Synopsis (in case you were born yesterday)
George Bailey is a good man. He has helped out many people in his life and has a wonderful home life. On top of this, he put his dreams on hold to let his brother fulfill his own, while George sat back in the town of Bedford Falls to run the family savings and loan. Everything is looking up for George until his uncle, who works at the savings and loan building with him, accidentally misplaces eight-thousand dollars and George’s competitor, Mr. Potter, conveniently finds it and calls the police (to accuse George of embezzling). Panicked and looking for a way out, George almost gives up on his life by jumping off a bridge into icy water. Just before he jumps, a man named Clarence jumps in and is rescued by George. Failing at even killing himself, George wishes he had never been born and Clarence, who is actually an angel, ends up granting George his wish. George begins to find out what the world would be like without him and, more importantly, that he truly had a ‘wonderful life’.
What an absolute classic. Anyone who has never seen this film needs to immediately. It’s the perfect example of a true timeless classic. You’ve got one of the best actors of all-time in James Stewart playing several different ages of George Bailey (and no one notices or ever brings that up, but he goes from young adult to old adult). His character goes on a perfect selfless rollercoaster ride through life and ends up coming full circle into a warmhearted ending that truly defines literally and figuratively the importance of friends in one’s life.
To make ‘the importance of friends’ message even more popular is the antagonist in the film with Lionel Barrymore’s Henry Potter. Potter is the complete opposite of George, as he’s old, rich and lonely. The contrast between the two men’s lives is so vital for this story, as George’s character is magnified through Potter’s lonely bitterness and heartless selfishness. Through Potter, Stewart’s George is made to look like a saint that many people look for when they are in need. He literally bares the burdens of others and walks away with a smile. Again, all of this looks much bigger when Potter is added into the mix.
One of the best things about this film, outside of the two main characters, is the addition of Henry Travers’ angel, Clarence. His job is to bring George, as well as the audience, back from the ledge when the anxiety of the film reaches its zenith. He shows George that there are far more important things in life than money. By showing George what life would be like without him, he successfully conveys to Stewart’s character that having friends makes a man. You can count on friends; you can never count on money. Director Frank Capra doesn’t just teach a lesson through Travers’ Clarence. Capra uses this angel to pull the audience back to family and helps to create a sense of ‘remember what is truly important in life’. He puts the movie’s motif in our faces and it makes us feel warm inside, just like it did with Stewart’s George.
That’s what makes this movie a timeless classic. Every time you watch it you will walk away feeling warm and fuzzy, and you just want to call people and tell them that you love them. Keep in mind that this movie was made in 1946, and it still has that effect.
Amazing.
Speaking of amazing, let’s talk about the Blu-ray transfer. Paramount is slowly becoming one of the better studios in regards to clean, crisp HD transfers of older films. Earlier this year, we were fortunate enough to review Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Blu-ray and it was simply spectacular. It’s a Wonderful Life brings even more beauty from its transfer. I’m not sure of the process, but Paramount has successfully pulled all the scratches, marks and whatnot from the HD transfer of this film. While it’s still in a 4:3 ratio, the picture has no graininess, artifacts or color banding at all. You can see intricate details in faces, places and pretty much anything. it’s frightening that a 1946 film can look so darn good. Bravo to Paramount for such a beautiful transfer of a timeless classic. What makes this even better is that you get both versions of the film; the black and white version and the colorized version (some people prefer it, don’t judge). I never had seen the colorized version, so it was neat to see in HD. It looked pretty darn sweet. The black and white version is equally as good.
As for special features, it’s not as impressive, but again the movie is 65 years old. I’m positive they weren’t shooting special features in 1946, though I could be wrong. Anyway, you get a very nice ‘making of’ featurette on the film led by Tom Bosley. You also get a nice theatrical trailer. That’s truly more than enough for this release, as the main feature is in fact the main feature for potential buyers.