You Can’t Take It With You appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Given the movie’s age, this became an appealing transfer.
Sharpness seemed pretty good. A little softness emerged, partly affected by the heavy grain that showed up throughout the film. Despite that, the image was usually pretty accurate and concise. Jagged edges and moiré effects caused no issues, and I also noticed no signs of edge enhancement.
Print flaws were minor. I noticed a few small specks, but nothing more than that. As mentioned, the image seemed grainier than usual, but I didn’t mind this.
For the most part, black levels remained pretty deep and dense. Low-light shots also offered good clarity, with nice delineation in shadows. A few shots looked a bit bright but those were mild intrusions. Overall, the movie gave us a pleasing presentation.
The DTS-HD MA monaural audio of You Can’t Take It With You came across as satisfactory, as the track lacked many notable flaws. Background noise failed to become an intrusion, as the mix seemed free from the usual pops and clicks that often appear in films of this era.
The quality of the audio was perfectly acceptable given the movie’s age. Speech appeared clear and intelligible; the lines could be a little thin, but they were surprisingly natural. Effects and music followed suit. While neither displayed much life, they seemed more than adequate for older recordings. This wasn’t a powerhouse of a mix, but it appeared pretty good when I considered its vintage.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the 2006 DVD release? Audio was a little warmer, though there wasn’t much the lossless track could do with the ancient source. A movie from 1938 won’t ever sound great, so this was about as good as I could anticipate.
Visuals showed more obvious improvements. The Blu-ray appeared better delineated and cleaner, with stronger contrast and dark tones. I thought the Blu-ray gave us a clear step up over the DVD.
The Blu-ray duplicates the 2006 DVD’s extras, and we start with an audio commentary from director’s son Frank Capra Jr. and author Cathrine Kellison. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific chat. They discuss cast and crew, music and cinematography, sets, comparisons with the original play, themes and the director’s fondness for stories of individuality, and other scene specifics. Capra also reads some relevant details from his dad’s autobiography.
Capra and Kellison turn out a disappointing commentary. They throw out some decent notes, and I like the story Capra relates about his dad’s conflict with Columbia chief Harry Cohn; this pops up around the movie’s halfway point and briefly enlivens matters. Unfortunately, most of the track features praise for the flick and laughing as the participants watch it. This turns out to be a lackluster and often dull track.
In addition to the film’s theatrical trailer, we locate Frank Capra Jr. Remembers… You Can’t Take It With You. In this 25-minute, 42-second featurette, we hear from the younger Capra as well as Columbia University Associate Professor of Film Richard Pena, and Frank Capra Archives curator Jeanine Basinger. The program starts with info about old Frank’s conflict with Cohn. The show also gets into comparisons between the movie and the play, various aspects of the cast, characters and story, and other thoughts about the elder Capra.
“Remembers” digresses a little at times, but it usually proves satisfying. Since it covers the Cohn story, it includes the main attraction from the commentary and renders that chat fairly superfluous. Indeed, Capra covers most of the same material, so there’s little reason to screen the commentary. The other participants also bring out some nice notes, especially as Basinger delves into the differences between the flick and the play. This is a reasonably informative little piece.
The package concludes with a hardcover book. Bound as part of the Blu-ray’s case, this presents an essay from Jeremy Arnold as well as photos and credits. The book adds value to the set.
You Can’t Take It With You doesn’t stand as one of the strongest Best Picture winners, and it doesn’t even appear to be one of Frank Capra’s top flicks. Nonetheless, it comes across as generally likeable and amusing, and it does more right than wrong. The Blu-ray delivers pretty good picture and audio along with a small set of supplements. The movie doesn’t dazzle, but it entertains, and the Blu-ray represents it well.
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