The Viewer's Commentary

Directed by: Frank Capra

Produced by: Frank Capra

Written by: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Jo Swerling, Frank Capra (screenplay)

Cinematography by: Joseph Walker

Editing by: William Hornbeck

Music by: Dimitri Tiomkin

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi, Joseph Kearns

Year: 1946

Based on the short story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern

It’s almost impossible for me to hear the term “life-affirming” without thinking of something cloying or preachy. One of the few exceptions to this rule, however, is It’s a Wonderful Life — a film that, though undoubtedly now a Christmas season classic, is also a truly profound answer to the questions that may rise up as we go through life and its inherent trials. Read more…