White Christmas - 10-16-07 Release - Any reviews?

Re: White Christmas - 10-16-07 Release - Any reviews?

This is from a customer review on Amazon:
Recently, Paramount has offered us wonderful new DVD-issues of classics like To Catch a Thief and Funny Face, both shot in Vista-Vision, and now looking better than ever on home video thanks to Paramount using original camera materials for the transfers. Naturally, I expected that the same loving treatment would be given an old favorite like White Christmas, which was the first feature film shot in Paramount's superb wide-screen process called Vista-Vision.
Not so! This new "remaster" is just as dreary-looking as the older DVD. Grainy and soft with an unstable look and dull colors except in some brightly lit "performance" scenes. Also lots of dirt marks and scattered speckles, plus an ugly splice or two. And NO new extras! Where is the expected featurette about the Vista-Vision system - newly made or at least some old promotional reel taken from a shelf in the archives? A huge disappointment! And by the way, where are all the many beloved Paramount classics from the fifties and sixties that have not yet been released on DVD? Not a single title in sight for the coming months. Sad.
He later added:
After I posted my review, I began to wonder if Paramount has given us the same old DVD pressing from 2000 in a new packaging for some obscure reason. I have already sold my old copy to a second hand shop, so I cannot compare the two exactly, but the "new" disc says "copyright 2000" on the label, while the box and paper case say 2007. Weird. The new issue of Funny Face has "copyright 2007" written on both the disc and the box, so this White Christmas might very well be the pressing from 2000. My opinion that the colors are slightly better on the recent issue, might be explained by my new plasma. In any case, Paramount is the company to boo these days!

Re: White Christmas - 10-16-07 Release - Any reviews?

This just appears to be a simple repackaging of the original DVD release. Not sure why anyone would be so upset...sure it's disappointing, but it wasn't touted as a restored special edition or anything.

Andy

Re: White Christmas - 10-16-07 Release - Any reviews?

Just watched the DVD last night, and I noted something: the print of the movie used in the Rosemary Clooney interview looked sensational (even though pan and scan). Why would this be true?

The movie itself looks quite dreary on DVD, a real shame.