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Summary: Stop everything and get this DVD
Review: If you're reading this because you're not sure whether or not you should get this movie, then drop everything and order it immediately. This is the definitive holiday tradition. You must watch this movie every Christmas or you're just not a human being.This is the classic story of compassion, discouragement, loyalty, greed and its consequences, sacrifice, family values, honor, commitment, love, and the immeasurable value of each and every human being that God has placed on this earth.
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Summary: Classic!!!!!
Review: You would have to be the biggest grouch on earth NOT to love this film. It goes without saying, though I am, that this is THE classic American Christmas movie. Each time I see it, I discover something new and memorable.--Diana Dell...
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Summary: One Of Jimmy Stewart's BEST Performances!!! Two Thumbs UP!!!
Review: Academy-Award winners Jimmy Stewart and Thomas Mitchell star in Oscar-winning director Frank Capra's It's A Wonderfull Life. Jimmy Stewart tackles suicide in this touching family classic, something I have been struggling with for over two years. He should have won the Oscar for Best Actor as the film should've won ALL the Oscars it was nominated for. A GREAT way to spend 2hrs 40 minutes. Rated G.General Audiences. Parents,grab your kids and sit 'em down in your laps to watch this timeless claasic. Black/White. 2hrs 40 mins. Rated G.
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Summary: This is the Bob Dylan greatest hits of the film academy
Review: I never tire of seeing this film. My heart rejoices and breaks back and forth. It goes over the edge in one direction but finds salvation in that scene where Jimmy Stewart let's all his frustration and pain out, at his wife (Donna Reed) and children, toward the end of the movie. Who hasn't been there? You give so much for others and yet must suffer the imcompetence and shortsightedness of their personalities. He's torn apart yet holds true to his values. Is he real or just fiction? I think there's a million George Bailey's in the world. They live quiet productive lives. This is about a guy like so many who are never recognized. This guy bleeds. This guy gives. This guy lives in your town. Just need to find him.
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Summary: It's A Wonderful Film!
Review: It's A Wonderful Life is a fine film. Jimmy Stewart gives his greatest, most typical performance as nice, but troubled guy, George Bailey. He's given a miserable time of it, until he can take no more. And then he's shown by the angel Clarence Oddbody (a superb Henry Travers)what things would have been like had he never existed. You've seen the plot cribbed time after time. Here it is done at its very best. People accuse Capra of sentimentality. And this is partly correct. But there is a subtle difference between Capra's sentimentality and the sentimentality of most other mainstream Hollywood directors. Capra lacks cynicism. Rightly or wrongly, he is 100% behind his 'One man can make a difference' philosophy. He isn't manipulating his audience. He's presenting you with what he believes. And by the end of It's A Wonderful Life he'll have you believing it too. I've never come out of a cinema so pumped up as after seeing It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen. It is life-affirming stuff. The cast, handpicked by Capra, are uniformly excellent. Donna Reed is surprisingly good as Mary. And Lionel Barrymore is on inspired form as Mr Potter (the character who influenced Mr Burns in the Simpsons), wheelchair bound and bitter. It has loads of laughs, loads of warmth, and, well, it's just as near perfect as you could hope to expect. And: It's A Wonderful Life is not just for Christmas. It actually has next to nothing to do with Christmas, and can be enjoyed at any time of the year. The featurette, narrated by Tom Bosley, is far more saccharine than the film itself - Bosley appears in woolly jumper stoking a fire, it's laughable. But it's the film itself that's important anyway, so watch Bosley once and then ignore him. Watch It's A Wonderful Life over and over again.
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Summary: Wonderful Film
Review: The word film classic gets thrown around quite a bit, but very few films actually deserve that appellation. It's A Wonderful Life definitely deserves to labeled as such. It is probably the most beloved film ever made. Interestingly, the film was a major flop when it was released in 1946. It sat around in the vaults as a forgotten movie until it's copyright expired. The film became public domain and in the time of television, that meant stations could air it without paying for the rights to do so. Even though it is not a Christmas film, the fact that the movie ending takes place on Christmas, stations aired the film incessantly around the holidays. The movie became traditional watching for families and has since become so associated with Christmas that one could mark the season with the movie's airing. The film itself is a morality tale and one of the darkest and disturbing film performances of Jimmy Stewart's career. We follow the downward spiral of Mr. Stewart's George Bailey. He has high ideals and wants to travel the world, but ends up doing the right thing by taking over his father's savings and loan business in Bedford Falls. He world eventually crashes down around him when his Uncle Billy loses an important bank deposit. George wishes he was never born and an angel Clarence shows him what life would have been like without him. The moral of the story is that we touch so many people in so many different ways and every person's life is important. It's A Wonderful Life has risen above being just a mere movie, it has become a true piece of Americana and a holiday tradition.
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Summary: There are none better!
Review: That's right. Hands down this is the best film of all time. Sure it's sentimental, but I guarantee that even a cursory watching of this film will move you. Life doesn't seem worth living for George Bailey. His Savings and Loan is threatened, Harry Potter has called the police on him, and he is ready to jump from Bedford Falls' nearest high bridge...until Clarence intervenes. Through Clarence, ASC (Angel Second Class - an angel without his wings), George receives a wonderful gift - the chance to see what life would be like if he had never been born. Bedford Falls is named Pottersville. There is no Bailey Savings and Loan. George's brother is dead. Mr. Gower, the pharmacist, is a bum. Says Clarence, "Each man's life touches so many other lives. If he wasn't around it would leave an awful hole." Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed are unforgettable. It's a film that has everything - romance, humor, failure, and success. If you've never seen nor heard of this delightful movie you're missing out. Rent or buy it today!
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Summary: Capra's and Stewart's Personal Bests
Review: A beautifully crafted film that proved to be the apex of triple Oscar-winner (1934, 1936, 1938) Frank Capra's distinguished career, and the epitome of his cycle of works celebrating the "common man". Mr. Deeds found himself suddenly wealthy, Mr. Smith went to Washington as a Senator, and John Doe became the focus of a socio-political movement; but "Life"'s George Bailey never distinguishes himself outside of his small hometown of Bedford Falls --- his brother Harry is the one who becomes a war hero, and his friend Sam Wainwright is the one who achieves financial success. George's triumph is simply his personal integrity, his code of ethics, and his strength of character --- his goodness, if you will --- during the unexciting course of his ordinary, mundane existence. In this respect, George is more an Everyman than any other Capra protagonist, inviting strong audience identification and response. In one of the most exquisite performances ever given in an American film, James Stewart is superb as George. It's not an easy role to play because so much screen time is spent focusing on George's subtle reactions to the world around him. One incredible moment comes at the train station when George slowly begins to absorb the news of his brother's recent marriage and new career opportunity, and how his brother's fortune will destroy his own hopes of leaving Bedford Falls and the family business. Stewart's face is extraordinary in this scene, as surprised realization fades into quiet disappointment and finally, gentle graciousness and acceptance. Stewart's tour de force is given strong support by a superb cast of Capra stalwarts, including Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, H. B. Warner, and the phenomenal Beulah Bondi (as George's mother). And Donna Reed, in one of her first romantic leading roles after a number of years playing supporting ingenues and bits, is excellent in the warm but unglamorous role of George's loving wife, Mary. The Republic Home Video DVD is definitely the edition of this classic to own. Like the LaserDisc before it, the DVD offers a crystal clear, beautifully restored film-to-video transfer which will amaze and delight anyone who is familiar only with the horrible multi-generational VHS cassettes, or the awful colorized version, that were commonly screened back in the late 1970's and 1980's. There are some nice bonus features on the DVD, including a "making of" documentary and the theatrical trailer. This is one DVD that you'll never regret adding to your home theatre collection! Trivia note: If you're a fan of this movie, try finding a copy of film historian David Thomson's 1985 novel "Suspects" which continues George's story and relates the characters from this movie to many others (did you know that Donna Reed's "Mary Bailey" is actually the sister of Gene Tierney's "Laura"?!, etc.) ... great fun!
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Summary: Love The Movie But...
Review: The format of the DVD has me bit puzzled. When I opened the package I noticed that it was a two sided disc. I thought this was because there was a wide-screen and a regular format to the film. But when I looked closer I realized that the supplemental material is on the second side. I know that it did not need to be done this way, so I'm curious why they made it so. This is only a minor annoyance though on an otherwise wonderful and funny movie. I would buy it again, even if I hate having to flip the disc over to see the extra materials.
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Summary: It's A Wonderful Movie
Review: George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending them all- and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As he is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all of George's good deeds over the years.
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