486. It's A Wonderful Life; movie review

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Cert U
131 mins
BBFC advice: Contains no material likely to harm or offend

My gob is well and truly smacked.
Among the 4,500 or so reviews on everyfilm.co.uk , a search indicates that I have never done one for my favourite film of all time, It's A Wonderful Life.
I was certain that I had watched it at least three or four times during the past eight years because it is re-released every Christmas and I thought I had already penned my admiration for Frank Capra's film.
This year we didn't go to the cinema to see it but did make the tale of George Bailey our Christmas Day viewing thanks to iTunes.
My dad complained that it would be too sentimental but we knew he would fall asleep after dinner so we ignored his pleas. Meanwhile, my mum was entranced. She is on the cusp of 80 and could not remember seeing it before.
The reason why It's A Wonderful Life has passed the test of time is that its message is still as salient in 2018/19 as it was in the 1940s.
It teaches us that good should still prevail over greed and that we are all likely to underestimate our contribution to the world.
I shan't go into a blow by blow account of what happens but I can say that its final scenes never fail to prompt a tear.
This may be because we have all known the George Bailey scenario of being at the end of our tether.
I suspect few have experienced the type of epiphany made possible by Clarence the angel (Henry Travers) but I bet most of us have seen goodness but not recognised it in the same way as fear and evil.
James Stewart is brilliant as Bailey and Donna Reed is the personification of support as his wife.
Meanwhile, Lionel Barrymore proves that on-screen villainy can be better achieved with voice inflexion and the raising of an eyebrow than an arsenal of weapons.
His Mr Potter has the townsfolk of Bedford Falls on the run for much of the film but they, George and Clarence prove that good can triumph in the end.
I'm sorry if this is a partial spoiler but really you should have watched It's A Wonderful Life by now.
Its brilliance is that even if you have seen it dozens of times, it still has fantastic emotional pull.
Roll on next Christmas. I can't wait for another re-run.

Reasons to watch: The best film of all time
Reasons to avoid: There isn't one

Laughs: A couple of chuckles
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 10/10 (I would give it 11 if I could)

Director quote - Frank Capra: "Jimmy Stewart got out of the army about the same time I did and his agent said to me 'Jimmy wants to make a picture with you' and in a few days I went to Jimmy and said: 'I've got a great story' and he just said 'you bet!'."

The big question - Will there ever be a better film?

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