I just posted a new poll, so be sure to vote. If you’ve got any movies that aren’t on the poll but should be, post below. My favorite Christmas movie of all time is “It’s a Wonderful Life”, hands down. Indeed, watching this film is one of the highlights of the Christmas season. While most movies are about romantic love, this is a film more about platonic love, about the meaning of friendship and how important it is to our lives. But at the time it was released, it received mixed reviews:
-Indeed, the weakness of this picture, from this reviewer’s point of view, is the sentimentality of it—its illusory concept of life. Mr. Capra’s nice people are charming, his small town is a quite beguiling place and his pattern for solving problems is most optimistic and facile. But somehow they all resemble theatrical attitudes rather than average realities. -New York Times
Oh, and apparently there are people who are such stoners that they have figured out when to synch up “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Pink Foyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. Another strange fact about the film: the FBI hated it. A 1947 FBI memo stated that, “With regard to the picture ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’…this film is a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ‘scrooge type’ so that he would be the most hated man in the picture. This, according to these sources, is a common trick used by Communists.” Final fun fact, this one courtesy of wikipedia: After Uncle Billy chooses between his three wavering hats and leaves George’s house drunk, it sounds as if he is falling over trash cans. This scene was unplanned. A technician accidentally dropped some equipment off-set, making a loud noise. Shouting “I’m all right, I’m all right,” the actor saved the take and made comedic history. The stagehand made an extra $10.