Episode 6: It's a Wonderful Life - Freedom From Our Dreams
Sony and North Korea, the phenomenon of Wodehousing, prestige, communitarianism, the origin of Buildings and Loans, poor old Mr. Potter, and how George Bailey's problem is really nepotism.
This time of year, I like to pull out this old music video I made for the venerable AP's "World Traveler." It seemed very appropriate for this movie then and still seems so today. Enjoy!
The first thing I think about when watching this film is that Jimmy Stewart (Col. Stewart) had just just come off of five years of war time experience--the last two years flying bombing missions in his B-24 Liberator over Germany from a base at Old Buckenham, England (453rd Bombardment Group). Twenty recorded missions (half again as many off the book) in a profession where losses often exceeded 50% (Nearly 70% at the beginning of the war). He started It's A Wonderful Life after a short vacation at his parent's home. Being on set playing a character that had never left home, never faced death on a daily basis, must have seemed surreal to him. I wonder if he wished it could have been him. I can understand where he got the emotions he drew on in his performance. The real-life civilian concerns must have seemed silly to him. Or maybe he was looking for this kind of film to get his head straight. I wonder what kind of performance he would have given if he made the film pre-war.
He did say that it was his favorite film that he'd done. This article delves pretty deeply into what the film meant to him: http://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/inspirational-stories/jimmy-stewart-says-it-really-is-a-wonderful-life
Of course, his military career continued on until Reagan eventually made him a Major General.
This time of year, I like to pull out this old music video I made for the venerable AP's "World Traveler." It seemed very appropriate for this movie then and still seems so today. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQUL5FSWgio
This is great.
DeleteLove the T.S. Eliot quote, too.
DeleteAwwww, thanks so much, and thanks for the embed! If I remember right, it was only the second one I ever made. :-) I hope AP gets to see it someday.
DeleteOne funny thing though, at the moment when he starts singing, "Take a left at the end of my street," the clip I used shows them taking a right. Ha!
The first thing I think about when watching this film is that Jimmy Stewart (Col. Stewart) had just just come off of five years of war time experience--the last two years flying bombing missions in his B-24 Liberator over Germany from a base at Old Buckenham, England (453rd Bombardment Group). Twenty recorded missions (half again as many off the book) in a profession where losses often exceeded 50% (Nearly 70% at the beginning of the war). He started It's A Wonderful Life after a short vacation at his parent's home. Being on set playing a character that had never left home, never faced death on a daily basis, must have seemed surreal to him. I wonder if he wished it could have been him. I can understand where he got the emotions he drew on in his performance. The real-life civilian concerns must have seemed silly to him. Or maybe he was looking for this kind of film to get his head straight. I wonder what kind of performance he would have given if he made the film pre-war.
ReplyDeleteHe did say that it was his favorite film that he'd done. This article delves pretty deeply into what the film meant to him: http://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/inspirational-stories/jimmy-stewart-says-it-really-is-a-wonderful-life
DeleteOf course, his military career continued on until Reagan eventually made him a Major General.