Review of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) by Ryan P — 02 Jan 2013

Man, oh, man. I can't... I just can't express how monumental this film was! It definitely wasn't the sentimental film I expected it to be at all. I was planning on seeing it much closer to Christmas day, when I would be more into the holiday spirit, but here I am, on the 14th of December 2012, filled to the brim with stress from struggling with finals & family... and after reading a whole bunch of people saying this is one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, and one that is almost guaranteed to ease any holiday misery... I figured this was as good of a time as any to finally see this classic. And the final verdict is? I'm glad I did! I concur 100% with the general consensus: this is indeed probably the greatest Christmas movie ever made, and it's almost certain to relieve you of any holiday pain. The hype is no exaggeration. It's even much more than that, it's quite simply one of the greatest films ever made, period. What a great, uplifting story... one of the best ever written; what stellar acting -- one of Jimmy Stewart's finest performances ever (if not THE finest), and Lionel Barrymore as ''Mr. Potter'' is one of the most despicable film antagonists I've seen so far; what fantastic directing from Frank Capra; and what a ending...starting from Jimmy Stewart running through the snow shouting ''Merry Christmas,'' to the beautiful selection of music, to the heartwarming conclusion in the Bailey home...everything about that was so damn beautiful that I actually teared up, yo (which I rarely ever do from seeing a film).

The film has many spots on the American Film Institute's various lists, but I think the most deserving is its #1 ranking for the ''AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers'' category. I have also read it was both Jimmy Stewart's and Frank Capra's favourite film. Highly, highly recommended to all who haven't seen this classic as yet. I may very well find myself watching this every holiday season from now on.