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Customer Reviews of It's a Wonderful Life

Capra's and Stewart's Personal Bests
A beautifully crafted film that proved to be the apex of triple Oscar-winner (1934, 1936, 1938) Frank Capra's distinguished career, and the epitome of his cycle of works celebrating the "common man". Mr. Deeds found himself suddenly wealthy, Mr. Smith went to Washington as a Senator, and John Doe became the focus of a socio-political movement; but "Life"'s George Bailey never distinguishes himself outside of his small hometown of Bedford Falls --- his brother Harry is the one who becomes a war hero, and his friend Sam Wainwright is the one who achieves financial success. George's triumph is simply his personal integrity, his code of ethics, and his strength of character --- his goodness, if you will --- during the unexciting course of his ordinary, mundane existence. In this respect, George is more an Everyman than any other Capra protagonist, inviting strong audience identification and response.

In one of the most exquisite performances ever given in an American film, James Stewart is superb as George. It's not an easy role to play because so much screen time is spent focusing on George's subtle reactions to the world around him. One incredible moment comes at the train station when George slowly begins to absorb the news of his brother's recent marriage and new career opportunity, and how his brother's fortune will destroy his own hopes of leaving Bedford Falls and the family business. Stewart's face is extraordinary in this scene, as surprised realization fades into quiet disappointment and finally, gentle graciousness and acceptance. Stewart's tour de force is given strong support by a superb cast of Capra stalwarts, including Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, H. B. Warner, and the phenomenal Beulah Bondi (as George's mother). And Donna Reed, in one of her first romantic leading roles after a number of years playing supporting ingenues and bits, is excellent in the warm but unglamorous role of George's loving wife, Mary.

The Republic Home Video DVD is definitely the edition of this classic to own. Like the LaserDisc before it, the DVD offers a crystal clear, beautifully restored film-to-video transfer which will amaze and delight anyone who is familiar only with the horrible multi-generational VHS cassettes, or the awful colorized version, that were commonly screened back in the late 1970's and 1980's. There are some nice bonus features on the DVD, including a "making of" documentary and the theatrical trailer. This is one DVD that you'll never regret adding to your home theatre collection!

Trivia note: If you're a fan of this movie, try finding a copy of film historian David Thomson's 1985 novel "Suspects" which continues George's story and relates the characters from this movie to many others (did you know that Donna Reed's "Mary Bailey" is actually the sister of Gene Tierney's "Laura"?!, etc.) ... great fun!

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All time Capra classic..perhaps his most viewed
"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.

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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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WAKE UP! This is a lousy movie!
This movie never won any awards. It was so bad that the studio could hardly give it away when they first puit it on tape, then they let it be colorized just so they could sell SOME copies of it, and suddenly the big war cry from the Hollywood liberals was -- "OOH! Save a classic black and white film!" Baloney! No one liked this movie when it was made. No one liked it the 1950s. No one liked it in the 1960s. No one liked it in the 1970s. No one liked it in the 1980s, then SUDDENLY! -- it's an American classic. NOT! It's Communist propaganda about the "evils" of American free enterprise from a guy who made a lot of pinko films but never thought HE should have to live like this "common man" he kept making pictures about.