It's A Wonderful Life

1946 • 130 minutes

About this movie

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?

Ratings and reviews

Absolutely the BEST Christmas movie in the history of Christmas movies. The message of family and friendship. Hope and contentment. Hard work and conviction. Integrity, honesty, and strength of character. And the message that every one of us is born for community and our absence would be a tragedy for everyone whose lives we touch. It never fails to bring me to tears and it reminds me of the best gift we've ever been given--our Savior. George is obviously the one who grows most in this film, but Mary is my favorite. Steady, purposeful, and proof that the love of a strong woman can be the making of a good man. She offers a quiet wisdom and courage even in the face of his crises of faith and finance and she never wavers in standing by his side and showing him what true contentment and community looks like. I will watch this again and again each holiday season for the amazing lessons it holds.

With such variety, masterful direction, and memorable characters; It's a wonderful life is truly a wonderful holiday movie that is supercharged with so much emotion, that there is enough room for anything. This film has such a wide range of great upbeat comedy (the comedy has so much point to the film's entertainment value, some are silly, and some others are witty and innocent with clever charm). But, as the film progresses to the second half of the film, the mood becomes frantic with impenetrable drama, and finally in the end, the finale is satisfying, uplifting, and heart warming. All of this emotion stresses a very big moral/message: the value of an individual life and how can one person's actions affect all those around him (George Bailey). And family and friendship are very important. The characters are memorable due to their strong performances that are convincing, the choice of a cast of actors, and each characters has their own personality. The interactions between character and character is very captivating and keeps you on your toes because of how wonderful the acting was directed. To conclude: It's a wonderful life is an inspiring film about family, life, and holidays that has been done right, and it's also a film that will be watched annually every year, every decade, and every century. Highest Recommendation for the whole family! It's suitable for kids age 9 to 99.

Never understood why this film is considered a classic. It gets points for being one of the first to popularize the concept f seeing how the world would be different if you weren't born, but so many other movies that came after it did a way better job of it. I guess if you want to see the movie that started the trend go ahead and watch it, but it kind of listening to a really great cover of a song and then listen to the original and realize its no where as good as the new covered version.