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Summary: What If??
Review: A great and timeless classic,best for the holiday season when people may sit down and reflect on the past and hope for the future. A wonderful story about second chance and cherish what you have and care for people you love. James Stewart was totally superb in his role of George Bailey.Apparently George lost hope in life and wanted to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. His fate changed when he met a 'man'(his guardian angel) who came to show his envisions and the 'What If'(s) of his future life. He took George to places that meant something to him and how things turned out if he succeed in taking his own life,etc... He showed George there still hope and warm in his life and care and support from his family. Excellent direction by Frank Capra who gave this film a touch of magic.A terrific film,Marvelous all round. "It's a Wonderful Life" is a wonderful,compelling,touching story. It showed the real meaning of living and importances of family and love.
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Summary: I'm even a kid....And I loved it
Review: It's a all time classic wether you watch it as a family or just by yourself! I garatee there will be just a little something that touches you or even makes the tears drop!
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Summary: It's A Wonderful Classic
Review: If you have seen this movie and you say to yourself after wiping away a few tears, "They don't make them like this anymore", chances are, you might be right. This movie has a lot of heart, and it's not only a movie for the holidays, but a movie for all seasons. It stars James (Jimmy) Stewart who plays the lead character George Baily. Baily is a likable man with a lot of ambition as a kid growing up which stays with him until adult hood. Determined to leave his small town of Bedford Falls to travel around Europe, then go to college to pursue an engineering career. His plans deteriorates as his father passes away and he ends up with the family bank and loan business. He ends up marrying Mary Hatch, played by Donna Reed which seemed to be the best thing that could of happened to George. Always hassled by Mr. Potter, a mean old greedy rich man, to sell out the Baily family business. George wouldn't sell out, thus making Mr. Potter very angry towards George. Potter finds his revenge when he withholds funds of $8000 misplaced by Baily's uncle. George knowing he would be jailed for the missing money gets very depressed and really begins to hate his life. God sends an angel to set his life straight and the climax of the story takes place from here. "It's A Wonderful Life" is truly a timeless classic, in every sense of the word, and it will be enjoyed throughout the coming ages.
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Summary: Pure and simple: It's a wonderful movie!
Review: I started my yearly ritual of wathcing this movie back in my teen years. While technically not a Christmas movie is has become adopted as one. The real point is that life is worth living and that everyone truly matters. George Biley had to find out the hard way - what becomes of life when only one person is not there to affect outcomes. This movie is wonderfully acted and the overall message is a beautiful one. I still make it part of my Christmas tradition. Interesting note: the kid that is talking to Mary in the gym dance - she's distracted from his story when she sees George: that kid played Alfalfa in the Little Rascals!
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Summary: A must watch for every Christmas
Review: I love this film and it ranks third on my all time favorite movie list. The first time I watched this was when I was 9, but never really appriciated it until I got older. The movie has a simple message: No man is a failure if he has friends. My sister keeps asking me through the years, "Why do you like this movie?". It's simple. It's about looking out for the little guy, which is what George Bailey does. He did everything he could to keep that building and loan open. He is smart, well-liked, and never thinks about himself. With that, there is no way you can hate George Bailey. He wants his friends and others to have an alternative to Harry Potter (the Lex Luthor of his time). We can also relate to George because every once in a while, our lives fall into a rutt. We feel that nothing has been accomplished in our lives, but that is not the case. Sometimes people need to stop and see what's around them. Like others, there are certain parts I get choked up on. Especially the ending. And remember...every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings".
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Summary: The Second Most Important Christmas Story
Review: The only other Christmas story that is more important than Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" is found in the New Testament of the Bible! This film is wonderful. It should be a Christmas tradition for every American family. The message should resonate through our lives all year long, and not just at Christmas; it is that important of a message. This edition of the film is wonderful because it is not spoiled by the colorization. It is Capra's classic Christmas tale as it is meant to be enjoyed, and as it has been enjoyed for more than 50 years.
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Summary: "Wonderful Life" Just Half of the Perfect Double Feature!!
Review: Crystal clarity and outstanding sound quality make this DVD a "can't miss" purchase for any Christmas list. However, the universal themes presented in this film are by ALL MEANS useful for year round multiple viewings. Try watching it (in all of its glory and elegance) with subtitles as a fresh alternative to the crude and inhospitable language spoken by the gangster hoodlums who have infiltrated today's motion picture industry, and degraded the product in epic proportions. Watching Stewart being pulled out of the icy water in French is another viable option. The true icing on the cake is the DVD's primary bonus feature, "The Making of It's A Wonderful Life". This movie provides an unusual glimpse into a common fantasy: What life would be like if you had never been born. It's about optimism, choices, courage, and also the darker side of human nature. The subject of suicide is dealt with in a straightforward, hospitable manner. Stewart as George Bailey is haunted by his negative perception of what lies ahead. Bailey is down and out, and virtually at the end of his rope. He desperately feels there is no way out . . . That is until the distinct possibility of a guardian angel is playfully introduced. When "George" confides to the angel that he is "going off my nut," audiences of the new millennium realize that maybe not all that much has changed in the past sixty or seventy years. The difference is found most obviously in the hometown feeling and neighborly characters that offer a friendly "Mom and Pop" type assistance not found in today's "Big Box" atmosphere. A little known tidbit is that some strange developments occurred following the death of Henry F. Potter (no relation to Harry). Instead of becoming an angel, he went to hell, and returned as the unsavory recluse who antagonizes a well casted sorority (who encounter infamous misfortunes) in another Holiday classic, "Black Christmas". "Black Christmas" presents unthinkable possibilities of what could happen if there are more troubled souls than available guardian angels. "Black Christmas" followed by "It's A Wonderful Life" is the perfect double movie billing to make any Holiday festivities complete!
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Summary: Best movie of all time here is why
Review: The moment for me is when George seeing the ruined lives of all his loved ones in Potterville---if he had never lived--the terror in his eyes---for THEM---please! send me back! He returns full of joy and realization that it is a wonderful life and that, well he will go to jail for the missing money. His beautiful wife, Donna Reed calls the town and says George is in trouble.... Out of nowhere they come, all of them with money to bail him out. Its unexpected and we all know deep in our hearts its true. That if you give of yourself to others you will always be rich. THE BEST FILM EVER!
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Summary: All time Capra classic..perhaps his most viewed
Review: "It's a Wonderful Life," starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, did OK, but not super, at the box office in 1947. Perhaps it was too sentimental. Nevertheless, this movie has, in the meantime, become one of the most widely known, most watched and beloved of director-genius Capra's films. The premis of the story (just in case you've been off planet for the past 53 years) is this... What would life be like if someone had never been born? What effect does one seemingly insignificant life have on the lives of others that a person brushes against during their life? Well, in this movie George Bailey (played by Stewart) gets the chance to see just that. An apprentice angel arranges the whole thing. I am amazed each time I watch this film to see how small acts and interactions have major effects in the lives of others -- family members, et al. The Christmas-time setting of this film has certainly contributed to much of its success and appeal. That, the hometown feel of the setting, the next-door neighborly nature of the characters, the story itself, and stars like Stewart, Reed, and others, make this film a timeless classic. Is this film sentimental? Certainly! Is it watchable? Definitely! Should you own it? Absolutely. 5 stars, only because that's the highest rating possible. Buy this video! On a side note...you may be interested to know that biologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote a book titled "Wonderful Life" (taken from the title of this film) in which he pulls on a premis similar to the one in this movie -- the theme is contingency and the evolution of life. It's a "what-if" question. What if, for example, one of a group of animal's ancestors had turned right instead of left and was killed and left no offspring, then what? It's an interesting read about life of the Burgess Shale (Cambrian animal fauna). If it sounds interesting, give it a look, it's quite readable. Alan Holyoak
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Summary: A wonderful movie
Review: I am so happy that this is a wholesome warm hearted movie. It didn't get recognition in it's time, but thank goodness that we can see it now a days. Everyone touches someones life in some shape or form, and all human lives are important! It is nice to see no nudity, violence, sex, swearing in this film. thanks, and god bless you all!
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