Matthew Gallagher

The ending falls somewhat flat - it needed to tie back more organically to what led up to it, but otherwise this is an underseen and wonderfully atmospheric film noir that Hollywood can't make anymore - or write -without perverting the story and characters in the name of "edginess" and topicality instead of true character development. The film is based upon a book by the same author who wrote "Rear Window" and he fashions a great twist here that deepens the story and reveals the post World War Two angst that leaves a decent man psychologically shattered, but trying to hold onto his sanity - and his love of life (and an equally damaged woman). The superb cinematography is better than anything you will see today will all the CGI - and there's an incredible tracking shot in a Havana bar that leaves you off balance and wondering who is doing what, and who is singing, that is as good anything in an Orson Welles film. The musical score, acting, and direction is top notch. SEE IT!!

It is simply the greatest American film ever made, beyond its earned status as the greatest Christmas film. It never ages, though it depicts a long ago small-town, which, remarkably, still exists in many places in the United States. The story is beautifully set up, from George Bailey's boyhood heroics in saving his younger brother to the final, magnificent scene of George's neighbors, friends, and family, showing the better angles of their nature - and the realization of how much George has meant to them, though he didn't realize it until it was too late. It is a kind of ghost story like Dickens "A Christmas Carol," but far more layered, with a strong, passionate love story, endowed with warmth and beauty, and also a comedic film, a film noir film, an inspirational film - all contained within its magnificence. How was Capra able to pull it off? With first class attention to every detail - and, of course, a superb cast. James Stewart gives the best performance by an actor in sound film. He goes though more changes, from innocence and idealism, to maturity, to haunting despair, and, finally, elation. Name me another actor who could do all that. "It's A Wonderful Life" doesn't seem "made" as much as "born" - a miracle that has kept giving since 1946. And we needed it more in this year - 2020 - than ever before.

This is a masterpiece and my favorite of Hitchcock's work, not only for his mastery of tempo and tension, but superb cinematography, a wry, literate script that puts to shame so much of what passes for filmmaking today - and, most of all, two steller, classic performers in James Stewart and Grace Kelly, at the absolute top of their game. Notice the subtle acting throughout, Stewart and Kelly's easy chemistry making this not only one of the great thrillers of all time, but one of the great romances. It never ages. It has more to say to us today than it did then. It is also, as so many great movies are, fun, entertaining, suspenseful, and fully adult. Today's filmmakers should take note: this is how it is done.