It's A Wonderful Life Review:

Synopsis

Hollywood's best-loved star teams up with America's favourite director to create one of the world's most popular films.

It's A Wonderful Life is the ultimate seasonal feel-good film. Starring the unforgettable James Stewart as George Bailey, the man who receives the greatest Christmas gift of all, and a superb ensemble cast including Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore, this high-spirited Christmas tale is directed by the immortal Frank Capra and ranks as an all-time favourite of fans and critics alike.

The Films

It's A Wonderful Life was inspired by a Christmas card, which is rather fitting given the somewhat glossy ending. To be more accurate (and fair), it was actually a short story enclosed in a festive card that inspired Director Frank Capra to make this hugely popular tale.

The film's history has become very widely known - after a tepid box-office outing, the story was all but forgotten until a clerical error pushed it out of copyright and into the public domain. Television stations worldwide understandably cashed in on the fact that they could broadcast the film for free and continue to do so today, especially during the Christmas period. This legal mistake has therefore been a paradoxical blessing for this Capra offering, helping it to resurface with a mighty vengeance and find a strong following.

The magical story charts the life of George Bailey, a good man who can't seem to escape the small town that he lives in. Job opportunities and exotic chances to travel come and go as he simply seems destined to stay in Bedford Falls for the rest of his life.

George's honesty and charitable nature may make him the most popular man in the town, but a mistake by his Uncle Billy forces him into desperation and thoughts of suicide. However, everything resolves itself heart-warmingly in textbook Capra-esque fashion, like a guilty pleasure or witting idealism.

James Stewart is magnificent in the lead role, managing to handle the light and dark moments with skill. Donna Reed plays his beautiful wife and Lionel Barrymore assumes the Scrooge-like role of Mr. Potter, while many character actors fill the remaining parts with affection.

To summarise, watching It's A Wonderful Life has unintentionally become a Christmas tradition and is an absolute joy to experience year after year.

Video

This 1940s film looks well-preserved and superior to most of its contemporaries. Print damage, grain and dirt are minimal, but the transfer ultimately fails to live up to expectations.

Many landmark films made at the time or even earlier have arrived on DVD looking far more consistent and pristine. Citizen Kane and many early Fritz Lang masterpieces are just a few prime examples of older films that look much more polished on DVD.

Incidentally, the Region 1 disc is noticeably superior to this UK title, offering far more sharpness and detail.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack more than suffices for the film, offering clear dialogue and music from start to finish. An upgrade to Dolby Digital 5.1 would have distorted the intended sound design and very little, if anything, would have been gained by performing such an 'enhancement'.

Extras

Although this film is one of the best-loved Christmas classics of all-time, the DVD lacks many extras let alone a second disc. The bonus material comprises two dated featurettes presented in 1.33:1 full-frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound.

First up is 'The Making Of It's A Wonderful Life' featurette, which runs for 23 minutes. Hosted by Tom Bosley, this mediocre item was made for television and imparts a few trivia points about the film, but will not offer the more serious fans anything new of interest.

Meanwhile, the personal introduction and interview by Frank Capra Jr. runs for 15 minutes and is slightly better than the first featurette. Capra Jr. outlines the film's scripting process and addresses the many criticisms of his father's excessive sentimentality.

There are no further extras whatsoever on this final disc, which is thoroughly disappointing for such a popular film. The more discerning DVD enthusiast will quickly realise that this is a decidedly half-hearted, low-budget disc that has perhaps been churned out to cash in on Christmas.

Overall, these weak extras are not befitting of a film with such popularity, especially given the quality of today's newest DVD releases - those with more patient temperaments would be best advised to wait in hope of a Special Edition in the future.

Feature 8/10
Video 6/10
Audio 7/10
Extras 3/10

Overall 6/10

DVD Bulletin

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