It's a Wonderful Life
 | 60th Anniversary EditionDirected by Frank Capra Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers Paramount, 1947, DVD Customer Rating: 527 reviews Recommend |
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George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?
Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming — in the teary-eyed final reel — his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. — Robert Horton
Title: It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
Sales Rank: 1465 in DVD
Actor: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers
Director: Frank Capra
Studio: Paramount, 2006-10-31, Theatrical Release: 1947-01-07
Format: Black & White, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.33:1
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 130 minutes
Item Dimensions: 0.2 pounds
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches, 0.1 pounds
- Timely Shipment
- I appreciate the fact that I received the DVD within 7-days of purchase. Packaging and quality very nice! More reviews
- GREAT CLASSIC FILM
- This is a wonderful classic.
The quality and sound of this print is great.
More reviews
- What if You had Never Been Born? It Might Be Scary
- Have you ever imagined what it would have been like had you never existed--but got to see the events that never occurred because of your nonexistence, other events that occurred because you did not exist to stop them, and to meet the people you never influenced because you never existed? Then this classic is for you.… More reviews
- i love this movie!
- I love this movie so much that I had to gloat about it, in March. My family and I watch this movie along with the other classic Christmas movies, every Christmas season. I see something new in it every year. I love this movie so much, i get weepy eyed just thinking of it now. This review probably won't help you, sorry; it's all about… More reviews
- Nothing like a Classic
- Beautiful movie. Have to watch it every year at least once. Even better that you have the option to see it in B&W or Color! More reviews
