Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) works for the flagship Macy’s department store in New York City. She is the single mother, who raised 8-year-old daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) to be very pragmatic. Susan didn’t grow up with fairy tales or make-believe. She knows that Santa isn’t real, and always believes in being literal and telling the truth.
It’s the annual Macy’s Day Thanksgiving parade and the Santa that Doris hired for the float is drunk. Doris runs into a bearded man (Edmund Gwenn) who looks the part and asks him to fill in. Macy’s receives feedback that this was their best Santa ever, and so Doris hires the man to work in their flagship store. His unconventional policies of telling consumers the truth and referring them to other stores is controversial, but proves to be a huge success for the store.
However, when Doris learns that the man insists that his name is Kris Kringle, and that he is actually Santa Claus, she starts to see red flags and thinks the man might be crazy. Others also get concerned and try to have him committed. And so Santa is put on trial, and it’s up to Doris’ neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) to prove to the court that this man is in fact the real Kris Kringle/Santa Claus.
Despite it originally being released theatrically in June, Miracle on 34th Street has become a quintessential Christmas movie. It is a feel-good story about hope, and believing in the impossible. At the same time, it also provides a slight commentary on commercialization. It’s got a great cast and provides a nice mix of humor and heart. The film still holds up 70 years later, and it’s easy to see why this has become such a classic.
FOX’s new 70th Anniversary Blu-ray release appears to just be a repackaging of the 2009 Blu-ray along with a Digital Copy. The film is only offered in its original black & white. Overall, the picture quality looks quite nice. However, there is quite a bit of film grain at times, and the whites are little more gray/off-white than a bright white. The audio is offered in the original mono as well as a 5.1 audio track. The surround channel only really seemed to be used during the parade scene to expand the music. Otherwise, the film is mostly dialogue. The bonus features are all imports from previous DVD releases—an audio commentary from star Maureen O’Hara, two historical featurettes, some archival footage and a poster gallery. It’s a shame that this new release still doesn’t include the colorized version, which was included on the 2006 Special Edition DVD (it may have also been dropped from the new 70th Anniversary DVD). Also missing from the Blu-ray is the TV adaptation of the film, which is only included on the DVD release.
The Blu-ray disc comes packed in an eco-friendly HD keepcase inside a cardboard sleeve, which also contains an insert with a code to redeem for a digital copy of the film. The front and back cover art of the Blu-ray is a little misleading, showing everything in full color even though the film is only offered in black & white on this release.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:36:24)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Full Frame 1.33:1
- Black & White
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Mono, French Mono, Spanish Mono
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Digital copy redeemable via iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Google Play or Vudu
Digital HD (Code may not be valid after 2019):
Extras:
All of this bonus material has been ported from previous DVD releases.
- Commentary by Maureen O’Hara (1:36:24)
Originally recorded for the 2006 special edition DVD, the actress provides a delightful audio commentary, giving listeners a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories. - AMC Backstory: Miracle on 34th Street (22:06)
This interesting 2001 featurette takes a look at the history of the film, the origins of the script, casting the film, using real store names, filming at the actual Macy’s parade and store, the unusual marketing campaign and June release date, and the ultimate success of the film. Includes interviews with film historian Rudy Behlmer, Natalie Wood biographer Suzanne Finstad, Lana Wood (sister of Natalie), and actors Robert Hyatt (“Thomas Mara, Jr.”), Maureen O’Hara (“Doris Walker”) and Alvin Greenman (“Alfred”). - Fox Movietonews Footage: Hollywood Spotlight (1:46)
Footage from the Academy Awards ceremony where the film took home three awards. - Promotional Short (5:08)
The unconventional short used to promote the film, which doesn’t show clips, reveal plot details, or even mention Santa Claus. - Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Floating in History Featurette (15:32)
This 2006 featurette takes a look at the history of the film, and filming on location at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. - Poster Gallery (:39)
This slideshow of 9 posters for the film auto-advances every 4 seconds.
Final Thoughts:
FOX’s new 70th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of Miracle on 34th Street looks great and contains a nice selection of bonus material. However, it appears to just be a re-packaging of the same disc from the 2009 Blu-ray release, along with a digital copy of the film. I wish FOX had taken this opportunity to finally release the colorized version on Blu-ray, or at the very least included the colorized version DVD in this package. If you already own a copy of the film, there’s probably no need to buy this, unless you want the digital copy.
