It's a Wonderful Life (1947)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Synopsis:
A man on the brink of despair is visited by an angel who shows him the true value of his life.
Impressions:
As this is one of the quintessential Christmas movies, it's rather surprising that I haven't actually watched it all the way through until recently. Now, I know what cynical viewers say about "Capra-corn" and I won't deny that the story can get a bit schmaltzy, but if you can set aside your bitter disenchantment with the world and humanity for 90 minutes, you get a touching story of how the good one man can do and the sacrifices he makes really make a difference in the lives around him. Most of you are familiar with the signature sequence of the film, but I wasn't expecting it to be so little of the overall runtime. We spend a lot of time watching George Bailey's plans for his life get thwarted at one turn after another. He still finds some blessings along the way and imparts blessings on others, but he gets pushed to his limit, as pretty much all of us do at one point or another in our lives, and he gets a rare opportunity to get a proper perspective on his life. Hopefully it can serve to inspire the audience to take a similar view whenever they find themselves facing tough times. Unless you're as twisted as miserly Mr. Potter, you'll want this one for your collection.
Own It