A Wonderful Classic: It's a Wonderful Life

It's A Wonderful Life is the classic tale of a man whose all but given up hope, then finds out the true meaning of friendship and community. The story follows the life of George Bailey (James Stewart) on his quest to see the world. But time and time again George must put his friends and family first in order to keep the town of Bedford Falls from being crushed at the hands of the banker, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore).

But it's not all doom and gloom for George and his family. George Bailey does get to marry the love of his life, Mary Hatch (Donna Reed). They raise a family in Bedford Falls, all while George keeps alive his father's dream of the Bailey Building and Loan.

Although this is a classic story that has been in the hearts and minds of the audience since is debut in 1946, it was not always viewed the same way it is today. Originally, this movie was not a box office success but still managed to earn five Oscar nominations including best picture and best actor in a leading role. But for the better part of the past 25 years, this movie has had a renewed energy with multiple airings on television around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And now that this movie has been added as another staple in the traditional American Christmas holidays, there are a variety of new editions of this movie that will please even an occasionally viewer of this movie. Overstock and Target offer the Special Edition 60th Anniversary Edition of the movie which features a completely remastered picture for better quality and subtitles. But if you are a true fan of the movie, Amazon offers the Two-Disc Collector's Set released in 2007. This set features not only the same quality black and white print of the movie we've all come to know and love, but also features a color version of the film. The color version is of high quality for those who are not a fan of colorization. The set also features an original trailer and two short documentaries that give a little background to the making of the movie. One is hosted by Tom Bosley, and the other features Frank Capra, Jr. in a tribute to his father's work on this and other films.

Anyone that cannot wait for Christmas time to come around should pick up one of these DVD sets to have the magic of It's A Wonderful Life all year round.