It's a Wonderful Life

Year: 1946
Rating: (out of )
Rating: 9.4 (out of 10)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, H.B. Warner
Story by: Philip Van Doren Stern (The Greatest Gift)
Screenplay by: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra
Duration: 129 minutes

It's a wonderful movie - incredibly uplifting, innovative, funny, sad, tear-jerking. There is no doubting the brilliance of It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra's most famous and most praised picture.

Directing: Directing is superb. Capra has rarely timed cuts and constructed scenes better.

Acting: Acting is near-flawless: Stewart is excellent in what he called his "favourite role", Barrymore is almost perfect as always, and Travers and Reed are delights to watch.

Writing: Rarely does a movie with such important messages come around in such a wonderfully entertaining form. A perfect blend of humour, melancholy, and poignancy, around a fresh and inventive story.

Welcome any questions, comments, and criticisms to [email protected]

� 1999, 2000

Back to Main Menu