The Corner Penthouse

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) was recently released on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack by Warner Brothers. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

The world is astounded when candy maker Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder), for years a recluse in his factory, announces that five Golden Tickets granting access to his factory are to be found in his eponymous chocolate bar. For young Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), getting hold of one of those tickets would be a dream come true. The family has little money, but his Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) encourages him to have faith and keep a positive attitude. He buys one Wonka Bar with a dollar found on the street, which is enough to garner him one of the Golden Tickets. Charlie and the other four children - Veruca Salt (Julie Dawn Cole), Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson), Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen), and Augustus Gloop (Michael Bollner) - are admitted to the factory and find a wonderland of candies and chocolate. Willy Wonka tells them they can have anything they want, but he is definitely looking for something in return.

[ QUICK THOUGHTS ]

For a film that is pleasantly bright - the movie has never looked better than it does on the 4K UHD disc - it's quite a dark film. Bratty children are "disposed of" through some inventively cruel means that, at times, feels like a cheery version of a Saw film. All the while, green-skinned little people sing and dance to the delight of a reclusive chocolateer. Yeah, this is a weird film, but DAMN those songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley are fun and catchy. Usually child actors can give cring-worthy performance, but in this film, all of the actors involved give convincing performances, even the kids. The standout, of course, is Gene Wilder as the titular character.

The 4K disc is the closest to the original theatrical presentation as there has ever been on home video. For the first time that I've ever seen, the Paramount Pictures logo is shown at the start of the film. I bet you never knew that this was originally a Paramount film. I certainly didn't. (Paramount's theatrical distribution rights lapsed in 1977. In the days before home video, Paramount thought the film was of little commercial use to them anymore, so they never renewed them. Warner Brothers bought the rights in 1983, and has been re-releasing the film on every conceivable format ever since.) Warner Brothers still has their logo tacked on at the end. The film is also shown in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, unlike previous Blu-ray releases (also included in this set) which presented an open-matte 1.78:1 version.


[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:39:37. Audio languages include English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

Here is a list of the special features that are included on the 4K UHD disc. No new special features were created for the film's 50th anniversary.

• Audio Commentary - with the Wonka Kids: Peter Ostrum (Charlie), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca), Denise Nickerson (Violet), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee) and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop).

[ SECOND DISC ]

Also included is a standard Blu-ray disc (originally released back in 2009), which contains the movie and all of the special features listed below. Audio languages include English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

The Warner Brothers logo is shown at the beginning and end of the film. The original Paramount logo is not present at all. The opening titles are windowboxed (blackness on all sides), then it becomes 1.78:1 (which is not the proper aspect ratio). The 4K disc is the closest to the original theatrical presentation, with the proper aspect ratio and the Paramount logo at the start.

• Audio Commentary - with the Wonka Kids: Peter Ostrum (Charlie), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca), Denise Nickerson (Violet), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee) and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop).
• Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (30:25) - This featurette from 2001 features interviews with all of the stars, as well as director Mel Stuart and producer David L. Wolper.
• Vintage 1971 Featurette (4:02) - Known as "The Moviemakers", this is a pretty rough looking featurette focusing on production designer Harper Goff.
• Sing-Along (8:12 & 0:52 play all) - Three songs with on-screen lyrics presented in 4:3 Fullscreen: "Pure Imagination", "I Want It Now!", and "I've Got A Golden Ticket". A fourth song, "Oompa-Loompa-Doompa-De-Do", is also included in 16:9 widescreen, but weirdly, WITHOUT ON-SCREEN LYRICS! "Candy Man", the biggest hit from the score, is weirdly missing. For what it's worth, this vintage DVD-era feature is not needed since watching the movie with subtitles on gives on-screen lyrics for ALL songs in HD or 4K (depending on the disc).
• Theatrical Trailer (3:11) - The 1971 theatrical trailer for the film, which has been occasionally anamorphically squeezed. It plays in 4:3 fullscreen, with the bulk of the trailer looking fine in that aspect ratio, but several sequences look like they should have properly been displayed in 16:9.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

A Digital Copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case. The first print run includes a sparkly slipsleeve.

It should be noted that the 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray gift set from 2011 includes a few special features that are not found on either of the 4K or Blu-ray discs:

• Photo Gallery
• Cast & Crew Biographies & Filmographies
• Mel Stuart's Wonka-Vision (13:34) - A 2011 interview with the director.
• World of Pure Imagination (12:32) - A vintage featurette containing an interview with author Roald Dahl.

These should have been resurrected and included on the new 4K disc, as Warner Brothers did with the DVD-era isolated score track on the Blade 4K. Sadly, they left them out again.

[ PURCHASE LINKS ]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray gift set (for extra special features and some cool pack-in items), and DVD. Tim Burton remade the film in 2005 as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - the title of the original Roald Dahl novel - and that is available on Blu-ray and DVD. In 2017, Warner Brothers decided to remake the film again, this time as an animated feature with a famous cat & mouse pair: Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is available on DVD.


On June 30, 2021, the film celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Warner Brothers got Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), and Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop) to come together to reflect on the legacy of the film.


This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.