Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, The 250 is a fortnightly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.
This time, a Christmas treat. Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
The iconic American fable about George Bailey and his time in Bedford Falls, It’s a Wonderful Life is a heartwarming Christmas classic about how no man is poor who has friends.
At time of recording, it was ranked the 24th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 11th December 2016.
- It’s a Wonderful Life at The Internet Movie Database.
- Wisebread on the FBI’s investigations of It’s a Wonderful Life.
- The Nerdist looks at the production and legacy of It’s a Wonderful Life.
- Stephen Cox at The Los Angeles Times discusses the legacy of the film, December 2006.
- The Dissolve on the planned sequel to It’s a Wonderful Life, November 2013.
- Owen Weber’s mock trailer for The Wolf of Bedford Falls, November 2013.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, jimmy stewart, podcast, The 250 |
the m0vie blog 
The great thing about this movie is the interplay between the saccharine moments with the depressing moments for most of the run time. For example, we go from George Bailey flirting with Mary to his struggiling with what to do after his father’s death. As the film goes on, however, the saccharine moments become fewer and fewer until Uncle Billy loses the moment. Then there is just an endless barrage of depressing dark scenes, so that the audience feels just as miserable as George Bailey does. Another major factor is that George Bailey is just such a normal individual. He is not a perfect hero, as gets frustrated and upset just like any person. I think this lack of sugarcoating is one of the major factors that makes the film so continually appealing. Whenever people reference the film they usually talk about the ending with Clarence, but it is the first three quarters that truly makes the film a classic.
Yeah, it was interesting to watch this film for the first time years ago, having been exposed to it through decades of pop culture. It was strange waiting so long to get to the Clarence stuff, because that is such a large part of what people think about when they hear the title of the film; what would the world be like, if you never existed?