Christmas Holiday Movie: It's A Wonderful Life (1946) (02:10:24)
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story, "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern.
The film takes place in the fictional town of Bedford Falls shortly after World War II and stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose attempted suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Most of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George's entire life and narrated by Franklin and Joseph, unseen Angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by George and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.
The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world, although, due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a "flop." The film's break-even point was actually $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release. Mark Eliot writes, "Although it was not the complete box-office failure that today everyone believes... it was a major disappointment and confirmed, at least to the studios, that Capra was no longer capable of turning out the populist features that made his films the must-see, money-making events they once were." Although not an Oscar winner at the time, it has been since named by the American Film Institute one of the best films ever made and was placed number one on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers list of the most inspirational American films of all time.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life
Comedy Movies, Holiday Comedy, Christmas