Displaying items by tag: It's a Wonderful Life

“It's a Wonderful Life is truly the platinum standard in Christmas movies; the benchmark by which all other entries in the genre are judged.” — Thomas A. Christie, author of The Christmas Movie Book

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 75th anniversary of the release of It’s a Wonderful Life, the Christmas classic directed by Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) and starring James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story, Vertigo) and Donna Reed (From Here to Eternity, The Donna Reed Show).

In 1990 the Library of Congress selected It’s a Wonderful Life for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” and in 1998 the American Film Institute (AFI) recognized the film as the 11th greatest movie ever made. The film has been released countless times on home media formats with its most recent release (on 4K UHD) in 2019 (and reviewed here). [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting the week with a new Blu-ray review from Tim Salmons, who has checked out Criterion’s The Kid for you today. Do give it a look.

I’m currently working on my reviews of Batman v Superman, Watchmen, and Man of Steel in 4K, but it might take a few days to get them finished. Sarah and I have had a never-ending stream of family visitors here in SoCal this summer, so it’s been tricky to get a lot of work done. The last of these visitors arrives tonight for a few days, so I appreciate your patience.  [Read on here…]

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Well folks, this is going to be our last post until Monday as we take the rest of the week off to spend the Christmas holiday with our families. But we do have some cool stuff for you…

First, we’ve got a pair of new Blu-ray reviews. Our own Tim Salmons has checked out Scream Factory’s Lord of Illusions and Criterion’s The Innocents, and both are well worth a look. Also, in the spirit of the holiday season, we present my review of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life on Blu-ray, as well as Dr. Jahnke’s look at A Christmas Story, and Barrie Maxwell’s thoughts on White Christmas.  While we’re at it, here’s Die Hard too. Because nothing quite says Christmas like “Yippee ki-yay!” Enjoy!  [Read on here…]

Most film columnists start writing their Christmas pieces around August, churning out their memories of It’s a Wonderful Life (which is a story in itself – this generation has no idea that the film was considered an oddity and a flop until Jimmy Stewart mentioned it on The Tonight Show and, as it was in the public domain and available for cheap airings, it has since been considered a “classic”) and other routine movies that just happen to tell a Christmas like story.  Movies like Miracle on 34th Street and Christmas in Connecticut still hold up and there are others I’m sure that do as well, but few movies that are singularly about Christmas float my boat.  I’ve seen them a million times and most are creaky.  Here are my favorite Christmas movies, a list my successful and thoughtful brother calls Christmas Movies for People Who Aren’t Enamored with Christmas Movies.  [Read on here…]

Well, folks... today is the Friday before Christmas, so you know what that means.  Hollywood is shutting down for the holidays and lots of you are starting your Christmas vacations!

Things are going to be pretty slow over the next week or two, so we may not check in every day, but we’ll try to drop by if there anything worth reporting for you guys.  You never know.  And we’ll have some reviews for you too.

Speaking of which, we’ve just added no less than 12 Blu-ray Disc reviews into the new site’s database, including a pair of music titles in Sting: Bring on the Night and The Police: Certifiable, a couple of fine catalog titles in the form of Forrest Gump, Rocky Balboa and Outbreak, a mess of Dr. Jahnke’s horror reviews including Audition, Children of the Corn, Child’s Play, Book of Blood and The Blood Trilogy, and finally a pair of great holiday titles including White Christmas and – or course – It’s a Wonderful Life.  What would the Christmas season be without those last two?  [Read on here...]