It's A Wonderful Life...I am tempted by, but last year's 60th Anniversary DVD will probably see me through, especially since there is another total lack of new extras.
Miracle...somehow I've just never been able to plug into this movie! So I certainly won't be buying the BD edition, since it just doesn't reach me like Jimmy Stewart can. And the Attenborough remake was even worse!
Casablanca...as a packaging nut, I would go for the box anyway, which <I>wasn't</I> like Oz or Wind, it was just a standard BD/DVD sized case, like WB's previous ultimate sets. But then again I already have the two-disc DVD and while I know the image may be better, it still looks crisp and upscaling on a movie like this will do me until I can start working ym way through a complete wish list of upgrades.
Grinches...probably a pass. I didn't think the Howard/Carrey movie had any magic, and again the restored DVD edition from last year of Jones' animated special was pretty sharp anyway. If we'd had a screener come in I would have been interested as I still have a lack of cel animation in my BD collection other than the few Disneys released, and am interested to see the differences between upscaling and native HD in these more flatter instances, as I understand there's not much between them. As such, it hardly seems worthy of "upgrading", especially when there is so much other new stuff to collect!
On Sim's A Christmas Carol, I'm good with the two-disc from last year, though Rand the VCI is definitely the one to go for. They did a pretty nice job on the restoration, though it is not absolutely perfection. But you can bet the Morningstar one is just another PD release. I don't know if the VCI would be worth a BD; the restoration was not without its own (minor) problems and might not hold up so well to HD.
Also, make sure what extras are carried over, since the two-disc DVD had quite a bit on there including a full-length earlier version of the same story. Then again, it's only $16.99 on Amazon right now. But be aware that DVD Beaver have compared the very old and rigtfully crummy VCI edition with the Blu-ray, NOT the cleaned up two-disc from last year, which is a bit of a cheat really. Lastly, VCI provided both 1.33 and 1.78 options on the two-disc (alongside the colorized version and 1938 version, plus the extras) so make sure the new BD has the correct 1.33 - this was 1951 and widescreen did not start to creep in until three years later - and isn't "widescreen" exclusive.
Bottom line...I'm sticking with good old DVDs on all these titles, for various reasons.
