Capra's Its a Wonderful Life is without a doubt one of the all time feel-good movies. It's not feel good in the way that, say, a cheap Lifetime movie is feel good, it's not some phoney baloney optimism like Pay it Forward, it is real, true, and honest. It is also, without a doubt, 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.
This film and Rocky rank as the all time great "Tears of Joy" films. If you're not crying by the end, then sorry, but there's probably something wrong with you, no offense. The film is simply so human, so humane, yet so honest, that it can't help but dash any trace of negativity and pessimism you might have been feeling when it began.
What many people don't know is that the film just completely flopped upon release. Capra has always been a popular director who could rake in a lot of money for the studios, and this one flopped so bad that it almost sank his career. Luckily, the movie eventually made a killing, becoming an all time best seller on video and DVD, and always raking in a lot of viewership when it plays on cable each year.
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.
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! - 40729
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.
This film and Rocky rank as the all time great "Tears of Joy" films. If you're not crying by the end, then sorry, but there's probably something wrong with you, no offense. The film is simply so human, so humane, yet so honest, that it can't help but dash any trace of negativity and pessimism you might have been feeling when it began.
What many people don't know is that the film just completely flopped upon release. Capra has always been a popular director who could rake in a lot of money for the studios, and this one flopped so bad that it almost sank his career. Luckily, the movie eventually made a killing, becoming an all time best seller on video and DVD, and always raking in a lot of viewership when it plays on cable each year.
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.
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! - 40729
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