It's A Wonderful Life (1946) Full Length Reaction
Added 2024-12-13 19:23:38 +0000 UTCA Christmas classic! We never watched this one during the holidays when I was growing up but I really loved it! A true classic! Happy Holidays! 🎄
Movie Runtime: 2:10:38
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Comments
+30 points because...Captain Kirk did the intro.
Carlos Stevens
2024-12-27 05:55:46 +0000 UTCheh, $45 a week back then would be on the order of of $4500 a week today. $20,000 a year back then would be the equivalent of $2,000,000 a year today. However, back then they couldn't buy the same things we could buy today.
Carlos Stevens
2024-12-27 04:51:06 +0000 UTCJust finished watching along with ya. You said that you really wished that Potter got his comeuppance. Here is the SNL "LOST ENDING" from It's a Wonderful Life starring Dana Carvey. It satisfies that Potter loose end. It's great. :D XD https://youtu.be/vw89o0afb2A?si=tv03ljXizVF4prWx
Aaron King
2024-12-20 08:39:49 +0000 UTCI love the subtle bit of acting when George walks from the train over to Harry's wife after he hears about the job. He looks very serious than as he makes his way over he puts on a happy face, pretty much already deciding he'll let Harry take that job. He literally puts on a brave face.
Joe Concepts
2024-12-17 15:02:04 +0000 UTCAwesome! Thanks, Jen. Almost a Christmas Miracle that you’d never seen this, it made for a magical reaction. Very cool. ❤️
TC53
2024-12-17 02:39:09 +0000 UTChard believe you had not done this. I've seen this about a million times, a whole history. ty... every viewing is very dusty.
J M
2024-12-15 05:15:58 +0000 UTCSpecial mention to George's kid's teacher's husband who left his crying wife to go drink on Christmas.
Zapp Rowsdower
2024-12-15 02:07:24 +0000 UTCThis one always makes me cry. I tried to give the colorized version a shot this time, but I only lasted about 6 minutes before I took it out and put in the black & white disc. Just looks wrong not being in black & white.
Joe Blankenship
2024-12-15 00:22:17 +0000 UTCFirst watch. The movie overall was darker than I expected. I can see there being an aspect or detail that turned your mom away. Mary looked good, whether an old maid or not. The Jimmy Stewart acting is captivating. I like the positive ending, especially George Bailey's embrace of his kids and the outpouring of support from the townspeople. Potter is arguably evil. I, like you, wanted some kind of accountability for Potter keeping the $8,000. Last night, I turned the movie off when Uncle Billy misplaced the $8,000 (equivalent to $160,000 today). He feebly counts out the money and then by chance puts it inside a newspaper and then accidentally puts that newspaper on the evil Potter’s lap. That was a little much for me -- being that careless with $160,000 in cash. And the movie is contingent on it. Yet, I decided to accept that premise and put the movie back on today. Glad I did. I think the movie's inclusion as No. 20 on the AFI Top 100 is well deserved. The Christmas movies I watch every year as a kid (in the late 1960s/early 1970s): Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer (1964) Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970) Frosty the Snowman (1969)
Clay F
2024-12-14 21:29:26 +0000 UTCI forgot to mention that I think Back to the Future borrowed something from this movie. The whole alternate 1985 timeline in Hill Valley vs the alternate Bedford Falls. Including there being loud music playing in the streets, lots of bars, clubs and casinos in place of things towns actually need, everybody being angry and paranoid, etc. Biff/Potter owning the town.
Zapp Rowsdower
2024-12-14 21:12:34 +0000 UTCHow can anyone not like James Stewart? If I can recommend more Stewart: He did a few for Alfred Hitchcock - Rear Window, Vertigo, Rope and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Outside of that, Harvey (charming, upbeat comedy), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (powerful drama)
Zapp Rowsdower
2024-12-14 21:06:32 +0000 UTCThis generation grew up in the great depression, fought in WWII; grinding poverty, serious illness & early death was much more common than today. To characterise them as empty-headed & naive is ridiculous
Neighbourhood Watch Alliance
2024-12-14 15:29:58 +0000 UTCI think adults may be a bit too sophisticated to be this earnest any longer. It kind of works in old movies because we can almost believe the people of that time could be naive enough to feel an emotion unambiguously. An empty head holds a beautiful dream much better. In contrast to It's A Wonderful Life, "A Christmas Story" from 1983 kind of demonstrates the cynicism that infiltrated American cinema, albeit in a mild way. It's another Christmas classic but has just a bit more of an edge. That's the one I grew up with.
Noremac
2024-12-14 14:19:17 +0000 UTCWhat a lovely reaction, Jen! It's a Wonderful Life is such a classic Christmas film! Just for fun, I thought I'd throw a prediction into the mix. I predict that the 10 years of George's life following the conclusion of the film will be his best ever. The outpouring of love and support for George captured in the film will be picked up by local and regional newspapers. Before long, the Bailey Building and Loan will start to receive phone calls from people wanting to work for George. Within a year, George will hire a Senior Vice President of Bank Operations to whom he can delegate much of his day to day responsibilities. The Bailey Building and Loan will successfully open four new branch offices in nearby towns. Sam Wainwright's company will open a large account with the Building and Loan and the commercial lending department will experience dramatic growth and profitability, fueled by post–World War II expansion. George and Mary will finally be able to go on their honeymoon and George will be able to take a real vacation every year with his family to see all of the places he dreamed of visiting as a young man. George will give away much of his wealth and will establish the Peter Bailey Memorial Foundation in his father's name. George will never achieve Mr. Potter's level of wealth, but will live very comfortably and all of his children will attend college and learn the value of hard work and friendship. A wonderful life indeed!!
John Courtright
2024-12-14 14:06:55 +0000 UTCYou beat me to it! -)
Richard Moreland
2024-12-14 08:22:43 +0000 UTCFYI, Lionel Barrymore, aka Old Man Potter, is the Grand Uncle of actress Drew Barrymore. Famous acting dynasty.
Ed Bartlett
2024-12-14 07:55:49 +0000 UTCIt bothers many of us that Potter got away with it, so I thought you might like this - https://youtu.be/vw89o0afb2A?si=psgHKUZMM1BHdIW-
Daniel Goldberg
2024-12-14 05:52:59 +0000 UTCI've seen this at least 50x I cry every single time.
Kane
2024-12-14 05:18:04 +0000 UTCWas looking to see if someone already posted this, I was going to do the same.
Kane
2024-12-14 05:16:45 +0000 UTCI almost always seek out that clip after I watch this movie. It's satisfying and hilarious.
Zapp Rowsdower
2024-12-14 05:13:45 +0000 UTCHey Jen, if you're disappointed you didn't get to see Potter get his comeuppance you need to check out the lost ending here (the clip is introduced by somebody you might recognize)... 😉😂 https://youtu.be/vw89o0afb2A?si=EcVZ7xc26jlhyEe3
spacious_recroom
2024-12-14 04:54:02 +0000 UTCI would just like to point out that this is the first movie in your entire list under the letter I that isn’t followed with the letter N… 😆🖖
JFM3
2024-12-14 04:17:11 +0000 UTCA lovely reaction, Jen! To answer your question, the monetary comparison between 1946 and now is roughly 1:20, and that’s about the same for the other periods in the film (1932, 1935, etc.). Thus: . --Ernie Bishop’s $5,000 house would be worth $100,000 today. --George & Mary's $2,000 honeymoon "kitty" would have been $40,000 today. --George’s $45/week salary would be about $900/week ($45,000/year) today. --Potter’s $20,000/year job offer would be $400,000/year today. --The lost $8,000 would be $160,000 today. --George’s $15,000 life insurance policy is worth $300,000; his $500 equity is $10,000. --Sam Wainwright’s wired credit advance of $25,000 would be a half-million today. . There are some astonishing moments of acting in this film. The comparison between the characters in the alternate universe and their main-story selves (Ernie, Violet, Mary, and especially George’s mother) is incredible; it’s as if they’re not even the same actors. Also, in the moment where Mary returns home to find George (which, remember was shot on a hot sound-stage), I could feel how cold her cheeks were from running around outside. . Notice also that George’s desperate plea to live again is not granted so long as he is only asking Clarence. It’s when he says, “Please, God, let me live again” that the snow begins and his life snaps back into existence. . But more: think of this film as an anthem to George’s generation (what we, nowadays, call “the Greatest Generation”): They grew up full of optimism and hope, and just as they were coming into adulthood, the Great Depression hit. I’m sure *many* of them were unable to go to college as they’d planned and had their dreams ruined. And just as the Depression ended, the War came, four years of terror, toil, and sacrifice. When finally they were out of that war, they were in their late 30s and early 40s, transitioning into middle age, and must have felt that the world had passed them by, that they’d been robbed of their young adulthood. This film is a reminder to them that they achieved good things, that they should be proud and thankful. . This film also bears comparison to “A Christmas Carol”, which is almost the same story in reverse. Think of Potter as Scrooge, and George as Bob Cratchit. Notice that both of them have a climactic moment in a graveyard. But the message is, of course, the very opposite: a blessing on the protagonist's life instead of an angry correction of it. . As to your last comment: there was a wish-fulfillment skit on "Saturday Night Live", back in the 80s or 90s, in which this film ends with the lynching of Potter by the townfolk.
Ken Schneyer
2024-12-14 03:08:11 +0000 UTCThis year was my first year watching it too and it WRECKED me. I thought I knew the story already from pop culture osmosis, but seeing the full story was just…wow
Dean
2024-12-14 00:05:26 +0000 UTCIn my humble opinion, there just aren't any other Christmas movies like this one - it truly is amazing. It's long, but it doesn't really drag - the pace is slow, but it's consistent all through the movie, and really it tells three stories - the rise of George, the fall of George, and the redemption of George, and all three of those are pretty distinct and really have their own style of music and story telling. I believe I read somewhere that the movie was pretty much a commercial failure when it came out - to the point that Capra was thought to have lost his touch. When it came out, WWII just ended, and a lot of people were big with pride for their country, but also sorry for all the loss. There was a lot of negativity about portraying the banker as the horrible Scrooge like villain. The FBI actually put out a statement (according to Wikipedia) specifically naming this movie, that said portraying the rich, upper class people as villains was a trick of Communists who were trying to subvert people. Because it was unpopular, no one maintained the rights to the movie itself, and a couple of decades later, it was more or less a free Christmas movie for TV stations to play, and it found a new audience that had a very different outlook on life than their parents had. Maybe it was just ahead of it's time. I dunno, I just love this movie, and thank you for doing it. I cry each and every time I am able to sit and watch and enjoy it. One of my favorite scenes is when he shakes Potters hand and you can almost see the visible change as he sees through his unrealized dreams and realizes just who he is making a deal with, and Capra just let the movie sit in that moment for a while so we could feel the weight of that realization settle on George. So many beautiful small touches in the filmmaking of this one. Good times on a Friday afternoon.
Damon Corrigan
2024-12-13 23:10:26 +0000 UTCBert the cop, Ernie the cab driver were the inspiration for Bert and Ernie from sesame street
zynjams
2024-12-13 23:09:43 +0000 UTC$8,000 in 1945 would be worth $140,000 today.
Cliff Adams
2024-12-13 22:23:32 +0000 UTCThe job Potter offers George Baily (at $20,000/year) would be worth just shy of $500,000/year today.
Cliff Adams
2024-12-13 22:16:11 +0000 UTCMore Christmas films you should check out.. The Family Man 2000 The Holdovers 2023
Matt
2024-12-13 20:49:51 +0000 UTCThis movie holds a special place in my heart cause I used to watch it every year with my grandma before she passed, I miss her every day.
Dylan
2024-12-13 19:30:49 +0000 UTCNever seen this movie but as the title says this reaction should be and I know it will be WONDERFUL🔥💙
Ian
2024-12-13 19:29:28 +0000 UTCYou have to post a pic of the snow outside. Some years we get it most years we don’t or it just doesn’t stick. Love seeing it though. I’m so hyped for this. I’ve been waiting all week. Enough talking, and diving in now.
Jeremy Vickers
2024-12-13 19:28:43 +0000 UTCYay! On way home from work. Will catch this soon. 😄 That's a very beautiful & heart-warming thumb, btw.
Jason Scade
2024-12-13 19:26:44 +0000 UTCAhhhh I was just thinking about this. I absolutely adore this movie. When I was a kid and I first saw it I fell in love with Donna Reed. I say quotes from it all the time. Watching now!
Jeremy Vickers
2024-12-13 19:26:32 +0000 UTC
