Chicago – The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Cso) has come up with the perfect celebration for the pre-holiday weekend, presenting Frank Capra’s classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life in Concert.” On Dec. 10th and 11th, 2016. The Cso will accompany the soundtrack on a restored version of the film.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This is “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Iawl) as you’ve never seen it before, restored to a brilliant print and with the original Dimitri Tiomkin soundtrack score enhanced by the majesty of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The film is projected above the orchestra, and with each symphonic moment in the story, the musicians and choral singers take over the music live. Iawl had many variations of themes in the soundtrack, so besides the Tiomkin original score, there are snippets of WW2 songs “Over There” and “This is the Army, Mr. Jones,” along with the holiday songs “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This is “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Iawl) as you’ve never seen it before, restored to a brilliant print and with the original Dimitri Tiomkin soundtrack score enhanced by the majesty of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The film is projected above the orchestra, and with each symphonic moment in the story, the musicians and choral singers take over the music live. Iawl had many variations of themes in the soundtrack, so besides the Tiomkin original score, there are snippets of WW2 songs “Over There” and “This is the Army, Mr. Jones,” along with the holiday songs “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,...
- 12/10/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
George Bailey: I’m shakin’ the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Coliseum. Then, I’m comin’ back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I’m gonna build things. I’m gonna build airfields, I’m gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I’m gonna build bridges a mile long…
Uncle Billy: They did, they did it, George, they voted Potter down. And they only had one condition, and that’s the best part. They want you to run the Building and Loan.
George Bailey: No, no, this is my last chance to get away from here. Harry Bailey is your man, he will run the Building and Loan.
Uncle Billy: But George, they’ll vote with Potter otherwise…
Mary Bailey: George Bailey lassos stork.
George Bailey: Mary…...
Uncle Billy: They did, they did it, George, they voted Potter down. And they only had one condition, and that’s the best part. They want you to run the Building and Loan.
George Bailey: No, no, this is my last chance to get away from here. Harry Bailey is your man, he will run the Building and Loan.
Uncle Billy: But George, they’ll vote with Potter otherwise…
Mary Bailey: George Bailey lassos stork.
George Bailey: Mary…...
- 12/28/2015
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Clips of It’s A Wonderful Life appear in all sorts of TV shows and films, some predictable Christmas fare and some you might not expect…
Thanks to NBC’s long-standing tradition of airing Frank Capra’s 1946 festive fantasy drama every 24th of December, It’s A Wonderful Life has become a Stateside Christmas institution. The film’s story of a small town family man facing financial ruin being coaxed back from suicide by an angel who shows him how important he is to the world is now as festive as overspending and overeating.
Its ubiquity means that It’s A Wonderful Life is one of the first ports of call when shows and movies want to inject a festive feel into their fictional worlds, hence it having been subject to more on-screen references, quotes, parodies and homages than you can shake a jingle bell at. The Muppets, The Simpsons,...
Thanks to NBC’s long-standing tradition of airing Frank Capra’s 1946 festive fantasy drama every 24th of December, It’s A Wonderful Life has become a Stateside Christmas institution. The film’s story of a small town family man facing financial ruin being coaxed back from suicide by an angel who shows him how important he is to the world is now as festive as overspending and overeating.
Its ubiquity means that It’s A Wonderful Life is one of the first ports of call when shows and movies want to inject a festive feel into their fictional worlds, hence it having been subject to more on-screen references, quotes, parodies and homages than you can shake a jingle bell at. The Muppets, The Simpsons,...
- 12/19/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
We all have holiday traditions. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, then Central Ohio, then Western Pennsylvania again, we had more than a few Christmas ones. Every Christmas morning, we weren’t allowed to open a single present until my father finished his coffee. And he took his time. When he finally gulped down the last swallow, we were still required to open present at a time. None of this chaotic ripping into boxes and bags simultaneously while no one paid any attention to anything anyone else opened. We all watched each other one-by-one open a gift, thank the giver, and look to the next person in the circle to take his or her turn.
Outside of those Christmas Day traditions, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was never, ever, Ever under consideration for alteration. Every year, we’d go to church for the 45-60 minute evening service (in our second stint in Pennsylvania,...
Outside of those Christmas Day traditions, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was never, ever, Ever under consideration for alteration. Every year, we’d go to church for the 45-60 minute evening service (in our second stint in Pennsylvania,...
- 11/22/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
As promised last week, here’s the list of my favorite Christmas movies, starting with all my very favorite-est…
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). Directed by Frank Capra, who declared it his favorite of all his films and showed it every Christmas at his home, it stars James Stewart as “everyman” George Bailey, Donna Reed as his wife Mary Hatch Bailey, Lionel Barrymore as the banker Mr. Potter, and a veritable Who’s Who of notable character actors, including Beulah Bondi as Ma Bailey, Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy, Ward Bond as Bert the cop, Frank Faylen as Ernie the cab driver, Gloria Grahame as Violet the “bad” girl, Sheldon Leonard as Nick the bartender, and Harry Travers in the pivotal role of the angel Clarence Odbody. The story of an ordinary man who lives an ordinary life, driven to despair of having his dreams crushed once and for all...
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). Directed by Frank Capra, who declared it his favorite of all his films and showed it every Christmas at his home, it stars James Stewart as “everyman” George Bailey, Donna Reed as his wife Mary Hatch Bailey, Lionel Barrymore as the banker Mr. Potter, and a veritable Who’s Who of notable character actors, including Beulah Bondi as Ma Bailey, Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy, Ward Bond as Bert the cop, Frank Faylen as Ernie the cab driver, Gloria Grahame as Violet the “bad” girl, Sheldon Leonard as Nick the bartender, and Harry Travers in the pivotal role of the angel Clarence Odbody. The story of an ordinary man who lives an ordinary life, driven to despair of having his dreams crushed once and for all...
- 12/23/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Maybe you've already had your fill of holiday programming, but this is when it gets serious.
With Christmas coming at midweek this year, that still leaves several days for networks to offer signs of the season ... some of which have been shown already this year but still are hugely appropriate for viewing. And maybe even more so, the closer to the actual holiday it gets.
Zap2it has selected a sampling of some of the home-screen gifts being presented in the coming days.
"The Wizard of Oz" (Sunday, Dec. 22, TNT): It had a 3-D and IMAX retrofitting recently, but there's something comforting about going "Over the Rainbow" with the Judy Garland-starring 1939 classic at home.
"Home Alone" (Sunday, AMC): Young Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) makes things tough for thieves (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who invade his house in this 1990 family favorite.
"The Santa Clause" (Sunday, ABC Family): Tim Allen...
With Christmas coming at midweek this year, that still leaves several days for networks to offer signs of the season ... some of which have been shown already this year but still are hugely appropriate for viewing. And maybe even more so, the closer to the actual holiday it gets.
Zap2it has selected a sampling of some of the home-screen gifts being presented in the coming days.
"The Wizard of Oz" (Sunday, Dec. 22, TNT): It had a 3-D and IMAX retrofitting recently, but there's something comforting about going "Over the Rainbow" with the Judy Garland-starring 1939 classic at home.
"Home Alone" (Sunday, AMC): Young Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) makes things tough for thieves (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who invade his house in this 1990 family favorite.
"The Santa Clause" (Sunday, ABC Family): Tim Allen...
- 12/22/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Here's the first of our 2013 Holiday Favorites (see 2011 and 2012), a series in which Slackerwood contributors and our friends talk about the movies we watch during the holiday season, holiday-related or otherwise.
We're starting off with this selection from Samantha Rae Lopez (@sraelopez), producer of short film The Book of Joe and program coordinator at Latinitas, a local organization working to empower young Latinas through usage of tech and media. Here are her thoughts on a Christmas favorite:
If you are a frequent Slackerwood reader, chances are you have some familiarity with Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. If you haven't seen this film, stop what you're doing and find it on DVD, iTunes or Amazon streaming. Despite the fact that many would argue that this movie is an "American Christmas Classic," in reality the holiday itself is merely referenced and not crucial to the plot progression. Much like films such as Lethal Weapon,...
We're starting off with this selection from Samantha Rae Lopez (@sraelopez), producer of short film The Book of Joe and program coordinator at Latinitas, a local organization working to empower young Latinas through usage of tech and media. Here are her thoughts on a Christmas favorite:
If you are a frequent Slackerwood reader, chances are you have some familiarity with Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. If you haven't seen this film, stop what you're doing and find it on DVD, iTunes or Amazon streaming. Despite the fact that many would argue that this movie is an "American Christmas Classic," in reality the holiday itself is merely referenced and not crucial to the plot progression. Much like films such as Lethal Weapon,...
- 11/26/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ sequel could get killed by Paramount (photo: James Stewart and Donna Reed in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’) What would the world be like if any one individual human being had never been born? In most cases, the world would quite possibly be an infinitely better place, but the overwhelming majority of (delusional) humans want to feel good about themselves and their place on our overpopulated, fast-rotting planet. Hence movies such as Frank Capra’s 1946 sentimental fantasy drama It’s a Wonderful Life, released the year after the end of World War II — which reportedly left about 60 million human beings dead (plus countless other non-humans), in addition to millions more maimed, homeless, and/or psychologically destroyed. Starring James Stewart as Small Town America family man George Bailey, who almost kills himself but is prevented from doing so by an angel with way too much time in his hands,...
- 11/22/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
If It’s a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story actually gets made, it will best Bambi II in creating the longest gap between a feature film and its sequel with at least 68 years spanning between Frank Capra’s joyfully depressing experiment and whatever the rest of the story will be. That is, if you don’t count 1990′s Clarence as a true sequel. Or 1977′s It Happened One Christmas. That’s right. Those pulling their hair out over the announcement of the sequel project might appreciate a terrifying reminder that this particular “sacrosanct” piece of culture has already had two sequels that exactly no one remembers. Granted, both were made-for-tv movies (calling into question their true sequel status, if you’re nasty) and neither were particularly noteworthy for their art. But at the very least, they can offer people slapping their foreheads hope that The Rest of the Story too shall pass. Plus...
- 11/19/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Sixty-seven years after Clarence got his wings, a sequel has been announced for It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra’s 1946 movie, in which an idealistic but desperate family man (Jimmy Stewart) imagines his town if he’d never been born, is a beloved holiday classic. Generations have grown up watching George Bailey spend his life helping others, only to find himself suicidal and wanted by the police after a financial calamity at the family’s ol’ savings and loan. To keep him from jumping off a bridge, an angel-in-training named Clarence shows him that all his good deeds haven’t been in vain.
- 11/18/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
We.ll just go ahead and rip the bandage off: It.s A Wonderful Life is getting a sequel. And not a made-for-tv Hallmark-Lifetime-ABC Family-style sequel, but an actual feature film that follows up on the 1946 Frank Capra classic, which will focus on George Bailey.s unlikable grandson. Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu in the original film, will appear in the sequel, taking what sounds like the Clarence role. Variety says this project is a collaboration from Star Partners and Hummingbird Prods, and it will be titled It.s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story. The goal is to get the movie into theaters in time for the 2015 holiday season. The original film starred Jimmy Stewart as a man who spends his life dreaming of the day he can leave the small town of Bedford Falls and see the world, but life keeps throwing obstacles in his path.
- 11/18/2013
- cinemablend.com
Feature James Clayton 12 Apr 2013 - 06:17
The release of Oblivion leaves James pondering the hole left in cinema had Tom Cruise never existed...
Sci-fi thriller Oblivion has arrived in cinemas, and that means that audiences have a fresh sci-fi blockbuster to enjoy. Sometimes snubbed, misunderstood and casually dismissed to sulk in its own tech-interfaced ghetto, the genre has got a bit of a (micro)chip on its shoulder. It's therefore always nice to see original science fiction stories making waves on the movie scene and reaching wider cinema audiences.
I'm hoping that Oblivion is embraced and receives a positive reception to follow in the footsteps of District 9, Source Code and Looper, to name a trio of recent critical and commercial smashes.
Of course, the crucial draw of Oblivion for many isn't its vision of a future Earth ravaged by alien warfare, overseen by survivors who inhabit floating towns and...
The release of Oblivion leaves James pondering the hole left in cinema had Tom Cruise never existed...
Sci-fi thriller Oblivion has arrived in cinemas, and that means that audiences have a fresh sci-fi blockbuster to enjoy. Sometimes snubbed, misunderstood and casually dismissed to sulk in its own tech-interfaced ghetto, the genre has got a bit of a (micro)chip on its shoulder. It's therefore always nice to see original science fiction stories making waves on the movie scene and reaching wider cinema audiences.
I'm hoping that Oblivion is embraced and receives a positive reception to follow in the footsteps of District 9, Source Code and Looper, to name a trio of recent critical and commercial smashes.
Of course, the crucial draw of Oblivion for many isn't its vision of a future Earth ravaged by alien warfare, overseen by survivors who inhabit floating towns and...
- 4/11/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
It’s A Wonderful Life
Directed by Frank Capra
Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore
USA, 130 min – 1946.
Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life opens with a series of prayers for George Bailey (James Stewart), from family and friends. George has fallen on hard times this Christmas Eve. Although he has spent his entire life helping others, he has never achieved the things he wanted in his youth: higher education, travel, and a ticket out small town, Bedford Falls. When his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses $8000, the family business is in trouble and George could face jail time. George contemplates suicide. In a turn of events, Clarence (Henry Travers), a second string angel, looking to gain his wings, comes to Earth and shows George what life would be like, if he had never been born.
It’s A Wonderful Life is Frank Capra’s “American spirit” defined.
Directed by Frank Capra
Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore
USA, 130 min – 1946.
Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life opens with a series of prayers for George Bailey (James Stewart), from family and friends. George has fallen on hard times this Christmas Eve. Although he has spent his entire life helping others, he has never achieved the things he wanted in his youth: higher education, travel, and a ticket out small town, Bedford Falls. When his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses $8000, the family business is in trouble and George could face jail time. George contemplates suicide. In a turn of events, Clarence (Henry Travers), a second string angel, looking to gain his wings, comes to Earth and shows George what life would be like, if he had never been born.
It’s A Wonderful Life is Frank Capra’s “American spirit” defined.
- 12/28/2012
- by Karen Bacellar
- SoundOnSight
As the calendar creeps quickly towards Christmas Day on the 25th of December, we’re counting down the days with a special advent calendar of festive films, revealing a set of rare images for each chosen film to surprise and delight film fans.
It’s A Wonderful Life is arguably the definitive Christmas film, even though the Christmas elements don’t come in to play until the final act. Chosen as the most inspiring American film of all time by the American Film Institute, It’s A Wonderful Life chronicles the life of George Bailey (James Stewart), a small town man whose dreams of something bigger keep getting compromised. In the depths of despair, his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) shows him how much of an impact he’s had on the people in his life and his life has truly mattered and is….wonderful.
The film has the timeless...
It’s A Wonderful Life is arguably the definitive Christmas film, even though the Christmas elements don’t come in to play until the final act. Chosen as the most inspiring American film of all time by the American Film Institute, It’s A Wonderful Life chronicles the life of George Bailey (James Stewart), a small town man whose dreams of something bigger keep getting compromised. In the depths of despair, his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) shows him how much of an impact he’s had on the people in his life and his life has truly mattered and is….wonderful.
The film has the timeless...
- 12/15/2012
- by Andrew Edward Davies
- Obsessed with Film
There is nothing better than watching an old movie at an old movie theater. The Hi-Pointe Theater in St. Louis is an independently run single-screen old-style movie house built in 1922. Just two weeks ago they celebrated their 90th Birthday with a two-night party featuring live music, trivia with prizes, and screenings of Sunset Boulevard and Top Hat on their massive screen. The Hi-Pointe was the home of the Vincentennial, the Vincent Price 100th Birthday Celebration Film Festival last year and is the place to go for Late Night Grindhouse, the monthly screenings of 35mm prints of horror and exploitation films (mostly) from the ’70s.
This month The Hi-Pointe will host a trio of classic Christmas movies on three consecutive Saturday mornings at 10:30am. Admission is just $5.
Hi-Pointe Theatre is located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117
Showtime Line: (314) 995-6273
Here’s the Christmas Movie Classics Line-up:
Saturday, December 8:
The Bells Of St.
This month The Hi-Pointe will host a trio of classic Christmas movies on three consecutive Saturday mornings at 10:30am. Admission is just $5.
Hi-Pointe Theatre is located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117
Showtime Line: (314) 995-6273
Here’s the Christmas Movie Classics Line-up:
Saturday, December 8:
The Bells Of St.
- 12/4/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Crowley (Mark Sheppard) tortures his own shifter look-alike for info on purgatory. He threatens the shifter's babies with an iridium knife. When that has no effect, he just kills him. Lots of head lopping this season - something for Crowley to look forward to. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) hand over their latest catch a rougarou to Crowley's lackey. The demon (Conrad Coates) tries to be funny. Dean hates what they have been resorted to doing and asks, "Remember when we used to gank demons?" Yeah we do, a reference to earlier seasons of the show since that's all they used to do most of the time. Dean now feels like he needs a "daily rape shower". Sam knows to get his soul back that's what they have to do. One thing before I forget, how can they be so sure Crowley can deliver on his promise of getting Sam his soul back?...
- 1/30/2012
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar
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