 2nd class - he hasn’t earned his wings yet). He takes George into a Bedford Falls where he was never born. A hellish vision of a town ruled by Potter where all those George cares for are either dead or despondent. Clarence proves to George that even when life is at its lowest, it’s still worth living. George is returned home to his family and friends who love him…and Clarence gets his wings.

The cast is truly wonderful. James Stewart expertly works his way through a range of emotions, from rage and fear, compassion, joy and happiness, to despair and desperation, every one genuine and sincere. Henry Travers is perfect as the bumbling, child like angel. Donna Reed is a picture as George’s loving wife and Lionel Barrymore plays the evilest, most despicable scrooge I’ve ever seen.

There have been many releases of this Christmas favourite over the years, including a Region 1 60th Anniversary Edition last year, so what does this release offer over and above all those previous versions?

Well, if you’re looking for a grand celebration of this ultimate Christmas classic then you’re out of luck. The extras here have simply been wheeled out again from many of those previous versions – indeed, disc one is last year’s 60th Anniversary Edition. So the only new aspect of this release is the inclusion of a new colourised version on disc two.

Having said that, the technical specifications and inclusion of that new version may be reason enough to go for another purchase of the film if you don’t already own that 60th Anniversary Edition.

I also felt it was important to analyse the colour version, given that there are many people who would simply balk at the suggestion they watch a black and white film but who may now be tempted to indulge in the delights of this masterpiece for the first time.

The colours on display are a little flat (although I wouldn’t expect anything else from a tinted version) but I can’t help thinking that it actually makes the image appear slightly sharper and fresher than the black and white version. They are also in keeping with older colour productions and, with the exception of healthy tans on all but Potter, the colours appear natural and appropriate. And Donna Reed looks even more gorgeous and glamorous in colour. That doesn’t mean I think it’s ‘better’ though – it’s not the original version and should therefore only be watched for novelty value!

The transfer is a definite improvement over the old Republic release, which looks very washed out in comparison. It has a splendidly clean picture for most of the film with only very occasional specks, film artefacts or moiré effects. Compare it to the extracts of the film in the featurettes if you need further proof.

Being the original soundtrack of a film which is over 60 years old it is purely functionary and nothing more. That is, of course, as it should be. This is not the sort of film that warrants or needs an all-singing all-dancing surround sound remix.

Unfortunately, I have to report that the left channel audio pops reported on the 60th Anniversary Edition are still present on disc one which, given what’s already been stated here, is no real surprise as it’s the same disc. I am pleased to report however that Paramount has corrected these issues on the colour version on disc two.

For reference, disc one has three moderate glitches at 7:43, 57:09 and 84:46. There is another quieter pop at 91:43.

Optional English subtitles are included, with only captions being translated into French if the French soundtrack is selected.

First up is the The Making of It’s a Wonderful Life featurette from 1990 which is narrated by Tom Bosley (with interview extracts from Frank Capra, James Stewart and Sheldon Leonard) and runs for 22 minutes 44 seconds. It is full of trivia covering the unsuccessful development of the script by RKO before being sold to Capra; casting of the major roles (Donna Reed was ‘on loan’ from MGM) and the changes that were required by the film industry’s Production Code to words considered so tame we’ve even had films using them as titles, e.g. The Jerk! It them moves into set design and special effects - including the development of a new process for creating snow which would later earn the Special Effects Supervisor Russell Shearman a Technical Achievement Academy Award in 1949. Finally the film shoot and premiere are covered.

Following that is A Personal Remembrance featurette from 1991 that runs for 14 minutes and 5 seconds. This is hosted by Frank Capra Jr and includes interview extracts from Frank Capra and James Stewart. It covers much of the same detail as the previous featurette (script development, casting and failure to ignite the box office) which actually makes most of it fairly redundant. However, it does go a little further into the history of the film after that, explaining that the rediscovery of the film by many was due to a legal loophole which saw it enter the public domain when the copyright was inadvertently not renewed in the early 1970s. This in turn meant that TV stations could play the film without paying any royalties.

Finally there’s the original theatrical trailer which comes in at 1 minute and 45 seconds and a preview trailer for Last Holiday (2 minutes 32 seconds).

It is a pity that Paramount has released yet another edition which is purely adequate. At the very least, where’s the documentary on the restoration and colourisation?

May be one day the film will get the proper special edition it truly deserves. Oh well, there’s always next year…