Classic Christmas Collection (It's a Wonderful Life / White Christmas)
by Frank Capra, Michael Curtiz
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Donna Reed, James Stewart, Rosemary ClooneyDirector: Frank Capra, Michael Curtiz
Brand: Paramount Pictures
Writer: Frank Capra
Writer: Albert Hackett
Writer: Frances Goodrich
Writer: Jo Swerling
Writer: Melvin Frank
Writer: Michael Wilson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 250 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-10-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Classic Christmas Collection (It's a Wonderful Life / White Christmas)
Movie Review: Two Feel Good Holiday Classics To Be Watched ANYTIME You Need A Lift
Summary: 5 Stars
You do NOT have to wait until Christmas to open this gift. Frank Capra's wonderful film of 1946, may be enjoyed anytime of the year. "It's A Wonderful Life" is THE feel good movie of the all time.It should be watched anytime you need a lift!(Okay, Okay , you can watch it at Christmas time too!).
ASC(Angel Second Class), Clarence Oddbody needs to get his wings.George Bailey is desperately in need of an Angel. So the powers up above arrange a meeting. It's a story made in heaven.
Clarence gets to view George Bailey's life from the time he was a young boy until the present, when George is having so many problems he thinks he would be better off if he'd never been born (it may be safe to say we have all had days like that!). We watch as George touches the lives of so many from boyhood to adulthood. He saves his brother's life,he stops his boss(a druggist) from making a fatal mistake, he saves the family business, "The Building and Loan Assoc" from the hands of the Scroogelike Mr. Potter, is friend and mentor to so many, and although never gets to follow his dreams of travel, settles down with the girl next door in his town, "Bedford Falls".
But things start going amiss for poor George,an accidental misplacement of a large sum of money, and the auditor showing up just at the wrong time, causes George to face loosing everything he THINKS is important. He's on the bridge, ready to pack it all in when his guardian angel Clarence shows up in the nick of time.Clarence shows George what life would REALLY be like if he was never born. It's not good! George must realize that "It's A Wonderful Life" before he can exist again.
Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey. He is just tremendous in this role. We see the full range of his talents as he runs the course of going from carefree, to distraught, to bitter and finally elated with life as he discovers Zuzu's petals have reappeared in his pocket.The petals that disappeared from his pocket when he disappeared from existence. Henry Travers is Clarence and there has never been a more cherubic angel than he. Donna Reed as Mary(George's wife) is exceptional at making a wonderful life for George and looking great doing it. And Lionel Barrymore is the mean Mr. Potter who we love to hate. There are so many other famous faces to look for that do such a superb job, here are a few...the great character actor Thomas Mitchell is the forgetful "Uncle Billy", Lillian Randolph is "Annie", the housekeeper, Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Bailey, Ellen Corby, the lady who only wants $17.50, Gloria Grahame is Violet and don't miss Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, mischievous as ever at the pool scene.
So it's clear as a bell(oh..I think an Angel just got his wings!)if you're feeling a little down, watch this movie and like Zuzu's petals, your smile will reappear.
"White Christmas"...The film is a treasure. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye,Rosemary Clooney,and Vera-Ellen are the stars of this 1954 musical with songs by Irving Berlin that you'll want to sing along with and keep humming long after the film has ended. Directed by Michael Curtiz it's a feel good film that although takes place during the Christmas season, is another one that you can pull out and watch anytime of the year.
Bing and Danny were Army buddies, now a successful song and dance team and are out to help their favorite old retired General(Dean Jagger),who is having trouble coping with retirement. The General is now running a country inn in Vermont, but the big problem is there is no snow to bring up the tourists. Bing and Danny to the rescue, as they turn the inn into a showcase of talent, and fall for the Haines sisters along the way. Can these wonderful voices also bring the snow out of the sky?...well..you know.
This film is filled with Berlin's wonderful tunes. When Bing takes Rosemary's little hand in his and croons "Count Your Blessings" to her..well it's movie heaven. Rosemary also treats us to several numbers, Vera-Ellen does some fabulous hoofing, and Danny clowns and keeps us smiling like only Danny can. And how much fun is it watching Bing and Danny do the "Sisters" number together?...alot! Then there's the goose bump evoking, wonderfully nostalgic scene of the four of them singing "White Christmas" together with the Winter Wonderland of Vermont as a backdrop.I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful character actress Mary Wicks, she's a great busy-body who causes misunderstandings, and also keep an eye out for George Chakiris and Barrie Chase.
Thanks Paramount for bringing us this great old classic holiday films on in one package.
Happy Year-long Viewing, ...Laurie
Summary of Classic Christmas Collection (It's a Wonderful Life / White Christmas)
This Two-pack includes two of Christmas's all-time classics - It's A Wonderful Life - 60th Anniversary Edition and White ChristmasIt's a Wonderful Life
Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton
White ChristmasThis semi-remake of Holiday Inn (the first movie in which Irving Berlin's perennial, Oscar-winning holiday anthem was featured) doesn't have much of a story, but what it does have is choice: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, an all-Irving Berlin song score, classy direction by Hollywood vet Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), VistaVision (the very first feature ever shot in that widescreen format), and ultrafestive Technicolor! Crosby and Kaye are song-and-dance men who hook up, romantically and professionally, with a "sister" act (Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to put on a Big Show to benefit the struggling ski-resort lodge run by the beloved old retired general (Dean Jagger) of their WWII Army outfit. Crosby is cool, Clooney is warm, Kaye is goofy, and Vera-Ellen is leggy. Songs include: "Sisters" (Crosby and Kaye do their own drag version, too), "Snow," "We'll Follow the Old Man," "Mandy," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," and more. Christmas would be unthinkable without White Christmas. --Jim Emerson
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