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Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:49
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.6/10
Consensus: The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, It's a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing.
Runtime: 2 hrs 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
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... [More]
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Director: Frank Capra
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.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in angels, it's a wonderful movie.
This sentimental perennial is a holiday chestnut.
It’s a gem for any time of the year and, as such, a vital part of any film fan’s collection.
Combine the characters, the story, the message, and the acting, and it's easy to see why It's a Wonderful Life isn't just a holiday favorite, but a great movie by almost any standards.
Top CriticA genuine American classic.
The April-air wholesomeness and humanism of this natural bring back vividly the reminder that, essentially, the screen best offers unselfconscious, forthright entertainment.
Top CriticThe story not only stands strong half a century later, but it continues to show up today's formulaic Hollywood films for the vacuous use of celluloid that they are.
As warm and comforting as a scarf knit by Grandma.
Deserving of one viewing per year, preferably without the interruption of commercials.
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."
As the hero, Mr. Stewart does a warmly appealing job, indicating that he has grown in spiritual stature as well as in talent during the years he was in the war. And Donna Reed is remarkably poised and gracious as his adoring sweet-heart and wife.
Top CriticIt's A Wonderful Life (1946), originally made for Liberty Films, is one of the most popular and heartwarming films ever made by director Frank Capra,
What is remarkable about It's a Wonderful Life is how well it holds up over the years; it's one of those ageless movies, like Casablanca or The Third Man, that improves with age.
Top CriticOften remembered as sentimental holiday-themed 'Capra-corn'… but in fact leavened by darker themes and a more rigorous moral about self-sacrifice.
It's a Wonderful Life achieves a fine balancing act between pathos and feel-good that is delivered by an outstanding cast.
Despite any nay saying that I might work up, I enjoy watching the film. It has an uncanny ability to silence cynics like myself.
You'd have to possess a very hard heart not to find something to love in this story.
This great American fable is buoyed by its unwavering faith in the wealth of the human spirit.
It isn't a terrible film by any means, and it's easy to see why people revere it.
June 10, 2008:
Bob Anderson: 1933-2008 
Bob Anderson, the actor who played the younger version of George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, has succumbed to cancer at the age of 75. More...
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
December 22, 2006:
RT's Top Christmas Classics -- Christmas Countdown, Day Five
Welcome to the last day of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, where we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, we've got the crème de la... More...
December 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: A Sly "Family Stone," A Towering "Kong"
This week at the movies, we have a giant ape {"King Kong"} and some yuletide dramedy ("The Family Stone"). Will the critics go bananas for these flicks? More...
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Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
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