ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE

Jimmy Stewart stars in Frank Capra’s masterpiece of Christmastime despair, a tale you’ve seen countless times but must see again.  Stewart plays banker, family man and general mensch George Bailey.  Bailey is a clever man with big dreams, but his ambitions are always thwarted by his compassion and the townspeople of Bedford Falls who take advantage of it.  The film captures this intense conflict perfectly, and all the credit belongs to Stewart, whose career-topping performance here is too often overlooked in all the holiday merriment.  Stewart as Bailey goes from compassionate to overwhelmed to drained in a fury he never repeated.  When the assistance of an Angel shows him what life would have been like if he had never been born, Bailey sees that sometimes sacrifice has its own rewards.  It is no wonder that this, a very strange movie about money, about morality, about sacrifice, is so damned superlative about so many things. It is the most Christmassy, the most inspirational, and certainly the most heartwarming, of all Hollywood output during the Golden Age.  Frank Capra’s Yuletide yarn is touching, and will bring you to tears for a good portion of its two-plus hour running time.  With its perfect winter setting, good cheer, and strong family and community message, this film is the quintessential representation of the Christmas Spirit in the cinema, and it is meant to be enjoyed over and over again.

PRESENT YOUR TICKET STUB OR PROOF OF PURCHASE TO ANY ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE WEST OAKS OR MASON PARK SPECIAL EVENT TO THE BOX OFFICE AND GET INTO THE XMAS POPS SING-ALONG FOR FREE!