Rating: 
Summary: Great classic that has stood the test of time
Review: Amazingly, I only just rented this movie and saw it for the first time this week, and I was pleased to see how well this legendary Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart classic had held up. Stewart won the Academy award for best actor in 1939 for his performance as the idealistic young senator from Montana who triumphs against dirty politics and overwhelming odds--including the collusion and corruption of those who he admired and thought to be his friends--such as his fellow Senator Paine, played by the great Claude Rains. I was equally impressed by Rains's part, and his dramatic reversal of his position toward Stewart at the very end and confession in the Senate chamber about his cooperating with the corrupt Taylor political machine has to be one of the most moving, climatic scenes in cinema--except that Stewart had just passed out from exhaustion after his marathon filibuster--so he didn't get a chance to witness it himself.I was discussing the movie with someone who knows more about film than I do, and they said that the movie showed what tremendous range Stewart had, from joy to despair, from energetic exhuberance to exhaustion, and from his initial naive idealism about Washington to his quickly wising up about the realities of politics. They said Stewart really never had a chance to show as great a range of emotion during much of the rest of his career, since he was often cast in light-hearted and humorous roles after that. I thought this was an interesting comment about one of America's most famous and loved actors, as his part in Rear Window was certainly a very serious role, but again, I'm not an expert on film history so I offer this comment for what it's worth. Overall, still a great classic that has stood the test of time, and a must see for fans of old movies, especially Jimmy Stewart, Claude Rains, and Frank Capra fans. And I can't forget to mention the rest of the supporting cast--Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Arnold, and Guy Kibbee--are also superb.
Rating:
Summary: A must see
Review: I was shown this movie by my 12th grade government teacher, Mr. Jones. Now that I am a teacher, I find this to be a great resource for students. It puts an entertaining spin on a subject that high school students sometimes find tedious and tough to understand, our government. In addition to the above mentioned qualities, I find that watching this movies allows me to believe that our Representitives, at one time, stood for what they belive in and govern in a responsible and ethical manner. Congress should have to sit and watch this on a monthly basis, just as a reminder :-)
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie Classic With An forever Important Message!
Review: This film is what film making is or should be about. The exitement and drama are not only high but of a very real nature. The story tells us that no matter how great and wonderful we think our country is, we still need to work at keeping it great while holding on to the great ideals set down in our constitution by the nation's founders. the film's "hero," Jefferson Smith tells us that even today we can fight against corruption and special interest groups influencing our government if we just get off our pop cultured couch potatoe and do something about it!
This film offers too an amazingly powerful cast and great acting. This is a great Capra legacy and DVD to have in your collection!!!
Rating:
Summary: WOW- what more is there to say?
Review: What an amazing, heart-felt drama. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is all about an innocent small-town man elected to the Senate by other senators who want to take advantage of his honesty and innocence and lack of knowledge about America. The ideals in this movie really make you appreciate America. I first got it from the library for no reason. Wow. There isn't much more to say. Wow. Some people think it's boring or too slow-paced, but I say, what would you cut out? The beauty of the movie is that every moment is crucial to the movie's success. I haven't seen it on DVD, but I know the VHS is great, and the DVD probably is too.
Rating:
Summary: This should be shown in the classroom!
Review: I first saw this in my People and Politics classroom, and if you teach that subject or a similar one, or are interested in that, you cannot go wrong with this movie. James Stewart is an awesome actor, as usual. He plays a bumbling Boy Ranger leader chosen by corrupt officals to play a sitting stooge while they follow through with a plan to bilk money out of people. What happens is pure gold, and the humor is quite good. It does get tedious at times, if you dont like watching the parts about how Congress works, but if you dont mind that, its a terrific movie! And the ending is superb! Great for kids too!
Rating: 
Summary: Bleh
Review: It's an unfunny comedy that set the archetype for most of Adam Sandler's movies -- generally earnest man from leftfield unexpectedly gets position of influence in _____ (golf, education, football, corporate infastructure), where the bad guys rule, and where, slowly but surely, he wins flocks of converts the the good side, eventually overcoming the evildoers schemes or converting the evil ones to good -- , only without the humor (often lowbrow, but at least occasionally funny) of Sandler. In fact, you are probably just as well off watching Mr Deeds as you are Mr Smith. The only truely comic aspect andreal value of this movie, the reason it's considered a classic, I believe, is in its astute and incisive political commentary/comedy. Rent this, you probably won't consider buying it once you've seen it, it's one of those movies that does a great job at following or setting middle standards, but has little to offer beyond that and some politics.
Rating: 
Summary: Maybe I'm just a cynical Washingtonian
Review: I've lived in Washington, DC for about 8 years now. You can't avoid the political headlines here if you wanted to. You kind of pick these things up. So I decided to rent "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I'd heard all the hype about what a great patriotic movie it was; about how it shows what it means to be a great American; about how proud it makes the viewer to live in such a wonderful democracy. I finished the movie rather disillusioned. It's difficult to explain why without giving away the ending, but I'll try: Jefferson Smith is tapped to fill the seat of a US Senator from some unnamed state after the elected senator dies. We're clearly shown from the beginning that he's not meant to be there as a man of principle; he's there to be a pawn of the other Senator from that state (Sen. Paine), and Sen. Paine cares about nothing but padding the pockets of one VERY powerful, rich, and influential private citizen (James Taylor). When Sen. Smith's one pet project threatens to run headlong into Mr. Taylor's plans to make money, however, Sen. Smith finds himself firmly in the cross-hairs not only of Mr. Taylor, but also of Sen. Paine (who will do anything -- and I do mean anything) to maintain his corrupt dealings in the Congress of the United States. So what disheartened me is, frankly, the way the movie ended. DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE. Sen. Smith's battle is hard-fought, and yes, you feel like he's the hero for standing up for the principles of democracy, etc. etc.... But he's fighting a losing battle. Were it not for that strange change-of-heart in (literally) the final minute of the movie, Sen. Smith WOULD have lost, and the Fat Cats would have won. And, frankly, I can't imagine that that last-minute change-of-heart would ever actually occur in any modern political climate. So yes, this movie is about democracy, but not the way I thought. The movie instead comes perilously close to sending a message that the laws in this country are actually passed by rich, powerful men who have only their own personal interests in mind and not those of the Common Man. It highlights the seedy underbelly of the way the laws of this country are passed. I didn't walk away from this movie proud of the way the Framers intended the U.S. Senate to work. I came away from this movie thinking that it was just too close to reality, where special interests dominate the lawmaking process and the little guy who stands up for truth and righteousness gets run over by the unstoppable political machine.
Rating:
Summary: Hasn't lost its power in over sixty years
Review: MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON remains after sixty years one of the most compelling political films ever made. If Thomas Jefferson Smith's wide-eyed patriotism seems naive and overly innocent following decades that have seen McCarthyism, Vietnam, the rise of the Industrial-Military complex that Eisenhower warned us against, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and an attempted right wing cabal (via a partisan impeachment trial), perhaps this says more about where events have taken us rather than where it would be good for us to be. More depressing is the fact that the Senate (and the House) look more like the people Jefferson Smith opposes in the film, than Smith. What makes this film continue to be such riveting viewing despite the very different world in which we live? Much of the script is part of the reason. There is a great deal of first-rate dialogue (even if portions seem a bit outdated), and some of Smith's speeches remain enormously effecting. But if I had to point to a primary reason, it is the acting. Put different actors in several key roles, and a film that might have been watchable in 1939 would be unviewable today. Jimmy Stewart makes this film. Has there been another actor who could have played this role, imbuing it with equal parts charming naivete, passionate patriotism, unmitigated optimism, and everyday wisdom while not in any sense making Mr. Smith look silly? I doubt it. Jean Arthur in several films managed the transition from cynic to believer as well as anyone short of Barbara Stanwyck. The film features a long and rich number of supporting actors, from Claude Rains to Thomas Mitchell to Edward Arnold to Eugene Pallette. But my favorite was Harry Carey, who plays the President of the Senate, though more with his eyes and smile as much as his voice. Carey had been one of the great stars of the silent screen in Westerns, but for some inexplicable reason never found the same success in sound. John Wayne often paid homage to Carey by physically mimicking gestures that were identified with Carey, in particular standing akimbo, with one arm laying across his chest to grasp his other arm just above the elbow. When Wayne made that gesture, it was as good as 'quoting' Carey, and all Western fans would recognize it as such. The cast is crucial, because even by 1939 standards, the entire story is more than a little naive, but the actors managed to 'sell' the story magnificently. The result is nothing short of magnificent. This film had a huge impact on the 1940 Best Oscar decision. Today, looking back on 1940, I don't think there is any question that Henry Fonda clearly deserved the award for his work in THE GRAPES OF WRATH. His portrayal of Tom Joad is one of the great performances by an actor in the history of American cinema, not merely the finest performance that year. Yet, Jimmy Stewart won instead for his role of Macauley 'Mike' Connor in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, an award that he clearly didn't win compared to Henry Fonda's Tom Joad. Why? The Academy voters felt bad that he hadn't won the year before for his superb performance in MR. SMITH. In one of the most competitive Oscar competitions for Best Actor ever, Robert Donat managed an upset victory over Stewart, Clark Gable in GONE WITH THE WIND, and Laurence Olivier in WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Fonda didn't feel too badly, since he and Stewart were lifelong best friends.
Rating:
Summary: A capracorn masterpiece!
Review: This film is a landmark masterpiece right up there with such classics as "Casablanca" and "Gone With the Wind". About a starry-eyed, patriotic, ambitious, young boy scout ranger who gets honorarily elected to a seat in the U.S. senate -after one of the senators dies-and finds out the reality of the corruptness eminating in the federal government and its way of manipulating the system, this movie certainly is a Capracorn masterpiece! Young senator Stewart also meets a beautiful, smart-mouthed, but helpful, secretary affectionately(?)"nick-named" Saunders along the way who shows him the ropes and just exactly how corrupt the government is. Well, along comes a fillibuster adventure, a newspaper full of nonsense, and quite alot of disappointed citizens. But, when everything finally straightens itself out, the corruptness dissipates. This is a gem of a movie that will go on thrilling and touching the lives of its audiences for decades to come!
Rating:
Summary: One of our best movies
Review: Ah, 1939...the year brought us Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach, and of course, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, considered by many to be Capra's finest film and one of Stewart's best performances. And Jean Arthur was great in the film too. As was Claude Rains. And Joseph Walker's cinematography was beautiful. Mr. Smith is the typical Capra movie, the little guy fights the machine, patriotic, and touching. It gets a little melodramatic at the very end of the movie, but other than that it is a wonderful film. It's not the type of movie I normally like, but Capra, Stewart, Rains, Jean Arthur and Joseph Walker do such a great job, that I can't help but love the film. The dvd contains a featurette, Frank Capra, Jr. looks back and a commentary track by Capra, Jr. You don't get much of an insight from Capra Jr (after all, he was only like 4 or 5 when the film was made), but he does give some nice background, history and stories about his father. And it is interesting to watch when he gets silent--when the film captivates him so much that he stops talking and watches the movie. Not as good as a director's commentary, but since Sr is dead, Jr does well enough.
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