The movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Introduction

James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Donna Reed, and other actors play characters in the film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In 1946, Liberty Films and Frank Capra collaborated to create the movie. The 130-minute black-and-white, color film is produced. Millions of viewers who watched the iconic picture after it was released in 1946 during the Christmas season appeared to be in a festive and jovial mood. The movie is uplifting and motivating. A fantasy part, a drama part, a comedy part, and a spiritual component are all combined in the film. The film presents a message of hope that each person has a potential of achieving his or her dreams no matter what he or she goes through. The movie is well produced and directed; the message is well presented.

Legacy and Impact

The movie is seen as one of the best Christmas movies ever since it was produced, the film has a perfect embodiment of the American values and promotes the spirit of families. The film is meant for all audiences and can be watched in a family setting. James Stewart acts as George Bailey in the movie; he has big dreams of leaving his hometown of Bedford Falls so that he can find other possibilities elsewhere and accomplish better things. However, after the death of his father, he finds himself in an awkward situation. He has to remain in Bedford Falls and take care of the care of the family’s business which he was compelled to has he had no interest in running the business, he also inherits the family’s debt. In his encounters, he is opposed to the ideologies of Mr. Potter, who wants to control the whole town and take charge of all the business. Soon afterward the responsibilities of his family and the business obligations overwhelm him, and he abandons his dream, he lets any opportunity pass by as if he does not see it. Things get worse on Christmas Eve; the family business loses $8,000 through his uncle. Bedford feels like committing suicide, it when he meets Clarence who becomes his guardian angel. Clarence showed him how important he was while alive and gave him a reason to live again. The director ensures that each scene takes place at the right location and time, the events that unfold in the movie are chronological. All the scenes relate to the story, and the characters that are present accurately know their roles. As status changes in different scenes, the director ensures that the change occurs gradually and does not affect the order of events in the film.

Film Techniques

Film techniques are well used in this movie. The producer takes into consideration several factors as he is producing the film to ensure that the message gets to the audience in the right way. Camera work is well done in the movie, scenes and characters in the film are well captured. The director takes several shots on different scenes throughout the film, some of these shots are from a long distance that is enough to capture the whole scene and the happenings. It is crucial because it helps the viewer to understand what exactly is going on and where it is happening. The camera also moves in a way to close-up on a character so that the people watching can turn the attention on a particular character. It helps mostly when the character being focused is speaking. The director also moves camera shots to target the movements of characters and zooms in on objects of interest. Again, this allows the viewers to follow the characters’ actions throughout the movie and attracts their attention. It goes a long way in making the film present its message clearer to the viewers. Film editing has been done well in the movie by the director; the scenes are well cut out and can be related to real-world scenes. Viewers can be able to compare to the real way environment from the movie. The transitioning of scenes is also done smoothly; the director ensures that the viewers are following whatever is going on as they are not lost as the views are changed. The introduction of the film is also well edited, information about the movie and the characters are well presented. At the end, the editing is also properly done, the viewers can tell that the movie has come to an end.

Sounds and Music

Another film technique that has been properly done in the film is sounds and music. The movie has several scenes, and they are covered with different music and sound layers. The director uses several aspects of music that have made the film widely acceptable. For instance, in some scenes, there are ambient sounds that are heard at the scene. They are sounds that can be related to the site, for example, where there are trees in the film birds can be heard whistling. The whistles of the birds make the views feel how the scenes are natural. The director has also added some sounds in the film trying to create a mood for the viewers. When a character is going through a hard time, the producer adds sounds to accompany the mood and to make the viewers have the feelings too. From the movie, this can be seen when George’s father dies, the director adds sounds that bring out the somber mood, it helps in making the viewer understand what is going on and the way that he or she can relate to the movie. Music is used in the movie to help tell the story, in some scenes, the director takes out some of the actual ambient sounds and replaces it with inserted music. For instance, the director changes noise in a particular scene to express what each character at the site is feeling. The manager in this film has done good work in managing the scene sounds and music. The sounds that the director uses to evoke emotions of the audience are also well integrated; the music has its real representation. The movie uses original music; the director uses this music to create and develop the characters as they are new, each time a tune is played it is related to a particular character. The director has used music well in the film; it helps in telling the story. Through the music, the viewers can close their eyes and follow whatever is going on by listening to the film music.

Conclusion

Ever since its production, the movie has been one of the best inspirational movies. The film shows how one can achieve his or her dream no matter what is going on in their lives. The film presents a story of hope for all those who feel like their ideas have been crushed. The director uses the main character in passing the message; from the film, the character’s dream seems to be crashed. He even loses hope of ever achieving the goals, it gets worse, and he even contemplates suicide. There comes hope towards the end and during the Christmas holiday when he finds his guardian angel. The movie is classified as a Christmas classic; it is a family movie that can be watched by the whole family. It presents the joy of Christmas and the hope that comes with it; it makes the viewers have a positive feeling and hope during such times. The director has done the movie appealing; the music that plays in the background is good music that helps in telling the story of the film. The sounds of the scenery assist in making the viewers relate to the happenings of the movie and its environment. The editing of the film is also properly done; the scenes of the film are right for each action that is taking place. It makes the movie appear real and helps in presenting its story. The characters of the film have also played their roles perfectly; the functions of each character are well-defined. It helps in removing any contradiction that may arise from the characters playing their roles. It helps in making the film more appealing and a proper representation of the story.

References

(1946), It’s. “It’s A Wonderful Life (1946): Free Download & Streaming: Internet Archive.” Internet Archive, 2017, https://archive.org/details/wonderful_life_260x300.