WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971, Blu-ray released October 20, 2009 – MSRP $34.99)
Until getting my hands on this new Blu-ray disc version of the film, I had never laid eyes upon the 1971 production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I’m sure I would’ve loved it as a child because I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult.
I’m sure you all know the story by now. If you didn’t get a chance to read the book as you were growing up, you no doubt caught the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp production from a few years back. Well, this version of the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is nowhere near as computer generated as the Burton film and maybe not as nuanced as the Roald Dahl novel but, despite being renamed to market a Quaker Oates Willy Wonka candy bar back in 1971, is full of heart and embodies a genuine spirit of childhood wonder.
Reclusive candy-man Willy Wonka has hidden five golden tickets in his world famous candy bars. Ticket holders are allowed a once in a lifetime opportunity to tour the wonderful, wacky Chocolate Factory of the title (which, incidentally enough, makes candy of a vast variety more than chocolate.) Golden-hearted, poverty-stricken Charlie is lucky enough to be one of those ticket holders and is treated to a magical, musical safari of delights by weird, wonky Wonka (Gene Wilder), who may just have more in store for his guests than they suspect.
The film plays like a love-letter to childhood, rife with social commentary and a biting criticism of the effect of consumerism on younger generations. Wilder plays every subtlety of the twisted titular confection-king to the tee. Instead of pushing his characterization over the top, as Depp would do to great effect in the 2005 version, Wilder adds layers of depth to Wonka with the slightest sideways glance. It’s a wonderful, fully realized performance that provides the film with as much lasting character as its strange green-haired Oompa Loompas, the memorable sing-along songs and the factories magical chocolate waterfalls.
The Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Blu-ray Disc seems to be a simple port of Warner Home Videos previously available HD-DVD edition, squeezing the film and all the bonus content onto a single layer BD-25 disc. Despite having less room to play than dual layer disc would allow, WHV delivers a fairly nice looking encode. The film is truly colourful, exhibiting good contrast and decent black levels on the disc. Detail suffers, with soft images here and there but nothing that will keep you from appreciating this nice, film-like transfer.
Special features are identical to the DVD and HD-DVD editions with the only upgrade being the 38-page hardcover book the Blu-ray comes packaged in. I’ve got to say, I’m a sucker for these books. If I’ve got to suffer physical media for another decade, I’d rather have my discs stored in attractive, informative books than non-desrcript blue-plastic cases. The disc itself includes a trailer, a vintage featurette, sing-along karaoke versions of the songs from the film and a nice, marginally entertaining reunion commentary track from the five golden-ticket holding kids, now grown adults with spotty memories. The most enjoyable and informative extra is the “Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” documentary. It’s short but sweet, like all the best confections!
Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Blu-ray Announcement Round-up: Gone With the Wind, Willy Wonka, Iron Monkey, Drunken Master, Hero, Zatoichi
