Frank Capra

       Frank Capra is my all time favorite director.  Best known for the cinematic masterpiece "It's a Wonderful Life" (my all time favorite movie) Capra made dozens of films from the 1920s through the 1960s.  His name gave birth to the term "Capraesque," which describes films where an ordinary man's life takes dramatic turns before (usually) finding a happy ending.  Those are the types of films Capra is remembered for.  Some of my other favorite Capra films include:

Meet John Doe
It Happened One Night
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
You Can't Take It With You
Arsenic and Old Lace
Lost Horizon

       Not only a great director, but a great patriot.  Capra, an immigrant from Italy at age 6, enlisted in the U.S. Army in both World War I and, at the height of his career, World War II.  His service in WWII resulted in the fantastic documentary series "Why We Fight.".

Review posted by: MadMikeyD

       Some critic referred to Frank Capra's films as "Capracorn" not without reason.  He stays away from the raw, gritty and realistic in his films and goes with the notion that human beings are basically good guys.  There is nothing wrong with a rosy outlook and Capra made some fine movies including the incurably romantic It Happened One Night with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and the perennial Christmas favorite It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.   I don't think Mr Capra could have made his mark in films today.  The world has grown far edgier and some might say cynical.  It is certainly less civil and Frank Capra wouldn't have liked that at all.

Review posted by: Franchesca

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