It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Runtime: 2 hrs 49 mins
Synopsis: A good but slightly ineffectual man tries to off himself after an error that really wasn't his fault. In Christmas Carol fashion, his crusty-but-lovable guardian angel shows up to give him a tour of the world without his presence, and it isn't a pretty place. Moral courage, small-town... A good but slightly ineffectual man tries to off himself after an error that really wasn't his fault. In Christmas Carol fashion, his crusty-but-lovable guardian angel shows up to give him a tour of the world without his presence, and it isn't a pretty place. Moral courage, small-town American life, civic cooperation, and family love are glorified; corporate greed and self-involvement are vilified; at the climax, a blanket of snow like spun sugar makes everything pure and clean like redemption itself. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers
Producer: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Jo Swerling, Frank Capra, Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich
Story: Philip Van Doren Stern
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin
DVD Info
Release:
Nov 13, 2007
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- 2-Disc Set - Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Mono - English, French
- Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Featurette - A PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE - A Special Tribute To Frank Capra Narrated by His Son, Frank Capra Jr.
- Making Of
- Trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
You'd have to possess a very hard heart not to find something to love in this story.
Without overlooking its lapses into populist bathos, it's necessary to rescue It's a Wonderful Life from its spot at the centerpiece of untouchable American "classics."
The April-air wholesomeness and humanism of this natural bring back vividly the reminder that, essentially, the screen best offers unselfconscious, forthright entertainment.
History vindicated Capra: Though failure at the time of release, the superbly acted film (terrific Jimmy Stewart) is recognized today as undisputable masterpiece; the film's message didn't fit the disillusioned mood of the country right after WWII
Deserving of one viewing per year, preferably without the interruption of commercials.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in angels, it's a wonderful movie.
Not only as one of the best Christmas movies, but THE Christmas movie.
By now everyone knows Frank Capra's holiday classic and the tears it so effortlessly conjures up year after year -- but it's easy to forget how truly vicious the film is, and how brilliantly James Stewart rises to the challenge.
The film's entire premise can be summed up with a bit of text from the film: "Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends."
Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama plays as a testament to the family values of small-town America just after WW11.
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