Films
/
Royal Wedding (1951)
Royal Wedding (1951) poster
Letterboxd

Royal Wedding (1951)

Music, Comedy, Romance • 1h 33m

Director: Stanley Donen

Cast: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill, Keenan Wynn, Albert Sharpe, Henri Letondal, Viola Roache, Bess Flowers, Mae Clarke, James Finlayson, Shirley Jean Rickert, Frank McLure, Bert Stevens, Margaret Bert, Andre Charisse, Richard Lupino

Letterboxd
IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best English-friendly & video release

HD Streaming

Updated 1 month ago


About the film

A brother and sister dance act encounter challenges and romance when booked in London during the Royal Wedding.

More from Stanley Donen

See more →

Director: Stanley Donen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Directors: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Stanley Donen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps comparing UHD vs BD: https://slow.pics/c/IVNrYoYW

For older Blu-ray: Criterion Blu-ray > Universal Blu-ray with slightly worse encoding > Japan Paramount or UK Park Circus Blu-ray with significantly flatter contrast (possibly Quicktime Gamma Bug?) see caps

Directors: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Sources: blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

1988 MGM/Turner Hi-Fi VHS

Audio Notes:

1988 MGM/Turner Hi-Fi VHS: Detailed and natural.

2008 R1 Warner Bros DVD - Frank Sinatra Collection: More muffled due to noise reduction.

2015 Warner Bros Blu-ray: Like the DVD but with a treble boost. Also a lossy transcode.

Full review from blah-ray

Directors: Stanley Donen & George Abbott

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Directors: George Abbott & Stanley Donen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Donen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Directors: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Donen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

More Music on Blu-ray

Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

"Sing-Along Edition" not included on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, only available on Netflix Streaming

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Japan Aniplex Blu-ray is severely lowpassed, which is not an issue on the US release

Director: Damien Chazelle

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Upcoming Release:

US Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray re-release announced with Dolby Vision, a new exclusive bonus, and the previously retailer pre-order bonus-exclusive/Hong Kong-exclusive bonus interviews in HD

Video Notes:

Italy Eagle Pictures has DV, better encode, and no brightness shifts compared to Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray for the original Dolby Atmos mix

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Panorama 4K Blu-ray has two interviews available in HD that are SD everywhere else and only included as retailer-exclusive pre-order bonus DVDs with the US Blu-ray

Directors: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK StudioCanal UHD

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Morton DaCosta

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray Nov 24th

Director: Julien Duvivier

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration

Director: Sofia Coppola

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

MUBI UK 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Lionsgate US release has incorrect gamma

Director: Anthony Mann

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Shout Factory Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Shout's BD has both cuts of the film in addition to the 3.0 stereo and  2.0 mono mixes making it the first time the full theatrical cut is available with the 3.0 mix. The new commentary is good. The 3.0 stereo sounds wonderful and the mono sounds solid.
That's where the positives end. This is the same terrible Universal DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc with a terrible encode making both versions share the disc separately taking up more space. This master was already poor for DVD and is nearly unwatchable here on the Shout disc. It looks virtually identical to the upscaled DVD most of the time with only a bit less noise due to it being 1080p. This is one of the most appalling cases of "DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc" you can possibly find. Absolutely shameful video presentation. This should have never been released this way. Sadly it's still ever so slightly better than the DVD and the only way you get the proper theatrical cut with lossless 3.0 stereo. This is still the best source we have for the film.

Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Imprint AU 4K is world UHD debut and encoded by FiM. Part of the The Cinema Of Powell & Pressburger - Collection Two set.

Edit history

1 edit

Researched and maintained by

vanshady

· last reviewed 1 month ago

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.