videogames is one word

A Hard Day's Night was released as a QuickTime-based CD-ROM the same year. I bet it's a lot easier to play than this was, but it had the advantage of someone else making the video player app/ecosystem. I admit these proto-DVD features and menus are super cool tho. https://archive.org/details/aharddaysnight1993

That's fascinating

the script being synced up to the film is WILD. i don't think i've encountered that as a feature on any dvd or blu-ray, even as one of the early selling points of the latter was their ability to create branching looping interconnected features. i have to imagine the UI for such a thing is a lot more intuitive on pc with a mouse & keyboard, as opposed to remotes or controllers. maybe the closest i've seen is that some animated films will let you side-by-side the finished film with the previs version, though most often they limit those to specific scenes. otherwise, at best you'll have the script included on disc as a separate feature that you can read in utter silence on your tv screen :/

also re: It's A Wonderful Life, it was considered generally mid on release as it was Frank Capra's first post-WWII film after the five year period when Hollywood was diverted to making war propaganda. but its lack of success meant broadcast rights were cheap in the 70s / 80s and became a holiday mainstay just by having been on all the time. so i think it's easy to look at dismissively from its omnipresent cultural status, but it is a genuinely fantastic film about rejecting alienation and coming together as a community to push back against a parasitic capitalist. great script and cinematography, absolutely deserves its place in the canon.

I don't think it's too surprising someone cared this much about it, it's probably the one Christmas movie with a lot of cultural clout that really, truly is as great as people say it is.

Would you happen to have any advice or instructions on an easy way to get this to run? My step dad absolutely loves It's A Wonderful Life, and I'm sure he'd get a kick out of something like this. I've downloaded the zip file from IA, opened up the first iso file, and I see something listed as "Setup" as an application, which I'm assuming is the built in video player you mentioned? I also see a "IAWL" listed as an application. Neither will open though on my Windows 11 computer. Get an error stating "This app can't run on your PC". I tried putting it in compatibility mode going back to Windows 95 and nothing.

I've never done anything with getting old software to run on modern machines, and i'm not really sure where to start. If you have any advice it'd be appreciated, thanks!

Edit: I might've answered my own question. I installed winevdm and It's a Wonderful Life basically worked immediately after clicking on "Setup". It threw an error or two I mostly just clicked to skip, and chose where to save it on my computer. It then opened that folder once it was done (again, threw some error saying something couldn't install). But then once I clicked on the shortcut in the install location, (Labeled "It's a Wonderful Life") it opened up and worked without any problem. Sound worked and everything. The only thing is I had to click the boxes beneath the video to get things to show up (such as the play/ pause button), but seems to be working fine.

I am the target audience for this CDROM. I love It’s a Wonderful Life and I love insane bonus features. This thing is a marvel and I’m so happy it exists. (Incidentally, the tidbit the CDROM mentions about Bert and Ernie has been debunked; the naming of the Sesame Street characters had nothing to do with the film. It does later get referenced in a Sesame Street special though, wherein It’s a Wonderful Life plays on a TV in the background and Bert and Ernie get confused when they hear their names.)

1993's the exact year that ratfuckery brought it "back" into copyright. Makes me wonder if they developed this under the impression it was wholly free to use and had to license it at the last minute?

I have to say, that's such a clever way to try to add some value to a low-resolution movie—add lots of extra features and make the UX a rich one. it's very cool