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, your inner child says "Not it's not, that would be A Christmas Story, thank you very much!" and your inner cynic wants to laugh the whole thing off and say that Lethal Weapon is the greatest Christmas movie. Both wrong. This film is the best holiday film of all time for quite a number of reasons. Not How the Grinch Stole Christmas, not Die Hard, It's a Wonderful Life.
The film manages to succeed on so many level because it is fearless. From the first act, it deals with subject matter and themes that are much darker than you expect to see in a holiday film. It is because of this courage, the bravery to start at such a low point, that the movie is so triumphantly positive. Heck, the movie's second act starts with an attempted suicide!
It is because of this ugliness, this darkness and pessimism, that it is so heroic to see Stewart's George Bailey overcome the odds and learn to love his life again. True optimism only counts in the face of adversity. Anyone can be positive in one of those weepy made for cable Lifetime movies where nobody ever really faces any true challenges, but Bailey faces the worst challenges of his life, and learns to face them with a sense of hope.
The movie ranks alongside Rocky as one of the greatest "happy tears" films of all time. If you're not shedding them by the end of the film, then sorry, but... What the heck is wrong with you? Any real, live human being can't help but at least feel a little moisture in their eyes when the bell rings and the angel gets its wings. It is simply a matter of optimism triumphing over negativity.
The movie actually flopped on release for some reason or other. Capra was always a director you could rely on to make a lot of money for the studios, but for whatever reason, this one just didn't grab the initial audience. Luckily, it did go on to become one of the most popular movies of all time on cable, in second runs, and on video and DVD. Still, at the time, it almost sank the director's career.
Another interesting point: Film legend has it that Stewart was the director's only choice for the lead, but in fact, his first choice had been the other legendary nice guy of the screen, Henry Fonda. Fonda could have turned in an incredible performance, but Stewart really plays the character of a lifetime in George Bailey.
The movie had a number of alternative endings written, and one or two of them filmed. Interestingly, the "spoof" ending shown on Saturday Night Live, with Stewart leading the entire town to Potter's house for a good old fashioned whoopin', isn't far off from one of the alternative endings that was actually filmed by Capra's cast and crew!
Yes, your inner child says "Not it's not, that would be A Christmas Story, thank you very much!" and your inner cynic wants to laugh the whole thing off and say that Lethal Weapon is the greatest Christmas movie. Both wrong. This film is the best holiday film of all time for quite a number of reasons. Not How the Grinch Stole Christmas, not Die Hard, It's a Wonderful Life.
The film manages to succeed on so many level because it is fearless. From the first act, it deals with subject matter and themes that are much darker than you expect to see in a holiday film. It is because of this courage, the bravery to start at such a low point, that the movie is so triumphantly positive. Heck, the movie's second act starts with an attempted suicide!
It is because of this ugliness, this darkness and pessimism, that it is so heroic to see Stewart's George Bailey overcome the odds and learn to love his life again. True optimism only counts in the face of adversity. Anyone can be positive in one of those weepy made for cable Lifetime movies where nobody ever really faces any true challenges, but Bailey faces the worst challenges of his life, and learns to face them with a sense of hope.
The movie ranks alongside Rocky as one of the greatest "happy tears" films of all time. If you're not shedding them by the end of the film, then sorry, but... What the heck is wrong with you? Any real, live human being can't help but at least feel a little moisture in their eyes when the bell rings and the angel gets its wings. It is simply a matter of optimism triumphing over negativity.
The movie actually flopped on release for some reason or other. Capra was always a director you could rely on to make a lot of money for the studios, but for whatever reason, this one just didn't grab the initial audience. Luckily, it did go on to become one of the most popular movies of all time on cable, in second runs, and on video and DVD. Still, at the time, it almost sank the director's career.
Another interesting point: Film legend has it that Stewart was the director's only choice for the lead, but in fact, his first choice had been the other legendary nice guy of the screen, Henry Fonda. Fonda could have turned in an incredible performance, but Stewart really plays the character of a lifetime in George Bailey.
The movie had a number of alternative endings written, and one or two of them filmed. Interestingly, the "spoof" ending shown on Saturday Night Live, with Stewart leading the entire town to Potter's house for a good old fashioned whoopin', isn't far off from one of the alternative endings that was actually filmed by Capra's cast and crew!
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