It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Country: US
Technical: bw 129m
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Henry Travers, Donna Reed
Synopsis:
George Bailey always wanted to explore and see the world; instead he is stuck in Bedford Falls in charge of the family-run bank. As he is about to cash in his chips an angel is sent down to point out all the good he has done.
Review:
America's answer to A Christmas Carol, and a return to civilian duties for director and star, this relatively overlooked film at the time has since become one of those perennial family favourites to be trotted out by the schedules at Christmas time. In a manner different to that of Best Years of Our Lives it is a glance at life in America after the war through the prism of a fantasy past, restoring a nation's shattered psyche to health by reassuring it of the essential goodness, and therefore Americanness, of a simple, smalltown life. It is, on a more practical level, one of the happiest meetings of talent in front of and behind the camera (writing and direction) to justify the studio system at its peak. The sudden shifts in mood are adroitly handled, and it never fails to draw a tear.
Country: US
Technical: bw 129m
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Henry Travers, Donna Reed
Synopsis:
George Bailey always wanted to explore and see the world; instead he is stuck in Bedford Falls in charge of the family-run bank. As he is about to cash in his chips an angel is sent down to point out all the good he has done.
Review:
America's answer to A Christmas Carol, and a return to civilian duties for director and star, this relatively overlooked film at the time has since become one of those perennial family favourites to be trotted out by the schedules at Christmas time. In a manner different to that of Best Years of Our Lives it is a glance at life in America after the war through the prism of a fantasy past, restoring a nation's shattered psyche to health by reassuring it of the essential goodness, and therefore Americanness, of a simple, smalltown life. It is, on a more practical level, one of the happiest meetings of talent in front of and behind the camera (writing and direction) to justify the studio system at its peak. The sudden shifts in mood are adroitly handled, and it never fails to draw a tear.
Country: US
Technical: bw 129m
Director: Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Henry Travers, Donna Reed
Synopsis:
George Bailey always wanted to explore and see the world; instead he is stuck in Bedford Falls in charge of the family-run bank. As he is about to cash in his chips an angel is sent down to point out all the good he has done.
Review:
America's answer to A Christmas Carol, and a return to civilian duties for director and star, this relatively overlooked film at the time has since become one of those perennial family favourites to be trotted out by the schedules at Christmas time. In a manner different to that of Best Years of Our Lives it is a glance at life in America after the war through the prism of a fantasy past, restoring a nation's shattered psyche to health by reassuring it of the essential goodness, and therefore Americanness, of a simple, smalltown life. It is, on a more practical level, one of the happiest meetings of talent in front of and behind the camera (writing and direction) to justify the studio system at its peak. The sudden shifts in mood are adroitly handled, and it never fails to draw a tear.