Love this movie ! Best version to date

I received my copy of the 60th Anniversary set today via Amazon (and kudos to Amazon, which refunded me a total of $7 from the pre-order price I had paid back on Oct 2, charging me a mere $10.99 for this 2-disc set, ie: at their Nov 2 price).

I haven't watched the entire movie, but spot checks of the film on the BluRay disc reveal the best-ever VCI transfer. It's even better than the BluRay version that was released in 2009. Also, it seems to me like the picture contains more along the edges than it has before. I'm wondering if VCI has been clipping the left & right sides of the film image all these years due to deterioration, but were somehow able to restore those edges with the new computer software they said they used on the film this time around. I did notice that a restoration credit is given to a firm called "Blair & Associates" that isn't VCI, with a copyright date of 2011. Perhaps they finally decided to send the thing out of house and get it done right.

I can't imagine why VCI isn't hawking this version more aggressively, because it does seem to fulfill - finally - the promises VCI has made over the years about just how painstaking their restoration efforts have been. Those promises have always led to a bit of disappointment in the past. Not this time.

Also, the soundtrack is absolutely quiet, at least when played in the original mono. I haven't tried the 5.1 surround sound yet, and I don't know that I will. I'm something of a purist in this matter.

I watched the Leonard Maltin intro, and it was very good and professional, supplying info I didn't know (such as the fact that Glynis Johns is the daughter of Mervyn Johns, who plays Bob Cratchet).

I have only ONE very small complaint, and it seems almost ridiculous to point out, but the subtitles come up a second or so before the lines are actually delivered on the screen. They're not synced precisely to the beginning of each new phrase in the dialogue. That's really not a problem as I never watch the entire film with subtitles. At least these subtitles are in white, rather than the hard-to-read red of the Ultimate DVD Edition. And, the point size of the subtitles is a bit smaller than it was on the 2009 BluRay version.

The set also includes a hardcopy "Abridged American Pressbook" that I assume represents what was sent out to American film houses when the film was released in 1951. It's a very nice touch, and something that I haven't seen in earlier releases. The little booklet is a 3-page gate fold that unfolds into a two-sided promo kit that pictures the posters and lobby posters that were available to promote the film. I especially love the tie-in promotion to the Classics Illustrated "Volume 53," "A Christmas Carol." Fascinating stuff!

I did not know that the film was retitled from "Scrooge" to "A Christmas Carol" for its initial US release. Hey, I'm learning all the time!

I watched a couple of the bonus features on Saturday, and they are well done and supply interesting information.

Edited 12/7/11: I watched this BD in its entirety last night, and it is just amazing how clean and, well, wonderful it all is. The picture is rock steady, except when there are fades moving from one scene to another, ie: movement that appeared from Day One on this film and was usual for films made in this period. What you won't see is the picture nervously moving off its axis. It is as solid as if it were done digitally. The detail and depth to the picture is the best I have ever seen on this film. And, yes, that reaction shot from Fred's wife that was missing from the UCE has been restored. Less than a second and a half of film, but oh so meaningful.

The sound is also remarkable. What's nice is that almost all of the old-movie static has been effectively removed, so the voices and the film score register beautifully. I first watched with the original mono track playing, and it is very fulsome and vivid. I later went back and watched the entire movie in surround sound. Funny, but the surround process seems to be less-clean than the mono track! The movie sounds its age more in surround than in mono. That said, the orchestral score registers more effectively in surround, and that's important, as the musical score for this film is one of its glories. And, yes, I noticed that total sound drop out in the scene where Scrooge visits Fred for Xmas dinner in the surround track. The drop out lasts about 4 seconds. Very unfortunate.

Still, definitely worth getting.

Best version of the Dickens novel Scrooge. Alistair Simm Deserved an Academy Award for best actor.
Even fun to watch in the summer.

My favorite Christmas movie

Esta película la vi cuando era niña, la conocí a través de mi papá, quien era un tremendo admirador de las literatura británica. Altamente recomendable para toda la familia.