It’s a Wonderful Life
Frank Capra was known for such upstanding, optimistic films (“Capra-corn” to the critics) that his lone Christmas-themed film must have come as a real shock to ticket buyers. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE has its cheery side for sure, but it also contains moments so bleak it makes some film noirs look like Mary Poppins. A boxoffice disappointment when first released, it fell into the public domain for a limited period, resulting in massive TV exposure that transformed it into a cultural touchstone, and one that holiday audiences return to year after year. This week, two different TFH Gurus offer their takes on a classic that was heavily investigated at the time by the FBI for supposedly Communist influences. Be sure to check out Bill Duke’s take here.
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About John Landis
John Landis is the director of Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf In London, Trading Places, Schlock, Kentucky Fried Movie, Spies Like Us, Three Amigos!, Into The Night, The Stupids, Innocent Blood, Coming To America, Burke & Hare, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Black Or White among many other films, commercials and extensive work in television. He was the Executive Producer and often director of HBO's celebrated series Dream On, and contributed two movies to the Masters of Horror series, Deer Woman and Family. His feature length documentaries Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project premiered on HBO, and Slasher on IFC.