It's a Wonderful Life follows the life story of a man who must be convinced not to end his life by having an angel show him what the world would have been like without him. It's a Wonderful Life was made almost eighty years ago however it remains a timeless family classic. I am guilty of only recently seeing this influential movie for the first time although it's better late than never.

There's no point arguing that It's a Wonderful Life is old; it just is. So no matter how good the movie was, it is going to feel somewhat outdated almost eighty years later. However, as the movie progressed it felt less and less outdated. Perhaps this was purely due to the audience becoming more and more used to the bad audio quality and the black and white but nonetheless, the later parts of the movie were more enjoyable than the earlier parts. The dialogue was at times hard to understand due to the bad quality and the fast pace at which they spoke, however, this was something that you also get used to and would be easier to understand upon a second viewing. But once again, these critiques were not something that could be controlled when the movie was made and are only noticeable due to the incredible quality of movies today.

I'm trying to imagine what It's a Wonderful Life would have been like if it were made today and this is proving to be a difficult task. The film used many techniques that are still used in modern movies and likely influenced many later movies. And although there were many parts of the movie that became uncontrollably outdated, there were many aspects of the film that outdo modern movies. I was expecting the acting to be bad due to the movie's age, however, the acting was surprisingly outstanding. Due to the movie spanning the whole life of a man, many actors and actresses needed to age themselves throughout the movie and they did a remarkable of making themselves appear to be older in later parts of the movie. Humour is usually the first aspect of a movie to get outdated but this was not the case in It's a Wonderful Life. The movie had some genuine and wholesome jokes that never made you feel bad for laughing as is sometimes the case with modern humour.

However, the aspect of the movie that didn't get outdated a single bit was the story. This would have been such a unique idea at the time and is a story that will remain relevant a century later. The idea has even been reused in other movies but none will ever be up to the standard and originality of It's a Wonderful Life. The idea of how much impact one person can have on others is an incredible concept. The 'moral of the story' of It's a Wonderful Life is one that shouldn't be ignored. This is the exact kind of movie you should watch when you're feeling down. You have to expect it to get better throughout and not judge it based on its first half-hour.

Although old, It's a Wonderful Life remains to be an incredible and influential movie. It is funny, has some great acting and has a near-perfect story. Although the first half of the movie is certainly not as good as its second, it provides important details that may only be noticed upon a second viewing. I feel ashamed at not including it in my best Christmas movies list!

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers

Year released: 1946

My rating: 8.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 29/05/2022