Am I the only person alive who has never watched

[CatWoman]

"It's a Wonderful Life"?

:shrug:

don't plan to, either.

BTW: It's on tonight at 8 eastern.

[amazona]

1. I've never watched it

I read the short story though in a collection of Christmas stories once. That's enough sugar for me!

[Character Assassin]

2. No, I've never seen it.

But I've heard some intriguing audio clips from it.

[goobergunch]

3. I've never watched it (n/t)

[LynneSin]

4. You're sharing good company with that list

I've never seen it either. Not much of an inkling to actually watch it either. I'll toss that on the same list with "ET" and "Dances with Wolves" as really good movies I suppose I should see but really don't have an inkling to watch them.

[UrbScotty]

5. I haven't seen it, either.

I guess that makes six of us.

[Mikimouse]

6. Does it count if you wish you'd never watched it?

n/t

[Jim Sagle]

7. I've seen bits and pieces of it.

[ChiefHappyButt]

8. It is truly a great movie

It has withstood the test of time, and is even more relevant today. I think it's a great movie.

[MotorCityMan]

41. I agree, it is a great movie

James Stewart really deserved an Oscar for his performance. It is not as sweet and sacharine as you might think. It is actually nightmarish and unnerving in the scenes where he gets to see what it would have been like if he hadn't been born. The people in his life who were so warm and caring with him are seen to be cold.

[oneighty]

9. Never

But I have never seen a Seinfeld thingie either. Or Friends, or A reality show. Or Leno or .......

180

[Zomby Woof]

10. it'll help...

You can appreciate the "lost" ending SNL did some years ago, where Dana Carvey (Jimmy Stewart's character) gets everyone together to kick the shit out of Mr. Potter (Jon Lovitz). Phil Hartman played the doddering Uncle Billy. :D

SNL transcript:

William Shatner: Ladies and Gentlemen: You are about to witness an important moment in the history of both television and cinema. After a search of nearly 40 years, the fabled "lost ending" to Frank Capra's 1947 film, "It's a Wonderful Life" has been found! Tonight, for the first time anywhere, "Saturday Night Live" is proud to present this priceless footage - the fully realized vision of an authentic American genius. So, without further ado, here is the "lost ending" to "It's a Wonderful Life".

(fade in to clips from the film of the famous "You are now entering Bedford Falls" sign, as well as the equally famous shots of the Christmas-lit streets of Bedford Falls. Cut to the Bailey home, where the good citizens have convened to rally behind their neighbor George Bailey in his time of need. As we fade in, we see Ernie emptying a basket full of cash onto the table as George and his family look on in awe.)

Mary Bailey: They've been coming all evening. They didn't ask any questions - all they said was, "if George Bailey needs help, we're here to help him!"

George Bailey: (holding Zsu-Zsu in his arms) Wh-wh-why Mary--I never realized I had so many friends! A-a man wh-who has a friend is a rich man, that's what Clarence said, and by golly he was right!

Dave: I wouldn't have a roof over my head if it wasn't for you, George!

George Bailey: Thanks, Dave! Thank you!

(George's brother Harry Bailey, dressed in his airline pilot's uniform, makes his way through the crowd)

Harry Bailey: 'Scuze me! Pardon me--Hello George, how are you?

George Bailey: Harry! Welcome home, Harry!

Harry Bailey: Thanks, Merry Christmas, George! (to the crowd) Now wait a minute, everybody! I got a telegram here I wanna read--from London! (reads) "Dear George. Stop. Mr Gower cables you need cash. Stop. My office instructed to advance you up to $8000. Stop. (crowd reacts) Hee-haw and Merry Christmas! Sam Wainwright"!!!

(crowd cheers and everyone breaks into a joyous rendition of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".)

Crowd: (singing)
"Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King
Peace on earth and mercy...."

(Uncle Billy is heard offstage, screaming--"George! George!", before finally bursting into the room. He has a string tied around his finger)

Uncle Billy: Quiet everyone! I remembered! I remembered what I did with the money--the $8000!

George Bailey: Why that's great, Uncle Billy! What did you do with it?

Uncle Billy: (frantic) I was in the bank--I had it in a newspaper--I remember giving it to someone!

George Bailey: Well, who? Who'd you give it to?

Uncle Billy: No, wait! I just called Clarence at the bank. He told me that Old man Potter deposited $8000 right after I left! IT WAS HIM!!!

(crowd is outraged)

George Bailey: Well--what're we waitin' for? Let's go get him!

Crowd: Yeah!!!

(background music changes from bright and Christmas-y to dark and ominous, as the bloodthirsty citizens of Bedford Falls make thier way to Potter's office.)

(cut to Potter's office. Potter looks out his window to see the baseball bat and crowbar-wielding mob arriving at his door--which they proceed to batter to pieces with thier weapons. An angry George appears in the doorway)

Mr. Potter: Stay where you are, George Bailey, you're in enough trouble already...

George Bailey: You made one mistake, Mr. Potter: you double-crossed me and you left me alive!

Mr. Potter: Now, wait just a second--I'll give you the money back!

George Bailey: I don't want the money--I want a piece of you, Potter! (tips Potter's wheelchair over, spilling him onto the floor. George then begins kicking him ferociously) You think the whole world revolves around you and your money--well it doesn't, Mr. Potter! In the whole vast configuration of things, you're nothing but a scurvy little spider!

(The mob gasps in amazement as Potter pulls himself off the floor and onto his feet)

George Bailey: Why, you're nothing but a fraud! You're not even a cripple!

Mr. Potter: Now wait a second--I can explain this!

George Bailey: Harry! Mary! Hold him for me!

(Harry and Mary comply, each grabbing an arm as George pounds Potter repeatedly in the gut. A final punch to the jaw sends Potter sailing over his desk. George goes to the back of the desk and drags "Potter"--now a stuffed dummy--back around for more punishment).

George Bailey: I'm not through with you, Potter! Harry--Mary--have a piece of this!

Mary Bailey: Yeah, baby--you know it!

(she pounces on "Potter", punching him in the head and body. Harry gets a few kicks in. George does a WWF-style, elbow-drop onto the hapless "Potter". He then picks him up and throws him against a wall. Mary, Harry, and George each grab crowbars and/or 2x4s and proceed to bludgeon "Potter", as Uncle Billy leads the mob in a few bars of "Auld Lang Syne":)

Mob: (singing)
"Should old acquaintence be forgot
And never brought to mind
should old acquaintence be forgot
and days of auld lang syne!"

(Harry, Mary, and George continue to beat "Potter" to a pulp, as the movie fades out, and "The End" card from the movie flashes on the screen.)

[JohnKleeb]

53. I loved that lost ending Zomby

:)

[Cleita]

11. You should watch it.

It's a terrific little fantasy movie. Very entertaining.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

12. I have never watched it

but I plan on watching someday but not today :)

[arcane1]

13. I haven't either...

and am uninterested in doing so

you're NEVER alone at DU! There is always someone...

[JitterbugPerfume]

14. You are not alone

I take much pride in the fact too !!

[peterh]

15. I just received the DVD…..

“Digitally re-mastered THX original uncut version” as a gift from a company I do business with. While I appreciate the thought, the probability that the disk will ever make it over to the player is roughly zero….oh, and as a bonus, they also sent me “Miracle on 34th Street”.:eyes: When the clan gathers tonight, I will be actively seeking takers.

On subject….I think I may have watched it (in it’s entirety) once a long time ago.

[jonnyblitz]

16. I havent and have no interest. not a big jimmy stewart person.

[T Roosevelt]

17. I'm with you on that - have never seen it

Have no interest either...don't know why, just don't.

[AlFrankenFan]

18. I haven't

I don't want to, especially since it's my Republican father's favorite movie.

[moof]

21. E=Mc hammer

n/t

[moof]

22. Maybe your Dad likes the Potter/Chainie character

n/t

[The Undertaker]

19. It's not a wonderful life!

Great quote by Al Bundy. :thumbsup: No, haven't watched it, never will.

[AntiCoup2K4]

20. I have, but I'm trying to suppress the memory of it.

:scared:

[leftofthedial]

23. why not?

and read the book "Suspects" for an interesting twist on it too.

[HEyHEY]

24. Never seen it but

I watched the first ten minutes last night...kinda liked it

[bowens43]

25. That's too bad....

It's a very good movie. It's about self-sacrifice , love and kindness.

[Spirochete]

26. I've never seen it either

I may watch it one of these days, but not a big priority. If I die before I see it, no big deal. Not a big Stewart fan.

[camero]

27. You should

it makes you think of what good would never have happened if you were never born. I liked it.

[WillyT]

28. Oh, You Have To See Potterville... Sort Of Like Bush's America !!!

Ya get to see what America would be like if Gore had never been President!

Oh...wait...

:grr:

[cosmicdot]

45. Potter = Cheney ... Cheneyville

[WillyT]

46. ROFLMAO !!! --- Yeah, You're Right !!!

:bounce:

:hi:

[Cocoa]

56. "Merry Christmas... in jail!"

indeed... :-)

[Forkboy]

29. You're not alone

I've never seen it and dont want to.There's enough Holiday sappiness as it is,why wallow in it? :)

[kixot]

30. Quite possibly the best Christmas movie ever.

That or Nightmare Before Christmas, but for different reasons.

[nostamj]

31. how ridiculous

to be proud of having NO opinion about a classic CLASSIC American film...

ignorance is not always bliss.

IAWL is part of the culture. check it out. once. otherwise, your 'opinion' or attitude toward the film, is meaningless.

feh

[Forkboy]

33. geez

movie police...who would have believed it.

[nostamj]

37. "movie police" ???

hardly. just have no use for anyony posting an opinion about something they know nothing about.

is that difficult concept?

if you've seen it and don't like it, fine. i respect an informed opinion.

but this 'snobbery' - haven't seen it, wont' see it...

useless information. no?

[CatWoman]

39. seems like the snobs are in good company

exhibit A: the vast majority of responses to this thread.

[nostamj]

42. whatever

quantity = quality, right?

i'm going back to watch the rest. fans of IAWL are probably not online tonight.

[Forkboy]

43. Thank god

if this is any indication :eyes:

[The Undertaker]

44. No kidding...

even though I've seen the previews, and that damned little girl saying that famous line from the movie, I've always been turned off by it and I never wanna see it.

[CatWoman]

52. are there no workhouses?

are there no prisons?

[sendero]

34. I agree....

.... and I generally don't care for this sort of movie.

There is not a director in Hollywood who could pull off a movie like that now, if they tried a thousand times.

Yes, it is a bit sappy - but it more than makes up for it in other ways. There is a reason it is included in the top 100 of all time by the American Film Institute http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html

Watch it, it is a Democratic movie if there ever was one :)

[CatWoman]

36. BAH!!!

HUMBUG!!!!!!

On edit: whatever floats your boat.

I love the classics -- just don't have any interest in this one.

None whatsoever.

I'm off to see, er, watch the Wizard.

[Athletic Grrl]

32. Never seen it.

Have no wish to see it now. I've seen the ending and that's enough for me. I detest sapfests.

[Cocoa]

57. but it's VERY dark in between

the supernatural part of the movie is very scary and noirish.

And the scene where he is abusive to his family is not sappy in the least.

[Piperay]

35. That's a shame

it is a really good movie, the message is that each person is important and that each life touches on another. Just because it is a highly tooted movie you shouldn't let that prejudice you against watching it, you should give it a try.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

38. The Bishops Wife...gregory peck one of my christmas favs

Bells of St Marys...another

[Santaclaus]

40. Great flick!

I like the begining when the Co-op screws over the big bank. There was a suprising social message in that movie.

[ibegurpard]

47. How could you have lived to adulthood and missed it?

It's only on like 5 fucking million times during the holidays! The only thing I'm sicker of seeing on the television is "The Wizard of Oz."

[BigMcLargehuge]

48. you're missing nada

sappy foofy poop. That movie gives me renal failure.

[DerekG]

49. What the hell is coming next...

Are there any DUers who are proud of never having seen Citizen Kane or Casablanca? This film is as uplifting as The Grapes of Wrath. See it.

[CatWoman]

51. I have seen both Kane and Casablanca, and like both movies very much

as a matter of fact, I am looking to upgrade the videos to DVD.

It's all a matter of taste, I suppose.

[RBHam]

50. It's worth a one time look

I saw it when I was very young, and it made an impression...

My web mistress' nick name, Zsu Zsu Petals, I lifted from the show...

[rasputin1952]

54. Guess I'm a little late in this thread, oh well...

I am a Stewart fan, I wouldn't take a bullet for him, but he was a good actor.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington is a classic.

IAWL is a classic as well, but when I saw it for the second time, I saw it in a different light. "Potterville" truly is the neo-con ideal, and the beauty of the generosity of those at the end show me a fistfull of Dems and progressives, real Americans that care.

From a stricly male point of view, a young Donna Reed is something to look at too.

Only saw it twice, but understood it much more the 2nd time around.

But still, as far as I'm concerned, A Christmas Carol, (Alistair Sim), is the ONLY Christmas movie I can say I've seen so many times, I can recite it from begining to end, with relish! It is my favorite!

:bounce:

[Wickerman]

55. what he said

I'm surprised that so many are caught up in the apppearance of sentimentality that they won't take a few hours to view a film that exemplifies the Dem model. Sure, some of its a lttle trite - hell its 50 or 60 or 100 or whatever years old. Comeon, the cops are Burt and Earnie, you know, those furry dudes on Sesame Street? And yes, Donna Reed made me envy George Bailey.

[Cocoa]

58. if you are scared it's sappy...

it's NOT!

I hate sap, and I loved this movie. It takes a LONG time to set up, and that first part isn't very special in itself, but trust me, it's a GREAT movie, and the sap at the end is very well earned.

[MotorCityMan]

59. I watched the movie again after seeing this thread

It truely is worth seeing. Jimmy Stewart displays a very impressive range. He goes from his regular "nice guy" demeanor to the depths of bitterness and despair, all very believably. The scene where he lashes out at his wife and kids is almost painful to watch. It's unusual, too, in that you get choked up at the happy scenes (when his life is restored to him) rather than the sad scenes.

And I was really creeped out at the similarities between Potter and Cheny!