It's a Wonderful Life achieves a fine balancing act between pathos and feel-good that is delivered by an outstanding cast.
Comment
04/17/01
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
94
%
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Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:49
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.6/10
Consensus: The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, It's a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing.
Theatrical Release:14-12-2007
Synopsis: A good but slightly ineffectual man tries to off himself after an error that really wasn't his fault. In Christmas Carol fashion, his crusty-but-lovable guardian angel shows up to give him a tour... [More]
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Director: Frank Capra
Reviews for It's a Wonderful Life
Top CriticYou'd have to possess a very hard heart not to find something to love in this story.
11/27/07
Top CriticRegardless of whether or not you believe in angels, it's a wonderful movie.
06/24/06
Top CriticIt’s a gem for any time of the year and, as such, a vital part of any film fan’s collection.
01/01/00
Top CriticA genuine American classic.
10/18/08
Top CriticThe story not only stands strong half a century later, but it continues to show up today's formulaic Hollywood films for the vacuous use of celluloid that they are.
12/10/01
No review available.
12/26/04
It suits a lot of people, but I find it hypocritical and false.
05/12/03
It isn't a terrible film by any means, and it's easy to see why people revere it.
01/01/00
That the picture will be one of the important exhibition ventures of 1947 is assured. With the Capra and cast names, it can't miss such an exalted niche.
06/05/02
Top CriticIt's a Wonderful Life is a pretty wonderful movie.
12/05/08
Top CriticThis heartwarming fantasy, one of the most popular films ever made, begins as angels discuss George Bailey (James Stewart), a small-town resident so beset with problems that he contemplates a Christmastime suicide.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe April-air wholesomeness and humanism of this natural bring back vividly the reminder that, essentially, the screen best offers unselfconscious, forthright entertainment.
06/26/07
Top CriticAs the hero, Mr. Stewart does a warmly appealing job, indicating that he has grown in spiritual stature as well as in talent during the years he was in the war. And Donna Reed is remarkably poised and gracious as his adoring sweet-heart and wife.
05/20/03
Top CriticNo review available.
02/27/04
Sometimes we need sweetness, like when we've just eaten a ration of bitter Neil LaBute or Ridley Scott movies.
09/13/03
This great American fable is buoyed by its unwavering faith in the wealth of the human spirit.
01/01/00
No review available.
02/08/04
The epiphany of movie sentiment and a transcendent experience.
06/26/07
Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama plays as a testament to the family values of small-town America just after WW11.
05/10/04
Latest News for It's a Wonderful Life
June 10, 2008:
Bob Anderson: 1933-2008 
Bob Anderson, the actor who played the younger version of George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, has succumbed to cancer at the age of 75. More...
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
December 22, 2006:
RT's Top Christmas Classics -- Christmas Countdown, Day Five
Welcome to the last day of RT's Five Days of Christmas Countdown, where we serve up a different list each day of the best holiday flicks around. Today, we've got the crème de la... More...
December 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: A Sly "Family Stone," A Towering "Kong"
This week at the movies, we have a giant ape {"King Kong"} and some yuletide dramedy ("The Family Stone"). Will the critics go bananas for these flicks? More...
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