I am probably one of the world's biggest fans of the Movie It's A Wonderful Life. In fact I run the It's A Wonderful Life Webring. So when I ordered this CD it was with great hope and expectation.Sadly, very sadly, I must report that the Radio Play does not even come close to the magic of the movie. The ideas that we each touch one another's lives either for good or for ill does come through, but it is barely audible above the halting presentation of IAWL in this medium.
There are bright spots... sometimes the voice overs give us a little background that we did not have before from the movie. ...
Also, of course, we have our favorite couple Stewart and Reed in the play doing the characters they did in the movie. Some of the inflection or presentation may have more of the actors than Capra might have allowed in the movie.. and this is interesting.
This is an 'ok' CD for fans of the movie... it has a couple interesting points, but it just does not capture the heart and soul of the movie that it attempts to dramatize in a 'voice only' medium in my opinion.
Charles
In the golden age of radio, after a cast finished a film they would head over to Lux Radio Theatre and perform the same show for radio."It's a Wonderful Life" is the same familiar story, with the same familiar voices. Each cast member does a great job reprising their role, while the music and sound effects recreate the atmosphere of the film. The radio version is abridged, and chimes in at an hour long instead of the hour and a half of the film.
If you are going on a long drive this Christmas to visit some friends and family, why not take "It's a Wonderful Life" along with you?
