Great Christmas (and all year round) movie

Rating: 9/10 (17 January 2014)

Frank Capra's 1946 drama/fantasy IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is one of the best-remembered films of all time, and it's no surprise; this moralistic tale of human suffering, poverty, greed, courage and determination is one that resounds through the ages, particularly so in our modern age of fat-cat bankers and a growing gap between rich and poor.
James Stewart gives a dependably decent turn as George Bailey, a family man who finds himself at the mercy of Lionel Barrymore's criminal banker, Mr. Potter. What follows is lengthy and often profound, an occasionally twee but ultimately moving exploration of the human character and the effect one man can have on his world.
What I particularly liked about IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is the way that every part of the narrative hangs together without any unnecessary extras. Even the little bits like the accident on the ice at the outset later come back to haunt our characters. It's very well written, and expertly directed by Frank Capra; an unashamedly old-fashioned, heart-warming and sentimental piece of movie-making on a grand scale. I'd even go so far as to call it the ultimate Christmas film.