Amongst all the great Christmas films ever made, Its a Wonderful Life is, without a doubt, the very best of them, and Frank Capra's best film, period. All of his films portrayed his positive, life affirming philosophy towards the world, but this film defined that philosophy, and while it has had more than half a century's worth of competition, it still stands as the greatest Christmas film ever made.
Yes, yes, the nostalgic, inner child in you wants to say A Christmas Story is the greatest holiday film, or maybe How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The cynic in you chortles and says "No, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are the best Christmas movies, LOL!" But no, sorry, this film is the greatest holiday film of all time, with Miracle on 34th Street being a distant second.
The film deals with the darker side of the holidays, the depression, the self pity, the nihilism, despair and disappointment that so few filmmakers have the courage to address. In fact, the second act begins with Jimmy Stewart, the warmest and most friendly actor in history, attempting suicide! To start from such an incredibly low point takes confidence.
Capra starts Stewart's George Bailey at such an incredibly low, sad, dark point that it is truly heroic and triumphant to watch him climb from there. Any director can keep it positive by just never facing the hero with any challenge, but Bailey is beset on all sides by the tyranny of evil men, he's put up against the world and told to make it alone. He starts low and ends on a high note.
The film ranks with Rocky as the greatest Happy Tears movies of all time. If you're not crying by the time the film ends then... You probably weren't actually watching the film! Put down your Nintendo DS or crossword puzzles for just a couple hours and actually watch the film! It is a triumphant display of how optimism and hope always trump negativity.
Interestingly, the film was a flop on release. The director had always been a popular, money-making film maker, but for some reason, this one just didn't grab the movie-going audience. Of course, the movie has since become one of the most successful of all time on video, DVD, second runs and, of course, cable, but at the time, it almost sank Capra's career.
One more interesting point: They say that Stewart was Capra's only choice for the role of George Bailey, but that's not true! In fact, his "only choice" was Henry Fonda, but Stewart was a second choice, when push came to shove. We can say Fonda would have been great in the role, but it's hard to imagine anyone but Stewart playing the character to such perfection.
There were a number of alternative endings considered, but none of them would have been as satisfying as the way the story wraps up in the film... Except maybe the Saturday Night Live sketch where Bailey leads the whole town to Potter's house to give him a comeuppance... Interestingly, this ending, while a spoof, was nearly the same as an alternative ending that was actually filmed!
Yes, yes, the nostalgic, inner child in you wants to say A Christmas Story is the greatest holiday film, or maybe How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The cynic in you chortles and says "No, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are the best Christmas movies, LOL!" But no, sorry, this film is the greatest holiday film of all time, with Miracle on 34th Street being a distant second.
The film deals with the darker side of the holidays, the depression, the self pity, the nihilism, despair and disappointment that so few filmmakers have the courage to address. In fact, the second act begins with Jimmy Stewart, the warmest and most friendly actor in history, attempting suicide! To start from such an incredibly low point takes confidence.
Capra starts Stewart's George Bailey at such an incredibly low, sad, dark point that it is truly heroic and triumphant to watch him climb from there. Any director can keep it positive by just never facing the hero with any challenge, but Bailey is beset on all sides by the tyranny of evil men, he's put up against the world and told to make it alone. He starts low and ends on a high note.
The film ranks with Rocky as the greatest Happy Tears movies of all time. If you're not crying by the time the film ends then... You probably weren't actually watching the film! Put down your Nintendo DS or crossword puzzles for just a couple hours and actually watch the film! It is a triumphant display of how optimism and hope always trump negativity.
Interestingly, the film was a flop on release. The director had always been a popular, money-making film maker, but for some reason, this one just didn't grab the movie-going audience. Of course, the movie has since become one of the most successful of all time on video, DVD, second runs and, of course, cable, but at the time, it almost sank Capra's career.
One more interesting point: They say that Stewart was Capra's only choice for the role of George Bailey, but that's not true! In fact, his "only choice" was Henry Fonda, but Stewart was a second choice, when push came to shove. We can say Fonda would have been great in the role, but it's hard to imagine anyone but Stewart playing the character to such perfection.
There were a number of alternative endings considered, but none of them would have been as satisfying as the way the story wraps up in the film... Except maybe the Saturday Night Live sketch where Bailey leads the whole town to Potter's house to give him a comeuppance... Interestingly, this ending, while a spoof, was nearly the same as an alternative ending that was actually filmed!
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