Miracle on 34th Street (Black and White and Colourised) [DVD] [1947]

I love this version of the film, always have done. To now find a coloured version was brilliant, it brings the film up to date without spoiling it. This DVD gives one the best of both worlds as it has both the original version in black and white and the colour version as well. Highly recommended.

Forget the modern smalz version of this movie this is the original and it not only is a greatChristmas movie, it also gives adults an amazing positive and hopeful look at the post war US social agenda soon to be swept away in the dark days of McCarthyism. We see a working woman, a man that happily looks after children and cooks, we see honest retailers, corrupt judges nonetheless doing the right thing and scoundrels getting their comeuppance. And, at the same time we see doubting hearts melted, love pouring out and the spirit of Christmas and Santa Claus done a great service. Wonderful. Wonderful.

Lovely film, wonderful in colour.

This is the 2006 US 2 Disc Special Edition DVD. The first disc has the colourised film and the second disc has the B&W version and extras. There is an English, French & Spanish audio with subtitles in English and Spanish, as far as I can tell none of the extras are subtitled. The colouristion on this movie is better than most but still not to my taste, much prefer the B&W version, it's not helped that one of the extras is a home movie of the parade in colour which makes the colouristion of the movie look bad in comparision.The film is rather a typical Christmas film but is enlivened by the performances of Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood and the fact that it's the lawyer who's the Santa Clause believer and its the women who's initally unsympathic making this a rather enjoyable movie.

I absolutely adore this original version of a Christmas story that isn't cloying, was perfectly acted and contains a wonderful performance by Natalie Wood when she was still a child. Thelma Ritter as a harassed mother shopping for her child is just one of the perfect performances - it's completely delightful.

Outstanding film. The colored version was excellent, as was the delivery.

Perfect watch - absolutely wonderful

If you don't own this then Santa's doomed.

tout est bien

Zweifelsohne ein sehr schöner Weihnachtsfilmklassiker ist der 1947 entstandene "Miracle on 34th Street" - in Deutschland lief er unter "Das Wunder von Manhattan" in den Kinos.George Seaton (Das Mädchen vom Lande, Airport, Die Geier warten schon, 36 Stunden) war sowohl Regisseur als auch Drehbuchschreiber. Der Film basiert auf einer Geschichte von Valentine Davies, die während der Zeit zwischen Erntedankfest und dem Weihnachtstag in New York City spielt. Ein liebenswürdiger Film mit einem tieferen Sinn, denn er stellt sich gegen die kalte kommerzielle Welt und gegen den schnellen Profit der vielen Warenhäuser und hat als Gegenentwurf für dieses Treiben den Glauben an ein Wunder, an die Fantasie und die Liebe im Gepäck."Das Wunder von Manhattan" hat sich in all den Jahren inzwischen zu einem kultigen Klassiker des Weihnachtsfilm entwickelt und wurde sogar mit drei Academy Awards geehrt. Edmund Gwenn in der Rolle des Kris Kringle gewann in der Kategorie "Bester Nebendarsteller", George Seaton wurde für das Drehbuch ausgezeichnet und wurde auch als bester Film nominiert. In dieser Kategorie unterlag er allerdings "Tabu der Gerechten".Im Film geht es darum, dass ein Kaufhaus Weihnachtsmann behauptet der echte Weihnachtsmann zu sein.Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) heißt der betagte Mann mit dem Rauschebart und er ist total entrüstet als er feststellt, dass der Mann, der den Weihnachtsmann bei der jährlichen Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade spielen soll, total betrunken ist. Als er sich bei der Veranstaltungsleiterin Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) beschwert, kann sie Kris überreden seinen Platz einzunehmen. Er macht seine Sache so gut, dass er als Weihnachtsmann in der New Yorker Fililale des Macy Kaufhauses in der 34th Straße engagiert wird.Dabei ignoriert der Alte die strikte Anweisung des Leiters der Spilezeugabteilung, Mr. Shellhammer (Philip Tonge) unentschlossenen Kindern einfach Ladenhüter zu empfehlen. Stattdessen empfiehlt er einer Kundin (Ellen Corby) mit ihrem Kleinen einfach bei der Konkurrenz einzukaufen, weil dort der gewünschte Artikel zu finden ist. Beeindruckt von Kris'Ehrlichkeit und Hilfsbereitschaft, teilt sie Shellhammer mit, dass sie von nun an eine treue Kundin von Macy's sein wird. Und so wie sie reagieren viele Kunden auf diesen neuen ehrlichen Weg, so wird Kris Kringle zum festen Bestandteil der neuen Strategie der Geschäftsleitung "Sei ehrlich mit der Kundschaft, du wirst es nicht bereuen". Dabei wollte Doris Walker den Mann, der glaubt er wäre der echte Weihnachtsmann, schon feuern. Sie glaubt, dass der Alte nicht alle Tassen im Schrank hat und besser in eine Psychiatrie gehört. Sie hat auch ihr kleines Töchterchen Susan (Natalie Wood) so erzogen, nicht an Märchen zu glauben. Ihr Nachbar Fred Gailey (John Payne) ist da ganz anderer Ansicht und er findet es schade, dass seine Nachbarin, auf die er ein Auge geworfen hat, ihr Kind so ganz ohne den Glauben an Märchen erzieht. Kris Kringle ist inzwischen als Untermieter bei Fred eingezogen und er stellt sich der kleinen Susan natürlich auch als der echte Weihnachtsmann vor. Was natürlich Doris sehr wütend macht. Sie versucht erneut den kranken Alten zu entlassen, aber inzwischen ist Kris Kringle zum Liebling der Kinder geworden und seine positive Publicity will der Kaufhausboss weiterhin für sich nutzen. Dennoch soll der Psychologe Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall), ein psychologisches Gutachten erstellen, damit man einen Grund hat ihn vor die Tür zu setzen und vielleicht sogar in eine Anstalt unterzubringen.....Die Entwicklung dieser Geschichte führt den Protagonisten zuerst in die Irrenanstalt und später in den Gerichtssaal, wo geklärt werden soll, ob der gemütliche alte Mann, der davon überzeugt ist, der echte Weihnachtsmann zu sein, eine Gefahr für die Gesellschaft ist und dauerhaft weggesperrt werden muss. Seaton schuf eine Komödie, die alles in sich vereint: Herz, Humor und vor allem eine sehr originelle Idee. "Das Wunder von Manhattan" ist heute noch einfach köstlich und erfrischend, zumal die Glaubensfragen - so irre sie auch sein mögen - bis heute gestellt werden.

Me encanta. Es una película que hacia muchos años que no veía y me encanta. Muy buena imagen y sonido en español.Te hace volver a la ilusión de cuando eras un niño.

When I watch this movie it brings back so many wonderful memories!

1947's "Miracle On 34th Street", starring the great Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn, is a motion picture that can be watched over and over again without losing one bit of its original flavor. And its flavor is quite tasty, in my opinion!A very spunky 8-year-old Natalie Wood helps to make this movie an even bigger treat. Natalie shows an acting talent in this film that belies her tender age. She gives one of the best performances by a child actor in a film I've ever come across. "34th Street" was Natalie's 4th screen appearance, in a successful career that would eventually span 52 films before her sudden and tragic death at the age of only 43.Miss Wood seems well-suited for her good-sized role as "Susan Walker" in this movie. She blends perfectly with the other actors, and her scenes with Gwenn (who, of course, plays the part of "Kris Kringle" to utter perfection) are highly memorable.Could the studio have possibly found a better choice for the part of "Kris" (Santa) in this motion picture? Well, perhaps. But ONLY if the REAL Santa Claus were to have taken a break from his duties at the North Poll and played the part himself. Oh...wait...Gwenn turns out to BE the REAL Santa, doesn't he? LOL! :)Yes, Edmund Gwenn actually DOES become "Santa Claus" for the 97-minute running time of this movie. He's *that* believable in the role. Gwenn was so good here that he won an Oscar for his memorable performance (Best Supporting Actor).This is a perfect movie to show your children. It must be a lot of fun watching a child's reaction to seeing Mr. Gwenn's very realistic portrayal of the portly fur-clad Christmas-time gift-giver. To a child that still does believe that Mr. Claus visits his or her house every December 24, this movie must be quite an eye-opener.This 20th-Century Fox DVD version of "Miracle On 34th Street" brings us the film in its intended (original) screen ratio of 1.33:1 (Full Frame); and the picture looks just dandy! The film, which was shot in "glorious black-and-white", exhibits outstanding clarity on this DVD. I can't spot a bit of grain or "noise". An absolutely beautiful digital transfer. Especially considering the age of this flick.The audio comes via an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack. The audio comes across nice and clean, with just a small amount of background "hiss" present. There's also a foreign-language track here, too (French). This French track (which is also 2.0 DD Mono) sounds a bit on the "muffled" side. Not nearly as clear-sounding as the English track. There are subtitles in English and Spanish.There's not a whole lot to talk about in the way of "Special Features" for this DVD release. But there is the Original Theatrical Trailer and a short "TV Spot" advertising the movie (which is a bonus *not* shown on the DVD's packaging). Plus: there's also a small text-only area on the disc, featuring "Cast Credits".I *must* say, however, even though we don't get many bonus extras with this title, I'm very pleased that the Trailer is included. This Theatrical Trailer is one of the very best, and most innovative, I think I've ever witnessed. It's a relatively-lengthy trailer, which features a studio executive bumping into multiple actors while on the FOX movie lot. He asks several of these actors what they thought of the just-released picture, "Miracle On 34th Street". And what he receives in return (naturally) are glowing reviews for the film.It's a very well-done trailer, and doesn't seem overly "hokey" or staged. And it's very fun to see stars the likes of Rex Harrison and Anne Baxter pop up here, promoting "34th Street". Harrison even speaks briefly in this trailer of his then-current work on "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir", which, ironically, also featured young Miss Natalie Wood as one of Rex's co-stars. This trailer is a real treat. And it's in remarkably good shape too. Very good video quality. The audio for the trailer is in DD 2.0 Mono, and sounds just fine.Menus .... I like a good (and simple) Menu design. And this disc has just that. The Main Menu is a "static" one, with separate links to other Sub-Menus (such as Language Selection, Chapter Listing, and Supplements). When you select any of these three items, you'll be treated to a very short (but fun and well-designed) animated transition, which then dissolves into the chosen sub-menu screen. These short "transitions" are all slightly different, with each one featuring a Christmas tune playing as "background" music as the screen fades from the Main Menu to your desired selection. This themed music seems as though it's being played over a Department Store's P.A. system (which is appropriate for this DVD, since we often hear the soft playing of Christmas tunes during the "Macy's" scenes in the film). One menu transition also features a "snowflakes falling" visual effect, along with the music. Very cleverly done, IMO.Additional Disc Information for this title ..............................>> Enclosures? .... Yes. There is one here. A one-page Chapter List insert is included (21 chapters), with an excellent promo picture of actors Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, and John Payne on one side; and on the "Chapter" side, an image of "Kris" (Mr. Gwenn). I particularly like the fact that FOX Home Entertainment used a different picture for the insert than what we see on the front cover (normally on DVDs, the two pictures are identical). I might also add, in case one or two picky people might be interested in such trivial matters, that this insert is made out of better-quality (thicker) paper than what we usually see for such paper enclosures.>> Region? .... This is a "Region 1" (NTSC) disc. Single-sided.----------"Miracle On 34th Street" is one of those films that deserves to be seen more than once, and not only in the month of December either (IMO). It holds up very well even in the summer months. And this clear-as-a-bell DVD from FOX Home Entertainment makes viewing this 1947 classic an even more enjoyable experience -- no matter if it's in December, March, or August.