Review of It`s A Wonderful Life

Introduction

I only received the review disc for this four days ahead of the street date, and as I`m being nagged by the PR company to get this review posted I`m feeling a little pressurised.

First off, It`s A Wonderful Life is close to cinematic perfection. It`s one of that exclusive group of perennial favourites that could never hope to be bettered. Books could be written (and have been) about the 1946 movie and its impact on popular culture, so important is it as a key movie in the history of cinema. The American Film Institute has named it in the top twenty greatest movies of all time, the number one inspirational movie of all time and the number one most powerful movie of all time. It has to be the greatest Christmas movie of all time, and possibly the cinematic equivalent of Dickens` A Christmas Carol for its seasonal impact.

For anyone unfamiliar with the story, it`s the tale of George Bailey (played to perfection by James Stewart), an everyman who dreams of moving away from his Bedford Falls roots and making a name for himself. Only he never does. He spends his life running the Business and Loan he inherits from his father, thinking he has never amounted to much. When a cruel set of circumstances see his life come crashing down around his ears, his simple prayer for guidance brings him a guardian angel called Clarence who shows him what Bedford Falls would be like if there had never been a George Bailey.

The tale is based on a short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern, the screenplay worked up by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and director Frank Capra. Initially, the project had been aimed as a starring vehicle for Cary Grant (who would undoubtedly have made a significantly different, but undoubtedly as marvellous a movie). When Capra became attached to the project, he saw it as a vehicle for Jimmy Stewart for whom the movie is a career cornerstone. The film is Stewart`s first proper Hollywood movie after being demobbed at the end of the war, and he nearly turned it down had not Lionel Barrymore (who would play the movie`s villain Old Man Potter) talked him into it.

Director Frank Capra was known for his optimistic movies and comedies, and IAWL is up there alongside Arsenic And Old Lace in his finest works. The cast are all wonderful actors at the height of their powers, giving pitch-perfect performances, even in the smallest roles. The movie is easily Jimmy Stewart`s finest hour - in a career that includes some stonking movies. The standouts alongside Stewart for special mention are Donna Reed as George`s wife Mary, Gloria Grahame as the town`s good-time girl Violet, the cop and cab-driver double act of Frank Faylen and Ward Bond as Bert and Ernie (who the Sesame Street characters are NOT named after, yeah, right.) Not forgetting of course, the charming performance of Henry Travers as amiable angel-on-probation Clarence.

Nominated for five Academy Awards, the movie`s disappointing initial theatrical run and showing at the Awards was down to its running head-to-head with William Wyler`s conscience-pricker The Best Years Of Our Lives. Subsequent annual Christmas showings on television have, like The Wizard Of Oz, turned It`s a Wonderful Life into a firm favourite, and an icon of the festive season. While Wyler`s movie has also stood the test of time, for sheer feel-good, lump-in-the-throat, tear-in-your-eye It`s A Wonderful Life has few equals. Only the hardest hearted cannot be moved by this sweet-hearted (but not saccharin) movie, and I defy anyone not to have a tear in their eye when George`s youngest Zuzu pipes up "Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."

Video

As wonderful as the content of the movie is, the transfer of the picture is a disappointment. Shot in full Academy Frame (4:3) and in black-and-white, It`s A Wonderful Life comes from the golden age of Hollywood. Unfortunately, the transfer appears a good generation down from the crisp transfer available in Region One. It is the same transfer used to author the first release of the movie on DVD back in 1999. The picture is distinctly softer than the R1, and cropped a hair on the left-hand edge. The contrast range is also softer.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 reproducing the original Mono soundtrack.

Features

There is a 14 minute introduction and interview with the son of the director, Frank Capra Jr., and a 24 minute documentary (narrated by Richie Cunningham`s Dad - Tom Bosley).

Conclusion

Every Christmas, you can rely on It`s A Wonderful Life. It`s one of the best Christmas stories of all time, and Universal Pictures (here in the UK) re-releases it in time for the Christmas season without fail, and has done so since 1999. Although having missed an opportunity to upgrade the release last year (the 60th Anniversary), the movie should be part of anybody`s movie collection and if you haven`t seen it yet you should make the effort - you won`t be disappointed.