This is definitely a Christmas movie not just because it happened on Christmas but all the elements of this season. Love, hope, joy, appreciatoon, sharing, giving, friendship.. It's heartwarming

Just a little hint. When you watch these older black and white movies don’t watch the colorized version. It ruins it. They were shot specifically for black and white with the lighting being a big part of the ambience. When colorized it takes away from the warmth.

I’m surprised how unimpressed and unmoved you seemed to be. Literally every other reaction video to this movie the viewers were in tears and deeply touched. I don’t understand how you weren’t. You seemed bored. That’s too bad.

"Why was he looking at his hand?" When I was a kid, people used to say if you need to remember something you tie a string to your finger, and it will help you remember. In the movie, Uncle Billy tied a string to his finger to remember to call the bank examiner but still forgot.

This most definitely IS a ‘Christmas Movie’. This movie is basically an alternate version of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Scrooge is Potter. But Bailey has the opportunity to meet his own version of ‘The Ghosts of Xmas past, present, and future’. But his ghost is an angel that shows him what would happen if he were never even born at all.

James Stewart had a bad case of PTSD when he made this movie. He was a bomber pilot during World War II. He was very stressed out and some of that shows in his performance in It's A Wonderful Life. Over time, he was able to overcome the shell shock and other stresses he endured at war and was able to happily move on with his life.

Wow! This is one of my favorite films period. You're the first person I've ever heard react negativitly to this absolute classic. To each his own I guess, good luck with your channel.

I’m disappointed that you’re not watching the original black and white film but maybe if you watch this film again you can view the original black and white version. Apart from this film my favourite Donna Reed film is ‘From Here to Eternity’ (1953) in which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress alongside Frank Sinatra who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. My favourite Jimmy Stewart film is ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ (1962) where he teamed up with ‘The Duke’ John Wayne.

It’s the message of Christmas. Which is joy, hope, and love.

The Black & White version is best.

When I was a kid (and I'm old now) this movie played almost 24 hours a day on the TV around Christmas time. The movie was public domain at the time, so every station played it nearly on repeat. Once someone got a hold of the copyright it was limited to once a year, one showing.

Listen the movie starts on Christmas eve with the angels talking about George and then the movie does flashbacks but the point of narration of the flashbacks is still happening on Christmas eve, then once the flashbacks are over its still Christmas eve. So in a way 100% of the movie is on Christmas eve :P

According to Google, the $8,000.00 lost would nowadays be over $170,000.00. Dammit, Uncle Billy! lol

My mother grew up in the 40s and said she could walk home at 2 in the morning in the Bronx NY.

You dont get it? The movie is more than Xmas! Great movie...Great! Watch it again maybe you will get it!

I've seen this movie probably 100 times, but never once have I seen it colorized. Hmm. Anyway, one thing that really surprises me is how none of the KZfaq reactors has a clue what the strings tied around Uncle Billy's fingers are for. It was an old method people would use to remind them not to forget about such and such, whatever it may be. So when he's told about the bank examiner, he looked at his hand, saw the string tied around his finger and says "oh yeah, I'm supposed to call him." There's a little bit of useless trivia for you. Cheers! PS. Just FYI, $20,000 in 1939 is $423,000 today!

Wholesome Level on this movie is 100.

If you think about it, the entire movie takes place during Christmas. Most of the movie is just a flashback showing George’s life. The actual movie only really starts on Christmas Eve and ends on Christmas Day.

The colorized version doesn't quite have the impact of the origibal b&w version but it's ok. Several people have chosen the colorized version to react to before. I'll never understand why they felr some of the old b&w classics even *needed* to be colorized decades after the original was filmed.

You have no soul! GOD BLESS ALL HERE!!!

Many people don’t know the scene where uncle billy was tipsy, walked off camera and tripped with the sound of trash cans falling over was actually an accident and they decided to keep it in the movie.

The whole movie takes place on Christmas Eve. All the backstory is a series of flashbacks.

the whole Christmas movie came along when it entered public domain and local tv stations could air it for no fee. you could watch this every day in December at any hour years ago. This flick will melt the hardest of hearts, nice reaction.

19:56 It's the best Christmas movie of all time!

His uncle looked at his hand in the beginning bc he had tied pieces of string to his fingers, so that when he saw the string he’d remember what he was trying not to forget. Except he didn’t look down at his hands lol.

Die Hard is NOT a Xmas movie. This is.😁

This along with Miracle on 34th Street are my must Christmas movies. I started watching these with my gram as a small child & even though she's been gone 36yrs, I still watch & have wonderful memories. Merry Christmas

In 2023, the equivalent values adjusted for inflation from 1948 are approximately: • $20,000 in 1948 is equivalent to about $250,552.70 in 2023. • $8,000 in 1948 is equivalent to about $100,221.08 in 2023. These calculations use the average annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2023

I've heard that "It's a Wonderful Life" was written to help soldiers and sailors who had returned from WWII, and felt that their moment to be heroes had passed them by. Most who served and returned, were not on the front lines and their stories were of boredom and monotony, uncelebrated. The message was that they could still be heroic, by living a good life and doing what was right. The movie "Mister Roberts" with Henry Fonda and Jack Lemon comes closest to the plight of those whose jobs were vital, but not in the awareness of the public. When they returned, they felt that the chance to shine was past...

20 thousand a year back then could by you a large beautiful home. He'd have been a rich man.

$20,000 in 1939 (roughly when the scene occurred) was just shy of what $500,000 is today. Which puts that $8,000 in perspective too as around $200,000.

16:11 Because there's no TV, Playstation or Internet. 16:31 Because getting married to the girl next door will kill his dreams of world adventure, for sure.

Bert the Cop and Ernie the cab driver were the inspiration for Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. True Story.

Old maid Mary was about 36! Lol

You have to see this movie in black and white it makes so much more of a difference

My favorite Christmas movie

This movie opens and closes on Christmas Eve

An interesting back story to the film from a movie industry perspective is that _It's a Wonderful Life_ became such a Christmas classic entirely by accident, essentially through a clerical error. The 1946 film by director Frank Capra, one of the founders of the small, independent studio Liberty Films, was at the time of its release a box office flop. The studio, having borrowed most of the money to make the picture, was fatally overextended, and the failure of this one film put them under, pulling down Capra's directorial career with it. And of course, with him having a reputation for making enemies out of everyone from the screenwriters, and their guild, to the musical director, being tied to a flop was merely the final straw for the eccentric, artistic director. Paramount ended up acquiring the studio and everything of value in the ensuing fire sale, and through a series of subsequent deals, Republic Pictures acquired the ownership, and copyright, of the film. The clerical error had to do with the copyright laws, which said that in order to retain their rights over _It's a Wonderful Life,_ Republic had to renew the copyright 28 years later, in 1974. They failed to do so, allowing the film to pass into the public domain. Before this, it barely got any air play at all. Now, TV stations could play it every day if they chose, and play it they did, year round, Christmas or not, all the time! Slowly a groundswell of public support grew up around this well-made, wholesome story, until it became regarded as a classic. By 1982, the film that had torpedoed his career became the impetus for Frank Capra receiving the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award! It eventually got played only at Christmas time, as per the setting of the story, and has been a Christmas classic ever since. And Republic Pictures did eventually win back their copyright standing, in court in 1993, through retaining the rights to the original novel and the film's score, relying on a 1990 precedent. So, it's no longer in the public domain. But all those years of public domain 'free' play (TV stations not having to pay royalties) had worked their magic, and the film remains an important part of the Christmas season.

I love old movies... One of the greatest of all is really a misconception of a true bio of a baseball legend as a sports movie when it is actually a fantastic tear-jerking LOVE STORY. "PRIDE OF THE YANKEES" The story of Lou Gehrig.

Was just starting to watch when I realised it's the colorized version. Sorry no, hope you enjoyed it though, kerk

Yes! You are an old maid. 😭

Fyi the 5000 mentioned early in the movie is about 101k today and the 8000 is just about 170k today that's why so important in the movie

The kid's ear bleeding was not scripted. That really happened. The actor who played Mr. Gawar accidentally smacked the child actor too hard causing his ear to bleed. I feel like that move would take on a whole different life nowadays huh? Hitting a child actor to the point of a bleeding ear? I don't think a simple apology would absolve that in 2023 :)

Black and white.

This movie came out just before the tv revolution in the early '50's when it seemed overnight everyone got a tv. As such, radio still represented the height of technology (although stories did come from radio). And so the makers of this movie NEVER had a clue it would reach such great heights on tv in later years because the whole of this didn't exist.

3:01 RKO was a film studio back in the day, but when this movie came out RKO was on hard times. Howard Hughes ultimately bought RKO and produced some really good low budget films that today are classified today as Film Noir.

I hold it together until the book signed at end "thanks for the wings", then the bell rings 😢😢

If you like this, you might love The Shop Around The Corner.

Im sorry you watched the colorized version

Holiday classic 🎉

$20,000 per year would be ~$450,000 today!

This is low-key Mary Hatch-Bailey's story! This is also my all-time favorite Christmas film!

"12 Angry Men" is another black and white movie that stands the test of time. It's fantastic, one of the best movies of all time. "The Boat" is another incredible black and white movie. Actually, there are lots of great classic movies you should react to!

Did you recognize Alfalfa from The Little Rascals all grown up?

Nice reaction 😎

Probably one of the most unemotional reactions on YT I have seen to this movie - good for somethings in life but questionable on the emotional draw of this piece of magnificent entertainment.- yes I know it takes all sorts.

i always related to george because i, too, was deaf in one ear my whole life. but i'm still waiting for my clarence. where's my clearance clarence? frank capra made a slew of "feel good" movies before this one. it was kind of his trademark. watch "american madness" (1932), "mr deeds goes to town" (1936), "you can't take it with you" (1938), "mr smith goes to washington" (1939, the last 2 also star jimmy stewart), and "meet john doe" (1941, also christmas themed). he also brought us "it happened one night" (1934, the first movie to win all 5 of the major oscars), "lost horrizons" (1937), "arsenic and old lace" (1944) and "state of the union (1948). sadly capra is greatly underrated these days but his films possess a special emotional touch no director has come close to emulating. "ruggles of red gap" (1935) directed by Leo McCarey and "sullivan's travels" (1941) directed by preston sturges come the closest though. thanks for the video.

I never would have watched this on my own LOL

My all-time favorite movie.

Another classic Christmas movie you may enjoy, The Bishop's Wife. If you are interested in a classic comedy with James Stewart, The Philadelphia Story.

"You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?" Merry Christmas! ✝️ 🙏 🎄 🎁 Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debut of Edith Russell. AFI Certified Fact: Ranked as the #1 Most Inspirational Movie of All Time by the American Film Institute in 2006. Capitalist Message Fact: This movie is also a stealth capitalist movie. It rejects the idea of centralized banking and a monopoly. Thumbs up if you agree to a Federal Reserve audit. Home Run Fact: For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock through the window of the Granville house, director Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out on cue. To everyone's amazement, Reed broke the window by herself. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm. What Script Fact: As Uncle Billy drunkenly leaves the Bailey home, it sounds as if he stumbles into some trash cans on the sidewalk. In fact, a crew member dropped a large tray of props right after Thomas Mitchell (one of my favorite actors of the era) went off-screen. James Stewart began laughing and Mitchell quickly improvised the "I'm alright! I'm okay!" line. Director Frank Capra decided to use this take and gave the stagehand a $10 bonus. Location Location Fact: The set for Bedford Falls was constructed in two months and was one of the longest sets that had ever been made for an American movie. It covered four acres of RKO's Encino Ranch. It included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district and a large residential and slum area. Main Street was 300 yards long, three whole city blocks. The gym floor that opens in the middle to reveal the swimming pool underneath was filmed at Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California, USA was real and is still in regular use. The same gymnasium moving floor was used in a similar school dance scene in Whatever It Takes (2000), fifty-four years later. The young man who opened the floor to the pool was Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer of the Our Gang/Little Rascals franchise in an uncredited cameo role.

Kwanza? Naaaah.

You are Not an old maid.

Potter should have went to jail for felony theft! His name is Lionel Barrymore, the games actor of stage and screen, all the way back to the silent era! The Barrymore family is Hollywood royalty, Drew Barrymore is a great great granddaughter!😮😮. The scene where George comes out of his mom's halfway house,Clarence telling him he's gone, the extreme closeup on his face, is a very dark, almost scary scene DiCapra did! Can u even believe, this movie saved his life? From WW2? Jimmy was so ate up with PTSD, he didn't want to do movies ever again. Lionel convinced him, to be in this. Can u believe how many movies came from this? Jimmy started out as a ww2 pilot, became an ace, squadron commander, wing commander, and an entire flight operations officer! He had horrible PTSD, until he did this movie. And the biggest crime? The banker....shoulda went to jail! He is the original family royalty, Barrymore! But he belongs in jail!!! Black and white Reese Witherspoon movie? Groundhog Day? Scrooged? Four Christmases? Click? And in some places, very dark!! And his girl, went on to massive acclaim. Movies and the Donna Reed show!! The jim Carrey 50s movie, plus Bruce Almighty, plus beautiful sunlight...plus the Truman show? The impact of this movie, ....u can't count that high! Also watch his incredible movie, Mr Smith goes to Washington! U will never hear references to Clarence, ever again, during Christmas, Angels, miracles, without thinking of this movie!! Pro tip.... SNL did a skit where several of the townspeople confronted Potter, whip his butt, then send him to jail for theft and bank fraud! Pro tip...the ginger snap cookie, was made from this movie, when George called Zuzu, gingersnap!!

I'm 63 and the drug store scene sticks with me as the most touching scene I've ever seen.

Good people, doing good things, in a good way is the fuel that keeps the bad guys in check. Even if it is just a KZfaq channel.

Fyi when breaking glass in old house they had a sniper ready to help her break a wi down but she did it first try as she was a pitcher in high school

His dreams are getting further away and may not happen at all, the disappointment devastation life is killing his dreams

Lionel Barrymore, Mr. Potter, is Drew Barrymore's grandfather. It's a Wonderful Life is really an inverted A Christmas Carol. Instead of the main character being a villain going for redemption, it is the good guy who doesn't know his value in life.

Fun Fact! This movie is public domain... except for the alternate timeline bit. That part of the movie is copy righted.

Henry F. Potter. The narrator slurred the name.

It's a wonderful movie! It has become a beloved Christmas classic. However, it was denounced by the FBI as Communist propaganda after its release. They claimed the movie displayed poor old Mister Potter, the Banker, as grasping and greedy when he was just being a fine American Capitalist. Oddly enough, neither the FBI nor the movie itself ever denounced him for stealing the $8,000 that Uncle Billy lost. I guess, since he was an upstanding Capitalist, it was a simple case of "Finders keepers, losers weepers," huh?

The original one was in black and white version was much better. On this they redone the color

Other movies considered Christmas films that have a minimal amount about Christmas are Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. So I guess if the movie plot takes place during Christmas, it's a Christmas film.

Internet lists even count Planes, Trains and Automobiles as a Christmas Movie, when it's crystal clear that it's a movie around Thanksgiving time.

The kid that Georgesays "stop annoying people!" at the dance is Carl Switzer....better known as Alfalfa of the Little Rascals....

Die Hard is a great movie but it's not really an xmas movie. Thats a running joke people have because there is a lame xmas party in the film for about 10 minutes at most and it has nothing at all to do with the film. You should definitely watch it. But if your doing xmas themed stuff, maybe wait a week. Actually, a very similar troupe is from Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. (Scrooge) That book was written 100+ years before this movie. This movie actually borrows more than a few things from A Christmas Carol. If you have seen one of the many versions, you will see what I mean.

Stopped watching when I saw it was colorized.

Back up until the late 60s, any woman not married by the age of 28 was considered an "old maid"! Today however that has changed to 32 years of age. You can either be referred to as an old maid or a feminist, your choice. After 40 your pretty much leftovers.

How's it going today?

You ruined this reaction by watching the low quality color version of this movie, it was made in black & white and that is what we expect.

Of course she's in real estate. I noticed that a lot of the women that we find attractive online end up being in real estate. I have yet to see an unattractive real estate agent

If you are bored, stop the movie and watch something else. Watch something with CGI and explosions.

What a lackluster boring uninvested reaction to an American classic

Heartless and lame review of a Classic....fail

Damn this woman is beautiful

You probably would have gotten more out of this classic, heartwarming movie if you hadn't been so busy adjusting your hair & ball cap. I need to remind myself that it takes no skill , talent or education to film yourself watching tv. Sad commentary on the ambitions of people all over the world today. If only people would remember that the only true influencer we need to follow & like is Jesus.

Old maid is a woman 26 yr and over.

Interesting accent. What country are you from?

This is the colorized version. I'm not a snob, so I like it.

My unpopular opinion is that this is not a Christmas movie. It is a good movie, however it only briefly takes place a Christmas, has no Christmas music, and has no Christmas themes. Why is it considered a Christmas movie? Because way back in the day the networks could get this and other film flops cheap to run at Christmas. Wizard of Oz was also considered a Christmas movie back then because it always played on Christmas and you'll see this in the period Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. Die Hard is much more a Christmas movie being set entirely at Christmas, with Christmas music and themes of family and forgiveness running in multiple threads throughout the film.

Both Jimmy Stewart and the director, Frank Capra said this was not a Christmas movie.

Great movie! This is also a Frank Capra movie perfect for the new year as it ends on New Year’s Eve! Super relevant for today’s political/media driven culture and the toil it takes on the common people. Meet John Doe - Gary Cooper and Barbra Stanwyck kzfaq.info/get/bejne/acB_iZeKzdfZiH0.htmlsi=6JYpTKPW_1nmnP41