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Santa Claus (1959)
Santa Claus (1959) poster
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Santa Claus (1959)

Family, Fantasy, Comedy • 1h 34m

Director: René Cardona

Cast: José Elías Moreno, Cesáreo Quezadas 'Pulgarcito', José Luis Aguirre, Armando Arriola, Lupita Quezadas, Antonio Díaz Conde hijo, Nora Veryán, Ángel Di Stefani

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best video release

Updated 1 month ago


About the film

Pitch, the mean-spirited devil, is trying to ruin Christmas. Santa Claus teams up with Merlin the Magician and the children of the world in order to save the day!

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RiffTrax Films

Live commentary with Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy

Alternative Titles
Santa Claus vs. the Devil

Featured in RiffTrax Films

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Director: Victor Fleming

4K · Solid
Best Video:

2D: Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

(caveat: "there's" in first "there's no place like home" utterance in final Kansas scene truncated)

Director: Roger Christian

Best Video:

Theatrical Version: Mill Creek Blu-ray

Home Video Version: Concorde Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Japan TC Entertainment Blu-ray has exclusive extras

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Best Video:

2D version: Paramount Blu-ray

3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray on October 26 2026

Director: Barry Mahon

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video:

SD: OOP Something Weird DVD

HD: Amazon Prime Streaming (with RiffTrax commentary)

Best Audio:

OOP Something Weird DVD

Director: Micky Dolenz

Video format: SD Streaming

Best Video:

OOP Hollywood Entertainment DVD or SD Streaming

Director: Steve Binder

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Best Video:

Unofficial DVD or Blu-ray

Director: Joel Schumacher

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo SR: WB LaserDisc

Theatrical Dolby Digital 5.1: WB LaserDisc AC3, 1997 WB DVD 5.1

2005 5.1 retransfer: 2005 WB DVD Dolby, DTS. WB Blu-ray TrueHD

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray has Atmos remixes with new effects and changes. The original matrix surround track is somewhat different in its mix than the 5.1 discrete but relatively the same.

Director: Joel Schumacher

Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo SR: WB LaserDisc (best audio mix of the film)

Dolby 5.1: WB LaserDisc AC3, WB DVD

2005 5.1 retransfer: WB DVD Dolby and DTS, WB Blu-ray TrueHD

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray has Atmos remixes with new effects and changes. The original matrix surround track is better mixed than the 5.1 discrete with more surround and low end engagement amazingly. It also hides the extensive ADR a bit due to the inherent quality dip comparing matrix to discrete formats.

Director: Mel Stuart

4K · Solid
Best Audio:

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

Director: Michael Curtiz

4K · Excellent
Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1984 Fox Hi-Fi VHS

More from VCI

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Director: Maurice Tourneur

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

VCI Blu-ray Dec 15th

Director: James Kirkwood

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

VCI Blu-ray Dec 15th

Director: Rouben Mamoulian

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray

Director: Wallace Fox

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray

Director: Robert F. Hill

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray

Director: William Dieterle

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

VCI Blu-ray Sep 22nd

Director: Luis Buñuel

Best Video:

US VCI Blu-ray or UK Second Run Blu-ray

Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

US VCI Blu-ray or UK Second Run Blu-ray share the same 4K restoration transfer and look essentially the same see caps

Best Audio:

2001 R2 Films Sans Frontières DVD

Director: Rudolph Maté

Best Video:

VCI Film Noir Classics Double Feature Blu-ray

Director: William Beaudine

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray

Video Notes:

No comparison but the VCI Blu-ray is a newer 4K scan while the OOP Milestone Blu-ray is an HD scan

Directors: Cecil B. DeMille & Joseph Levering

Best Video:

VCI Blu-ray

More Family on Blu-ray

Director: Govindan Aravindan

Best Video:

Criterion World Cinema Project Vol 5 Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration

Director: Frank Oz

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: George Pal

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Directors: David Hand & Ben Sharpsteen & William Cottrell & Larry Morey & Perce Pearce & Wilfred Jackson

4K · Excellent
Best Video:

Disney 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Mono track is on the included Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray missing original mono. LaserDisc probably better

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

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 

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

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 

Director: Richard Lester

4K · Excellent
Best Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

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

Audio Notes:

The pitch of the StudioCanal 4K's English audio is too high

Additional Info:

Criterion has more extras than StudioCanal.

Director: Paul King

4K · Solid
Best Video & Audio:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray minimal picture upgrade (2K upscale)

Audio Notes:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray has good new Atmos mix

Director: David Butler

Best Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Simon Wells

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo: THX Certified Laserdisc

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Researched and maintained by

JojoTheMovieOtter

· last reviewed 1 month ago

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