I was about to upload this scene to YouTube but luckily it was already there. Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur in one of my favourite films, 'You Can't Take It With You,' from way back in 1938.
Look at how natural they both are. What's remarkable is that it is all one single take - no cuts, no funny stuff -- just movie magic. Capra magic. In just four and a half minutes- we see the romance between the two of them, we see the idealism and imagination of Jimmy Stewart-- and the heartbreaking talk about fearmongering and personal courage - which is as relevant now as it ever was.
It's December. And in December, I watch Jimmy Stewart films. So expect some more on Mr. Stewart from me.
Kid, did you see that It's a Wonderful Life has been remastered and is in colour?! So tell me, is this great or is it a travesty? What's your take on it?
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of that happening at all - it's a big shame to me.
ReplyDeleteBut if it makes more people watch it, I guess it's not all bad. I can spend a lot of energy moaning about it and going on about how wrong it is -- but I'm not sure how much it really affects me. I still get to watch it in B+W, so do most people. I think most people will choose the original over the new one too. And if people watching in colour weren't going to watch the B+W one, then what is really being lost?
So yeah, I think it SUCKS, and it really disappoints me, but there you go.
I LOVE Jimmy Stewart, a fine actor and a fine man
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty heartbreaking to know that Jimmy Stewart fought so hardly himself against the films being colored.
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: "Stewart became a real life "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1988, when he made an impassioned plea in Congressional hearings, along with colleagues Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn and film director Martin Scorsese, against Ted Turner's decision to 'colorize' classic black and white films, including It's a Wonderful Life. Stewart stated, "the coloring of black-and-white films is wrong. It's morally and artistically wrong and these profiteers should leave our film industry alone"
Well, my copy is B&W and I love it. What a wonderful man he was.
ReplyDeleteI LOVEEE James Stewart. Hes my favvv. Sigh!! My fave movie of all time is It's a Wonderful Life.
ReplyDeleteoh and I really liked Rear Window as well=)
ReplyDeleteI adore this movie to no end... I'm seeing it at The Film Forum next week & I'm really excited about that (despite my usual preference for dvds lol)
ReplyDeleteI love Mr. James Maitland Stewart :) He's a favorite of mine and I can't get enough of him. Plus, I do NOT like It's A Wonderful Life in color. It completely ruined my imagination, hahah.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Stewart owns us all.
ReplyDeleteWonderful film.
ReplyDeleteI love YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, Stewart, Arthur, and the quote about "what makes the grass grow green."
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they ever change old technicolor movies to black-and-white? You know, to make 'em more appealing for fans of classic black-and-white film. And then it'd be like the Sneetches! And they'd have to change the b&w to color, and color to b&w, and we'd all go colorblind and it wouldn't matter anymore.
Are there really engines inside of grass, you think?
I used to watch YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU right after MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON just so I could see Stewart and Arthur kiss.