You Can't Take It with You

Rating:
Summary: Capra's second best
Review: ...after It's a Wonderful Life. I liked it far better than Deeds, Mr. Smith, and Lost Horizon among others. Suprisingly joyous and funny, with a young Stewart and the irrepressible Lionel Barrymore.

Rating:
Summary: Frank Capra + Moss Hart & George Kauffman = ??
Review: A fine Frank Capra comedy featuring Jimmy Stewart at his most boyish and gangly, and Jean Arthur as the girl of his dreams. It's a comedy of mismatched lovers: Stewart plays the son of a cold-hearted business tycoon (Edward Arnold) who looks forward to the coming world war as a way to make a killing on the stock market. In the path of Dad's capitalistic machinations lies a family of carefree bohemian kooks, whose open, life-affirming attitude holds together the neighborhood where Arnold hopes to build his next munitions factory. And guess what? Surprise...!! Jean Arthur's character also just happens to be the object of his son's affections. Into this "Dharma & Greg"-like scenario, add Lionel Barrymore as her saintly, eccentric father, who was once a businessman but then dropped out and now spends his days smiling at life, following his passions, and encouraging others to do the same.

In all honesty, although the film is charming, it isn't Capra's best work -- adapted from a stage play by George Kauffman and Moss Hart, it shouts out its kookiness, and has the feel of an off-Broadway production gone awry. The scenes that are meant to show how wacky her family is often play out too broadly, with shouting and grand gestures and a flurry of chaotic action -- dancing, xylophone playing, cooking, painting, newspaper rustling, fireworks going off -- and all of it happening at once. It's too obvious and dramatically weak... Plus, Stewart really hasn't found his feet yet as a star actor. On the other hand, both Barrymore and Arnold give delightfully strong performances, and Jean Arthur is *always* easy on the eyes. Even when slightly muddled, Capra is still better than practically anything coming out comedywise from Hollywood today. A charming 'Thirties comedy.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good of a movie as you might think.
Review: A Frank Capra film, with a cast of Jimmy Stewart and Lionel Barrymore? How could a movie like this go wrong? Well, you might be surprised.

I watched You Can't Take It With You on one of our family nights in our den. We popped the movie in, and figured on enjoying an evening of cinematic enjoyment comparable to It's A Wonderful Life. By the end of the movie, my opinion had changed.

Basically, besides the love story between Stewart's character, which is almost a side plot, the movie is about a pack of pirates who don't do anything...they just stay at home and lie around! Jimmy Stewart is pretty much the only thing that held this movie together for me, and the only reason that I finished the movie is that I hate to leave a movie started, but not finished.

Watch this movie only if you have some time, and can stand to be a little bored, or if you, like me, hadn't ever seen Lionel Barrymore in a movie as a GOOD guy.

Rating:
Summary: The Only Screwball Comedy to win Best Picture Oscar
Review: A series of supurlatives make this film a special treasure:
1) the Kaufman-Hart play skillfully adapted for a movie setting, 2) Frank Capra at his best--humor, warmth, message, great actors, and terrific story line. 3)Lionel Barrymore's only flaw as an actor was that he was 50 years old before sound was introduced in 1927. Even with this limitation he won an Oscar (1931) and in this film he is absolutely at the top of his game. 4) Jimmy Stewart, one year prior to his Mr. Smith fame, is absolutely stunning with his off beat humor ("You're so beautiful it gags me!" "You never asked me, she did!") 5) Mischa Auer, never seen him in another role, but hilarious here--particularly the wrestling scenes with Edward Arnold, 6) A series of other less prominent but terrific performances, Jean Arthur, Ann Miller (only 18 here at the start of a spectacular career), Spring Byington (Oscar nominated for her daffy role as the mother/daughter), the cat, Mr. Poppins, the IRS man, the Judge, and the thread that ties it all together: the "Home Sweet Home" sign that keeps falling off the wall. And amidst all this hysterical chaos a heart-warming message: Take the time to enjoy each moment. Your can't take it with you.

Rating:
Summary: Overdone version of a great play.
Review: Although a very nicely done capra film, this version is too similar to Its a Wonderful Life.

I would recommend the 1992 PBS version with Jason Robards.

Rating:
Summary: Great classic movie, awful DVD
Review: As other reviewers have noted, "You Can't Take It with You" is a CLASSIC movie with a great cast and storyline. **However, this DVD is so poor in quality that I would recommend waiting for another release. It is obvious that this film has not been restored whatsoever. The picture is fuzzy and even jumps a bit at some points. **The sound quality is HORRENDOUS.** Even with the volume at full blast, parts of conversation are simply inaudible. I even tinkered with the treble and bass to try to make it a little clearer, but nothing worked. If you're absolutely desperate to own a copy of this movie now, then get it. But at least try to find a better deal in price.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest classics ever!
Review: Based on the play of the same name, this movie is one that truely stands out as a masterpiece! With a brilliant cast, including the great Jimmy Stewart, this romanitic comedy film is one everyone should add to their collection. The winner of the 1938 Academy Award for best picture, this is a great film!

Rating:
Summary: Great film, Poor DVD
Review: First of all, this film is great, and deserves to be owned by any classic movie fan. It has some of the greatest stars that have ever been on-screen, together! This is easily a favourite of mine, with Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore AND Frank Capra, you cant go wrong with watching this.

This film easily deserves the 5 stars, but I take one away because of this very disappointing release from Columbia on DVD. Many of Columbia's releases of classic movies on DVD have been poor ('Awful Truth' comes straight to mind) while others have great releases ('It Happened One Night' for an example).

I will start with the picture quality. It is full of scratching, throughout the film, and in all honesty, it does kind of look like a video. Still, saying this, it is actually watchable, but what a poor effort.

Now for the sound. Ok, this is the real problem. The sound is really quite bad. It is full of hissing, and becomes annoying. Its listenable, but oh, they could have done a lot better here.

The extras. Well, there isnt much to say really, is there? There are nothing for you on this disc.

This DVD is worth getting, but I only say this because of the film itself. What a poor release for such a wonderful film. Hopefully, Columbia will re-release this soon, with a better print, better sound, and some decent extras. If only this could have been more like their release of Capra's other classic, 'It Happened One Night'.

Dont avoid this DVD, but just dont expect much.

PLEASE NOTE: Since I am in England, I own the Region 2 release. It appears to be no different to this Region 1 release though.

Rating:
Summary: Wait for a better version on DVD if you can
Review: I absolutely love this movie, which is the only reason it gets three stars instead of none. The quality of the transfer of this movie is horrible. There are all kinds of nicks, scratches and even a momentary blackout. I wish Columbia cared more about its customers. It's clear they only wanted to get this movie out on DVD, regardless of the print quality. Although it advertises Trailers, the trailer for this film is not here. It is also not in widescreen format. If you can wait, I would do so. This version of the film is better than none, BUT NOT BY MUCH!

Rating:
Summary: Do you like your Kaufman & Hart with a side of Capracorn?
Review: I can just see it now: peppy, confident little Frank Capra, going up to tall, dyspeptic George S. Kaufman with a big smile on his face. "Well, George," Capra says, "what do you think of my movie version of `You Can't Take It With You?'" Kaufman slowly removes his glasses and looks at Capra like a side of creamed spinach he hadn't ordered. "Mr. Capra," Kaufman says, "not much." Despite what Kaufman and his partner Moss Hart must have thought, however, I love the version of "You Can't Take It With You" that Capra and his regular screenwriter Robert Riskin concocted. Certainly Capra and Riskin take enormous liberties with the Kaufman & Hart original; they create new characters and jettison others (goodbye Grand Duchess Olga, hello Mr. Poppins); they introduce the income tax subplot with Grandpa Vanderhof, then abruptly drop it; and, above all, they add all the little-man glorification that was the Capra trademark, and absolutely antithetical to the airy lightness of the Kaufman esthetic. And yet I find I like Capra's conception at least as well as Kaufman's. For one thing, Capra was as masterful in staging gags as Kaufman was, and perhaps even better at telling a story; the Capra movie is totally engrossing throughout its two-hour-plus running time. For another, Capra knew how to direct actors, and to attract the very best actors to his projects. The Capra "You Can't Take It With You" has an incredibly brilliant cast, with all the actors working at the top of their game. Lionel Barrymore was superb at playing hateful old curmudgeons, as he proved in "It's a Wonderful Life;" he was even better at playing lovable old codgers, and his Grandpa Vanderhof is a marvel. You also have the outstanding romantic chemistry of the great James Stewart and the incomparable Jean Arthur, she of the Noble Roman beauty and endearingly froggy voice; the great Edward Arnold, playing his specialty--a smug fat cat--with conviction and aplomb; and a positive cornucopia of wonderful character actors including Mischa Auer, Spring Byington, the sprightly Ann Miller (was she REALLY only 15 when she made this movie?), the ineffable Dub Taylor (30 years before Bonnie & Clyde), and the aptly named Donald Meek. If Kaufman's version was the precursor of Neil Simon and the better sitcoms (Cheers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Capra is more like a prototype John Irving (though merely flirting with tragedy, rather than embracing it). Kaufman won the Pulitzer, Capra the Oscar, and all I can say is that they both deserved them. I have seen two TV versions of the original Kaufman-Hart play: one with Art Carney and Jean Stapleton, the other (a taping of a 1980s Broadway revival) with Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst. I believe the latter is on video; in any case, we have both the Kaufman and Capra versions, and we are lucky to have both.