It's a Wonderful Life

-RKO (1946)

Summary

A man finds out what life would have been like if he'd never been born.

My Thoughts

This is one of my favorite movies of all time as it is many others, but it actually took me a few years before I discovered how really great It's a Wonderful Life actually is is. I was pigheaded as a kid and thought that most black and white films were stupid because they were old. Yeah, I know I was retarded. As I grew up and matured, I caught some of the film on television once and I was hooked.It’s easy to see why this film is so excellent considering the great casting, amazing screenplay, wonderful directing, are all the other elements that all add up to a classic film.

It's a Wonderful Life begins with a recounting George Bailey's life. George is played by James AKA Jimmy Stewart and he's in some major trouble. Some angels decide to intervene and try to stop him from killing himself. The job goes to a bumbling angel-to-be who along with the audience is given the entire back story before he goes down to Earth. As it unfolds, Mr. Bailey's life progresses from his childhood to the kind man he is to become. During his life, George was always there to help others, but he never got what he most wanted, which was to see the world. Circumstances beyond his control kept him planted in his hometown much to his chagrin. When his life comes to a sudden crisis all of the pent up rage and frustration from over the years blows out until George wants to end his life by jumping into a river on Christmas Eve.

The cast of characters and wonderful acting pull you into his joys and his sorrows throughout it all. We see America from several different decades as George moves through his life. The story is not only about George, but about the hopes and dreams from that era as well. I dare anyone to not get a bit sniffly at the films fantastic ending. Although, if you got burnt out by its hourly airings on every channel a few years ago when the rights were up in the air then you get a free pass from not giving a damn about the film at all.

My complaints? The only complaint I have with this film is the song, "Buffalo Gal Won't You Come Out Tonight?" It's a theme that plays out through the course of the film, but I hate that song and always have. That's about it. This DVD edition is about as good as its going to get and preserves the rich black and white tones of the film. Thank God the colorization craze is over, because this film was one of the victims of that horrible idea. The sound is as good as its ever going to get in its original mono recording.

Extras

To start with, there are no motion menus, which isn’t that big of a deal to me. The extras are located on the second side of the disc, even though they would fit with the film on one side. This edition really shows its age in this respect. Let me also clarify something for those of you who don't know.  This film in full frame, but that was how theater screens used to be way back in the day. So for your own sake, don't wait for the special widescreen edition, because it will never exist.

What the disc does have for special features consists of a trailer, a documentary, and a featurette. The trailer interestingly enough plays the film up as a romantic comedy of sorts. It's a Wonderful Life wasn't a big hit at the box office originally, and its easy to see why it might have been confusing to people who saw the trailer.

The disc features a well put together documentary on the making of It's a Wonderful Life. It relates a lot of facts that I never knew about the film, from the original idea that came from a Christmas card, to the final production and initial disappointment of its release.

The last extra is a featurette called "A Personal Remembrance." It's from back in 1991 and features Frank Capra Jr. as narrator with interviews with Frank Capra Sr. and James Stewart. It's nice to watch but doesn't offer much different than the documentary. Either way, it’s a good watch.

If a special edition ever does come out, the inclusion of the missing ending skit from Saturday Night Live would be a perfect edition. In this skit Dana Carvey plays a George Bailey who leads a mob of the townsfolk over to old man Potter's in order to beat him for stealing the $8,000 that caused all the problems in the first place. This is a hilarious skit that provides a light hearted satisfaction to the ending of the film that's missing.

Score:

Film: 9.5

Extras: 4.0

Edition: 7.0

Simply having one of the best films of all time on a disc is enough; a special edition would just be light icing on the cake.