Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Family, Fantasy, Comedy • 1h 39m
Director: Mel Stuart
Cast: Gene Wilder, Peter Ostrum, Jack Albertson, Michael Bollner, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson, Paris Themmen, Nora Denney, Roy Kinnear, Leonard Stone, Ursula Reit, Günter Meisner, Diana Sowle, Aubrey Woods, David Battley, Peter Capell, Werner Heyking, Peter Stuart, Franziska Liebing, Ernst Ziegler, Dora Altmann, Pat Coombs, Michael Goodliffe, Kurt Großkurth, Stephen Dunne, Madeline Stuart, Gloria Manon, Walker Edmiston, Victor Beaumont, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Jack Latham, Michael Gahr, Ed Peck, Frank Delfino, Malcolm Dixon, George Claydon, Rusty Goffe, Ismed Hassan, Norman McGlen, Angelo Muscat, Pepi Poupee, Marcus Powell, Albert Wilkinson, Bob Roe
Best audio release
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
Additional info
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
UHD tiers
About the film
When eccentric candy man Willy Wonka promises a lifetime supply of sweets and a tour of his chocolate factory to five lucky kids, penniless Charlie Bucket seeks the golden ticket that will make him a winner.
- Featured Lists
- National Film Registry
Year of Induction: 2014
RiffTrax FilmsStudio commentary with Mike Nelson and Neil Patrick Harris
- Alternative Titles
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Director: Richard Brooks
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
4K restoration from safety preservation elements
Director: Elaine May
Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray > MoC > Olive Films. From nicolas:
The master is good but it’s not that big an upgrade from the Olive Films disc and Vinegar Syndrome’ encode has some blocky highlights. A shame that they didn’t hire David Mackenzie here.
Cinématographe has unnecessary noise gating not present on the previous releases.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
1.85:1: Kino Lorber 4K / Capelight 4K
1.66:1: Criterion 4K but low pass filtered
Comparison between the 4Ks, Criterion on the AR choice
Other discs have unnecessary filtering and sound worse, the difference isn't substantial but audible
Director: Dennis Hopper
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Flicker Alley 4K confirmed for 2027 https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24404584&postcount=1
MoC audio is better https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=225532&page=3
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Universal release without the filtering.
DTS:X mix on Universal 4K Blu-ray most closely approximates original surround mix
Criterion DVD and Universal 4K Blu-ray has additional features not found on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
WB 4K
Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)
An undeniably significant improvement from the BD yet still severely flawed. See DFIC's review.
Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper
Director: Orson Welles
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)
WB Europe 4K Blu-ray
WB Europe 4K Blu-ray slightly better encoding than Criterion (caveat: missing Criterion extras)
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)
All foreign language tracks were pitched too low, replacement disc and Ultimate Knockout Collection disc fixed the error.
The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.
Director: Sylvester Stallone
2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray Box Set
2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray Box Set > 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray
2023 disc has a brief moment where the aspect ratio changes from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, 2024 release fixed the error
Both cuts of the movie are on the same disc and don’t appear to be seamlessly branched.
The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.
Director: John G. Avildsen
Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)
Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc
Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc > Knockout collection original.
The Mono mix on the initial release of the Knockout Collection is a stereo fold-down of the 5.1, it also has a missing piano cue. The replacement disc and the ultimate knockout version fixed the error.
The Steelbook and UK standard edition is the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)
Original Knockout Collection release had its 5.1 mix pitched too low, replacement disc and Ultimate Knockout Collection fixed the error.
The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.
Director: Michael Anderson
Arrow 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release
More Family on Blu-ray
Director: George Pal
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Directors: David Hand & Ben Sharpsteen & William Cottrell & Larry Morey & Perce Pearce & Wilfred Jackson
Mono track is on the included Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray missing original mono. LaserDisc probably better
Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
StudioCanal's 4K release is similar in encode quality, but has significant glitches in multiple frames. See comparisons 9-16 here: https://slow.pics/c/YkSVb3Ey
The pitch of the StudioCanal 4K's English audio is too high
Criterion has more extras than StudioCanal.
Director: Paul King
StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray minimal picture upgrade (2K upscale)
StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray has good new Atmos mix
Director: Victor Fleming
3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro
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