Plot: What’s it about?
Out of all of the movies out there, few stand among the classic greats. This, however, is one of them. James Stewart and Frank Capra go together like two peas in a pod and they were both at the top of their game in this film. Both admit that this was their favorite film to work on and, in a way, it shows. Originally released in 1946, America was coming out of the war (both Capra and Stewart had served in WWII) and this was their first conglomeration after “the last great war”. The film stands out from the rest for a number of reasons, and though it’s been “pigeon-holed” as a Christmas movie, I feel that its a whole lot more. No other movie has presented the triumph of the human spirit more so than here. And, in essence, that’s what the film is all about…the human spirit. While Capra made many other films, all having a very positive outlook on life (which gave him the nickname “Capricorn”), they were all undeniably good. Movies like It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, You Can’t Take it with You and Arsenic and Old Lace. Stewart, on the other hand, did mix it up a bit with his roles but he came out with some winners as well; such as Rear Window, Vertigo and The Philadelphia Story (for which he won his only Oscar).
It’s a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey (James Stewart). George had saved the life of his younger brother when they were kids and George had always dreamed of getting out of the small town of Bedford Falls to see the world. The early part of the movie shows George as a child and his aspirations, even then, to explore the world. However, times and things change and before he knows it, George is all grown up and his desire to see the world has not dissipated one bit. His father runs the local mortgage and loan and has prided himself on seeing every decent person in town build the house of their dreams. The only problem is that his heart is bigger than his bank account and he dies leaving a starving business to his son. Contrast this with the town miser, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) who is destined to own everything in town regardless of the cost. This leaves George with a tough decision…leave town and see the world as he’s always wanted to do, or stay and take over the family business knowing that his soft-headed Uncle Billy would most likely ruin it.
Love for his family and the family business wins out and George, forsaking his dreams, stays in town to help out. This, of course, is only half of what the film is all about. His Uncle Billy misplaces a deposit of $8000 and the bank needs that money to keep the business running. George, knowing that he is probably worth more dead than alive, contemplates suicide as the answer to his problems. It’s then that he is confronted by his own angel (Second Class), Clarence, that he starts to see the value of what his life really is. Through this unique perspective, George gets to see what the town is like if he was never born. His brother, a war hero in “real” life, is dead as is the ship of soldiers that he saved in the war. The town of Bedford Falls is now renamed Pottersville, after Mr. Potter. It’s now a tawdry town that has neon signs everywhere the eye looks and all the decent people have been driven out. Seeing that his wife is now an old maid is the final straw and convinces him to want to live again.
It’s a Wonderful Life has been shown time and again on cable TV stations around the country and world. In the early 1970’s, the film fell into public domain and was therefore allowed to be shown at any time. Even a colorized version was made, but it was so horrible that even James Stewart went before Congress to try and get it removed from public viewing. True, the repeated viewings of the film made it a lot more popular than it originally was (it wasn’t that well-regarded when it first came out), but the desecration of the film was the price it paid. Now one of our most beloved films, It’s a Wonderful Life remains a classic because of the great acting and the universal message that it conveys…life is worth living. Most likely there will never be another film like this and for good reason. As the old saying goes “There was America and then there was Frank Capra”.
Video: How does it look?
Paramount has thrown us a curve here including not one, but two versions of the film (each on a separate disc). The first disc contains the original black and white version the film and I’ve very little to complain about. I noticed a deeper contrast, lack of any noise in the shadows and an overall clarity to the film that I’d not seen before. There is very little edge enhancement to speak of and there is an absence of artifacting and pixelation. It’s just a notch down from reference quality as I’m giving the film a “great” rating based on the age of the movie as opposed to the quality of the video. It’s a great picture and if you’re seeing it for the fist time, you won’t be let down.
Looking at the colorized version, well…that’s a bit of a different story. I’ve seen segments of it, but have never sat down to watch the entire thing in color. It just…doesn’t feel right to see this in color though I’m glad that it’s included as part of the set. There are some pastel’s hues that really distracted me from what was going on screen and I was immediately missing the black and white version. For those that clamor for this, it’s there, but I’d rather see the film as it was intended.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original mono track is what is included and it sounds, for the most part, very good. The diglogue is very crisp and suffers very little from distortion that so many other films from the time are prone to. Surround effects aren’t present at all, but the entire movie seems to have a depth that I wouldn’t have thought possible given the age of the movie. If it’s Stewart or the angels talking in the galaxy, they all sound great and when you hear the line “Zuzu’s petals…” you’ll know that you’re in for a real treat. Nice job!
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Making of It’s a Wonderful Life – Hosted by Tom Bosley (Mr. Howard Cunningham of TV’s “Happy Days”). It’s not so much a making of as we know it, but more of how the script came to be and how it was cast and so forth.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
I’m willing to bet that most people have seen this movie and if not, are at least familiar with it. Stewart and Capra were in top form and this rivals Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for their best collaboration. The disc is slim on supplements and with only one supplement of note, it’s a hard sell if you’ve already got this in your collection. The colorized version is nice, I guess, but I’ll always watch it in black and white.
