Guillermo del Torohas given an insightful explanation as to why the 1946 classic is his favorite Christmas movie. With the holidays coming to a crescendo, there’s no better companion than the holiday flicks that capture the essence of this time of year. Christmas films have become their own genre, providing audiences with movies set during the holidays, whether it’s a rom-com, a coming-of-age story, a simple drama, or even a horror flick. Throughout the years,there hasn’t been any genre touched by Christmas, resulting in some truly imaginative and ultimately iconic stories.
TheHome Alonefranchise lectured audiences on the importance of family during Christmas, sugarcoating the lesson with hilarious hijinks and booby traps set up by a boy who’s been accidentally left behind by his family on the holiday. For those who craved an intimate, more emotionally complex affair, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara provide powerful performances in the Todd Haynes-directedCarol. Horror fans in the mood for a folklore horror dressed in B-movie fun gotKrampusin 2015, starring Adam Scott and Toni Collette. Jon Favreau and Will Ferrell deliveredone of the season’s best withElf, a charming comedy brimming with holiday spirit.
Guillermo Del Toro Explains Why It’s A Wonderful Life Is One Of His Favorite Christmas Movies
Del Toro Watches It Every Year Around Christmas
Del Toro has provided an intriguing reason as to why the 1946 classicIt’s a Wonderful Lifeis his personal choice for the holidays. Directed by Frank Capra,the Christmas movieinitially came out to mixed reviews and a poor box office draw, but, as the years progressed,the admittedly dark tale of regret and reverie became a classic, proving to be robust and reminiscent of the kind of magic the holidays can provide.
It’s A Wonderful Life’s 10 Best Quotes
The timeless Christmas film is full of quotes that continue to inspire audiences, giving reason to the film’s long-lasting impact.
Speaking withBFI,del Toro credited his affection towardsIt’s A Wonderful Lifeto Capra’s directionand the dark nature of the story. He was impressed that Capra gave the American audience an endearing albeit nightmarish view of itself, calling the film, “a nightmare that is adjacent to the American Dream, and to the American psyche.” The film has a dear place in del Toro’s heart, as the filmmaker is brought to tears every time he watches it, ever since he watched it as a kid. Every year,he watches it with his family around Christmas, once in theaters and then again on TV. Read his full comment below:
It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favourite movies for many reasons. I find it fascinating that Capra, an immigrant [from Italy], gave back America a view of itself that was more lovely and wholesome than it really was, and at the same time darker and more nightmarish than movies tended to imagine. Like Walt Disney, Capra is very often misinterpreted as an eternal optimist, but the nightmarish nature of the dark episodes in It’s a Wonderful Life demonstrate that he understands terror, that he understands darkness.
It’s a nightmare that is adjacent to the American Dream, and to the American psyche. There’s always this creepier, darker, edgier side to the Norman Rockwell goodness. The hopefulness of the ending only exists in a contrast.
To me it’s perfectly timed, in terms of comedic tone and deliver and melodrama. It’s a movie that it would be impossible to go through without that final release. In a strange way, it’s the greatest ‘What if?’ speculative fiction.
I first saw it as a kid on TV and every time I see it, it’s inevitably one of those movies that makes me cry three, four times. We watch it in the cinema every year around Christmas, and we watch it on TV at least another time, because it’s just impeccable.
Our Take On Guillermo Del Toro’s Favorite Holiday Movie & His Analysis
Del Toro Is Right - It’s Terrifying!
It’s intriguing, and not very surprising, that del Toro looks atIt’s A Wonderful Lifethrough a lens of horror, given that he’s the mastermind behind some of the horror genre’s most unsettling images. But he’s right thatIt’s A Wonderful Lifeis terrifying. The idea of a man contemplating suicide and his guardian angel watching flashbacks of his life. A young boy named George grows up to be full of regret and dreams that have been put to bed by the shadow of the American Dream can be far more terrifying than the thrills provided by slashers or possession horror flicks.
…it’s no wonder thatIt’s A Wonder Life — A Christmas Carolretrofitted for American audiences — is one of del Toro’sfavorites, as the inspiration it draws from is undoubtedly timeless, albeit dark, itself.
Considering the film was released just months after the world just got out of a war, it’s not a big shock that such a grim tale didn’t perform well at its time. The roots ofIt’s A Wonderful Lifeshould also be considered whenstudying Capra’s classicbecause its inspiration is unavoidable. Based on the 1943 short story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren, which was loosely based on Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite Christmas stories, it’s no wonder thatIt’s A Wonder Life — A Christmas Carolretrofitted for American audiences — is one of del Toro’sfavorites, as the inspiration it draws from is undoubtedly timeless, albeit dark, itself.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Cast
It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic American film released in 1946. It follows George Bailey, who runs a building and loan company in Bedford Falls, as he faces financial ruin on Christmas Eve. His company is the only obstacle preventing the wealthy Mr. Potter from taking over the town.
