It's a Wonderful Life
Drama Family Fantasy

It's a Wonderful Life

Dec 20, 1946 131 min PG TMDb 8.3/10 IMDb 8.6/10 Rotten Tomatoes 94%

It's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

Director: Frank Capra Writers: Frances Goodrich, Frank Capra, Albert Hackett US
Get tickets Watch trailer IMDb TMDb
Movie night

Showtimes & Trailer

7Showtimes 16Online 8Videos 131 minRuntime
Florida showtimes Find nearby cinemas Miami, Orlando, Tampa and more

Movie Photos

Scene stills and backdrop images help preview the tone and visual style before choosing a showtime.

Watch Online

Streaming, rental and purchase options currently listed for US.

Movie Details

Original titleIt's a Wonderful Life
TaglineIt's a wonderful laugh! It's a wonderful love!
Release dateDec 20, 1946
Runtime131 min
Content ratingPG
Certification regionUS
TMDb rating8.3
DirectorFrank Capra
WritersFrances Goodrich, Frank Capra, Albert Hackett
ProductionLiberty Films
Budget$3,180,000
Revenue$9,644,124
Languageen
CountryUS
IMDbtt0038650

Ratings

Available imported scores, plus outside rating sources to check when a score is not in the local feed yet.

TMDb 8.3/10 4,905 votes Source
IMDb 8.6/10 552,062 votes Source
Rotten Tomatoes 94%
Metacritic 89/100

Reviews

Imported excerpts and direct review sources for this title.

aochin Jun 15, 2024 9.0/10

It's a timeless and great film for everyone, straightforwardly telling us that life is worth living and a good deed is never lost. Frank Capra's films always remind me the world is not so bad. He shows us there is no need to beat or convince evil people to change. You will still have people helping you not from a sense of obligation but from a genuine willingness as long as you are kind and honest with them. In such a beautiful world, someone will impress you with their kindness and bring out yours, and vice versa...

Read full review
GenerationofSwine Dec 25, 2023 10.0/10

I am not one of those snobs that thinks Black and White is always better... but don't watch the colored version of it, there is something about it that just doesn't look right. Maybe it's because the colors are off, maybe because I'm not as used to it, but something doesn't sit right with it. Anyway, still the best Christmas movie ever made. It's still about redemption. It's still heartwarming and family friendly and... perfect... ... perfect save some of the hard cuts. I don't know why people don't mention those....

Read full review
CinemaSerf Jul 7, 2022 8.0/10

Every now and again you come across a film that just makes you think.... This is one of those. Recently upconverted to 4K and back on a big screen, it's quite simply a joy to watch. Jimmy Stewart is "George" - a man who has spent his adult life tirelessly trying to help those less fortunate to make their own way in life - and his savings and loan enterprise is the lifeline for many of them. When that all goes pear-shaped though, he feels a degree of despair that leads him to wish he had never been born. Enter the...

Read full review
r96sk Dec 26, 2020 8.0/10

Lovely film. <em>'It’s a Wonderful Life'</em> is enjoyable, hearty and well crafted. It takes longer than I would've predicted to get to 'the event', but it's very much worth seeing the journey that comes before - as we see the arc of James Stewart's George. It all crescendos with an ending that you can't help but smile at. Stewart is excellent in the lead role, you really do see every single emotion that his character goes through. He is, by far, the standout performer, but there are of course good performances f...

Read full review
Peter McGinn Dec 24, 2020 9.0/10

Oh my goodness, I am not going to spend much time describing this gold standard of Christmas movies. If you have seen it, you know what it is. If you haven’t seen it, stop reading this and watch it now. It is funny, tense, sentimental, romantic and downright Capra-esque. I have liked Jimmy Stewart in everything I have seen him in. Was he that good, or did the camera just plain love him, like I heard said once about Steve McQueen. But it doesn’t stop there. If you notice the ensemble cast, you see represented some...

Read full review
barrymost Aug 18, 2019 10.0/10

It's practically an American tradition to watch this film with family at Christmas time each year. I just saw it for the first time myself a couple weeks before last Christmas, and I loved it. It's an uplifting, inspiring, dramatic, and at times laugh-out-loud funny story, with a cast that probably couldn't be improved upon if you tried. And, of course, it's directed by the superb Frank Capra, whose work I greatly admire. James Stewart gives a raw, totally honest performance, as the unforgettable George Bailey, wh...

Read full review

Review Sources

No imported excerpt is available from every source yet. These links go straight to live review pages.

Videos

Trailer

Park Circus Official trailer

Trailer

Official Trailer

Trailer

Paramount Movies Trailer

Teaser

TCM 75th Anniversary Spot

Clip

George Bailey Confesses His Love for Mary

Clip

"A Christmas Miracle" Full Scene

Clip

"Never Been Born" Clip

Featurette

TCM: It's A Wonderful Life 75th Anniversary | The People of Bedford Falls

Showtimes

7 upcoming showtimes at 1 cinema .

Showing 7 showtimes

More Like This

Other active movie pages sharing genres with this title.

Cast

Crew