"Meet Me In St.Louis" Warner - Region 2,4,5 - PAL vs. Warner (2-disc) - Region 1

directed by Vincente Minnelli
U.S.A. 1944

It seems pretty strange to think now that nobody concerned really wanted to make this movie, or wasn't happy shooting it either, since it has long since achieved the status of a particularly evergreen classic. Like the considerably inferior White Christmas, made 10 years later, we can't seem to do without it. But whereas you need nostalgia to get through White Christmas, you can be the vilest cynic and still like Minnelli's fluent four-act examination of a nice, middle-class St Louis family and its ups and downs circa 1903. Nostalgia, of course, is what it was all about when it was made in 1944. It looked back to a largely imaginary time when values were values and family life was paramount to happiness. Even so, there's very little cuteness or sentimentality, and you have to admit the period detail, right down to the changing seasons, is marvelous. Then there's The Trolley Song, Judy Garland at her most charming, etc, etc. Have yourselves a merry little Christmas, as Judy sings...

Excerpt of Derek Malcolm's review in the Guardian Unlimited located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 28 November 1944 - U.S.A.

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Warner - Region 2,4,5 - PAL vs. Warner (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and Gary Tooze for the Screen Caps!

(Warner - Region 2,4,5 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
	NOTE: Purchases through DVDBeaver's links to Amazon help keep us afloat and advertisement free!
Distribution	Warner Region 2,4,5 - PAL	Warner Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:48:16 (4% PAL speedup)	1:52:48
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.71 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.59 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Warner (PAL)
Bitrate: Warner (NTSC)
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish and German Dub DD 1.0	English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, English for the hearing impaired, Finnish, French, German, German for the hearing impaired, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Italian for the hearing impaired, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Turkish and none	English, Spanish, French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Margaret O'Brien, Hugh Martin, Irving Brecher and Barbara Freed-Saltzman. • Introduction by Liza Minnelli (4:59). • Making of (30:35). • Music only track (DD 5.0). • The Martins Soundie short: Skip to My Lou (3:11). • Trailer (1:37). DVD Release Date: May 24, 2004 Keep Case Chapters 32	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Disc One: • New Commentary by Garland biographer John Fricke with Margaret O'Brien, screenwriter Irving Brecher, songwriter Hugh Martin and daughter of producer Arthur Freed, Barbara Freed-Saltzman • Introduction by Liza Minnelli • Music-only track (without vocals) • Vincente Minnelli trailer gallery • Disc Two: • "Meet Me in St. Louis: The Making of an American Classic" (Narrated by Roddy McDowall) • "Hollywood: The Dream Factory" (Home video dubut of the Emmy-Award winning 1972 MGM-TV special, narr • "Becoming Attractions: Judy Garland" (1996 TCM special) • "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1966 TV pilot with Shelley Fabares and Celeste Holm) • "Bubbles" (1930 Warner Bros. short featuring Judy Garland at age 7) • "Skip To My Lou" (Rare 1941 musical short with Meet Me in St. Louis composers Hugh Martin and Ralph • Audio Vault: Boys and Girls Like You and Me outtake (re-construction using still photographs); Lux R • Stills Gallery DVD Release Date: April 6th, 2004 Keep Case Chapters 32

Comments

Although the images are virtually identical these two editions offer a very different package. Firstly on the image: it is as close as I have ever seen between a major studio PAL and NTSC release. Even the bitrate graph indicates this with the same peaks and valleys. Being picky, the NTSC is minutely cropped up top and bottom - very slightly, but I do think the NTSC shows more film grain. Otherwise a complete draw.

On the audio front the PAL edition does not offer the original Mono track, except in two DUBs - bad show! So because of this enormous faux-pas for purists the NTSC wins this category with ease.

Extras too go easily toward the NTSC with a stacked 2 - disc release to the PAL's measly one.

Overall we must recommend the NTSC version, but we should also comment that this DVD image, for both editions , is gorgeous. Fabulous work Warner!

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 2,4,5 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)