Alonso Duralde recommends new releases of classic holiday movies, both on video and in book form
For many of us, the 2020 version of the holidays is going to be a more home-bound one than usual. What better time to build your physical-media collection with DVDs, Blu-rays, and books to help keep the season bright? Blu-ray debuts This year saw the first release of several Christmas favorites on Blu-ray, from Paul Feig’s 2019 sleeper hit “Last Christmas” (Universal Home Entertainment) to the first North American hi-def releases of the moving and funny anime classic “Tokyo Godfathers” (GKIDS/Shout Factory), a contemporary adaptation of the Christmas-set Western tale “3 Godfathers,” and the all-star WWII drama “A Midnight Clear” (Shout Selects). The latter, a 1992 adaptation of the William Wharton novel from writer-director Keith Gordon, features a cast of up-and-coming actors who would eventually become filmmakers themselves, including Ethan Hawke, Peter Berg, Frank Whaley, and Gary Sinise. Also Read: ‘Last Christmas’ Director Paul Feig Has a Lot to Say About That ‘Divisive’ Twist Ending Stone-cold classics Bedford Falls never looked so good: Paramount Home Entertainment offers “It’s a Wonderful Life” in stunning 4K in a new Steelbook edition that includes special features and a mini replica of the film’s original one-sheet. Warner Archive Collection has three new Blu-rays that offer the hi-res debuts of some seasonal masterpieces: Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh flirt their way through a “Holiday Affair” (out December 15); if you want to see the legendary “Lubitsch touch” in action, look no further than director Ernst Lubitsch’s delightful “The Shop Around the Corner” (out December 22), starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan; and the once-nearly-forgotten cult favorite “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” (on December 22) gets a 4K restoration.
