A Charlie Brown Christmas 50th Anniversay Deluxe Edition (DVD)

A classic! You can't go wrong. Blu-ray worked very well, no scratching no skipping. Decent price. A must for any Christmas time holiday.

How does a person review their childhood? "A Charlie Brown Christmas" first aired three months after I was born, so I don't remember a year of my life that it wasn't a part of my holiday season, first as a child, growing up and rooting for Charlie Brown and his little tree, as a high-schooler and college student, because it was a sweet memory, into adulthood, watching it with my own children, and hopefully, my eventual grandchildren. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is the Christmas special against which all future Charlie Brown specials, and many Christmas specials are measured. A perpetual holiday favorite, this is one the best half-hours of television ever created. Its combination of a melancholy tone, minimalist animation, and a jazz score was unlike anything else on TV at the time — and largely unlike anything on TV now, following the ever-unlucky but always-optimistic Charlie Brown as he undertakes the thankless task of directing the Christmas play, while he's also undergoing an existential crisis of sorts, questioning the commercialization of the holiday season to the point that he wonders "what's it all about?" It also bears mentioning that this special does better than anything else is giving viewers the literal meaning of Christmas by directly quoting the scriptures. For many, this special is first and sometimes the only place they hear the story of Christ's birth. Even in the '60s, this was a big thing to do, and today, it's something that simply wouldn't be done. Despite his recitation, Linus never comes off as preachy, mainly because Charlie Brown not only hears the message but applies it as well. Any Christmas special can show a nativity display or have Christian imagery, but this strikes an emotional level with the viewer. It's definitely a holiday message we all need to hear. That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. What else needs to be said? The back-up feature, "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown" is...there, as is an interesting "making of" feature. The picture and sound as as good as they can be, considering the original material is now almost 60 years old and was made on a small budget. All in all, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is a beautiful, funny, touching reminder of a simpler time in all of our lives -- a time (and a special) that's always worth revisiting, no matter how many times you've seen it.

Great movie love Charlie Brown and Snoopy

A timeless perennial Christmas classic

So, I see a lot of DVD reviews here, but I'm reviewing the Amazon Video digital download. I had to leave a review because there are some surprises that aren't explained very well in the description. I thought the price was pretty steep for a single special, but I bought it anyhow because it's a classic, and my toddler loves Peanuts. Then it started playing, and I realized the running time was more than an hour long. Here's what you get in the download: 1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). This is the very first Peanuts special, and it's just as charming and rough around the edges as you remember it. It's a perfect mood piece for Christmas; if anything, it's too short. I get a little choked up at the end when the gang decides to be nice to Charlie Brown and fix his Christmas tree (even though I've probably seen it 50 times). The video is well done; I have my stereo hooked up to my TV, and the music sounds great. The video is high-def, which maybe doesn't matter for a 1960s animated film, but it's nice to have. DVD quality at least, maybe better. 2. It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992). This one follows right after the first one's credits, with no indication that it's there until it starts playing. It's kind of a clunker, not one I'd rewatch often. There are some David Benoit covers of the Guaraldi Peanuts songs, but otherwise it's pretty forgettable. 3. It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984). !!! I have no idea why this is stuck on the end of the download, since it has nothing to do with Christmas, but don't overlook it. After a boring first five minutes, this one transforms into the best of the Peanuts musicals. There's virtually no plot, but there are five great songs in succession: "I'm in Shape," "Lucy Says," "Pigpen Hoedown," "It's Snoopy," and of course "Flashbeagle" (twice). Each song is about two minutes in length, perfect for kids with short attention spans. Great songs, great vocals. "Flashbeagle" is cheesy and dated (it probably was in 1984!), but it's undeniably catchy. Everybody in the family will be humming these tunes all day after watching this special. A bit of trivia: Stacy Ferguson (better known as Fergie) played Sally in this special. So, there you go. One moderately-priced download gets you two fantastic specials and one throwaway. Not bad! I would've given this five stars just for the main feature, but the bonuses just pushed it over the top. Thanks, Amazon!

Happy to finally add this to my holiday collection. Fondly recall watching the initial televised broadcast as a child with my family. There were unfortunate issues with payment caused by confusion at purchase, but applaud the seller for good service and a quality product.

I decided to get the 4K HDR disc of this knowing the limitations of the original source. It was mastered direct from the original 35mm film negative for the best result possible. You can see some film grain in the image when you watch it on today's huge flat panel TV's, but I find that both reasonable and acceptable. You can actually make out tiny imperfections from the animation scan table images, which I find fascinating. Now... you MUST remember that this special was created to be viewed on old black and white and color picture tube TV's. In 1965, most Americans didn't even have a color TV yet. So overall, I think the final result of this 4K HDR disc is surprisingly good. Secondly, I feel that A Charlie Brown Christmas is the most important of all of the 1960's Christmas TV specials. CBS executives were nervous after A Boy Named Charlie Brown didn't get big ratings in 1964. They saw the success of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer in 1964 on NBC and decided to give the Peanuts gang one more chance. It ended up being a smash hit, with half of all TV's tuned to the broadcast that night. The decision to use Vince Guaraldi's jazz soundtrack was a very gutsy and brilliant artistic move for the time. CBS execs were also very nervous about Linus reciting Bible passages, but Charles Schultz was adamant that the lines had to stay in the special. In the end, Lee Mendelson's modern, risky and unconventional vision created 25 minutes for the ages.

Holiday classic. Love it

Purtroppo pessimo acquisto. Dopo una serie di problemi per la consegna (ho dovuto sollecitare diverse volte). Quando finalmente è arrivato non è stato possibile vederlo, il video non si apre; ho provato con più lettori DVD ma niente da fare.

El costo tal vez es un poco elevado pero por la presentación vale la pena, pensé que solo venía la caja de plástico y viene cuidada con una de cartón, me encanto ese detalle. Si te trae recuerdos y la quieres para colección súper.

peanutsキャラクターがたくさん登場する作品。ヴィジュアルで楽しむ部分は他のpeanutsビデオに比べたら少ないかな？と思いますが、こんな風にクリスマスを過ごせたら楽しそう。みんなで劇の練習をするもなかなかまとまらないのはいつもの通り。チャーリーブラウンの持ってきた「本物の木」を皆でデコレートして囲んで歌うクリスマス。日本の賑々しいクリスマスもいいけど、このビデオを見ながら家族とクリスマスをしんみり、じんわり過ごすのもいいのではないでしょうか。

Charlie Brown is excellent for children

What needs to be said about this movie. Funtime. Nostalgic. So many generations. Quality dvd. Picture is fantastic. Very clear sound.