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It's a Wonderful Life (RKO Radio Pictures: 1946) |
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Directed By:
Frank Capra
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Written By:
Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra
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Based On:
The Greatest Gift, a story by Philip Van Doren Stern
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Starring:
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
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Profanity: None |
Violence: Mild |
Sex/Nudity: None
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Review:
I don't think that any other character in cinema history has defined the "everyman" more than James Stewart defined it with his incredible performance as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. This movie is the portrait of a man with many hopes and dreams -- dreams to travel the world, dreams to attend college, dreams to design skyscrapers and build great cities. Every last one of these dreams is crushed by everyday struggles -- the struggle to keep the family business alive after the death of his father, the struggle to keep his innocent hometown of Bedford Falls out of the hands of a greedy business tycoon who seeks to drive the town into poverty, the struggle to earn a paycheck every week to support his wife and kids. Finally, when George's business partner accidentally loses a large sum of company money, all of the stress and disappointment of George's entire life drives him to a suicidal depression that only a heavenly intervention can save. As one of the very few movies that is capable of making me tear up at the end, the emotionally moving It's a Wonderful Life easily gets my vote as the greatest film ever produced.
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Score:
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