Have you ever watched "It's A Wonderful Life" all the way through?

[GURUving]

I never have, and live with the shame. I tried tonight, but got caught up in other things yet again.

Does it have more than the "I should appreciate my life more" theme?

[ajacobson]

1. It's got an interesting backstory

The movie bombed when it came out, but later because it was in the public domain local stations could show it over and over and the peeps got used to it at x-mas, now it's a tradition. How it got recopyrighted, I'm not sure but now it's owned by one of the networks.

[Wickerman]

7. It wasn't a matter of being "re-copyrighted"

As a work derivative of other work (as pretty much any entertainment product on any form of video is) it was still under copyright by those copyrights. It got a heap of a lot of people in a hot spot when the copyright lawyers got that all figured out.

Here is a convoluted link htat gives the background and more legal info than you might want, yet is pretty fascinating for some of us:
http://www.film-center.com/canishow.html

[HereSince1628]

2. Enough to identify and punch "next" in nanoseconds...

[gonefishing]

3. I'm a Capra Junkie!

I am watching it right now. You Can't Take It with You was on the other night.

[Bunny]

4. I used to be able to recite entire passages

of the script. It never fails to reduce me to a blubbering heap at the end, you know, when Clarence gets his wings?

Because it used to be on all day every day for a month, I could catch bits and pieces of it every day. I usually don't have time to sit through the entire three hours now. But I've got it on video!

[liberalmuse]

5. Yes, several times.

It's one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time, and well worth watching the entire way through.

[NashVegas]

6. 80 Million Times

And I still cry when Harry comes home.

[moof]

8. Lotsa times, fav line is when George asks ...

do you have any money on ya & the angel says " Oh we don't need money in heaven & George says,

" It comes in pretty handy down here bub ".

Great line & a big laugh every time.

[gonefishing]

11. Lost Ending To "It's A Wonderful Life"

Where uncle billy remembers where he left the money and tho mob goes and beats the hell out of potter.

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86hlife.phtml

[kanrok]

9. Warped frustrated old man that Mr. Potter

[cosmicdot]

10. Dick Cheney played that rich old Mr. Potter really well, didn't he?

he's just as convincing in real life

[kanrok]

13. Stop, your scaring me!

[dflprincess]

15. Once again, great minds think alike

I was going to add a post to this thread comparing the two, but I didn't have a picture to add.

[kanrok]

12. That's it! Out you two pixies go! Trew da window or trew da door!

Get me! I'm givin' out wings! Best line in the movie.

[Astarho]

14. It was actually subversive when it came out

There were regulations in Hollywood at the time due to end of WWII and during the Red Scare about certain things you could not show in movies.

You could not portray bankers as evil (like Mr. Potter)
You could not show the stuggle of the common man (like George Bailey)

I know there are others but these are all I can think of now.

[mrsteve]

16. Am I the only one who thinks Pottersville is more fun than Bedford Falls?

I mean, come on, it's got bars, nightclubs, dancing girls, late kight entertainment...

Maybe it's a bit of subtle irony on the part of Billy Wilder to show what was fun to the "Hollywood Elites" that was anathema to small town America.

[WillyT]

17. Pottersville Is *'s America !!!

Pawn shops, low paid drunks carousing at the local bar with no bright future in store.

Now if Gore had lived...

:evilgrin:

[BrotherBuzz]

18. Spoiler warning!!!

Clarence gets his wings!