Normally love Capra, but couldn't sit through this one
Very boring.
shareI've had a difficult time too. I believe I started watching this two to three years ago, and tonight is the last night that it will be available for streaming on Netflix. It may come back, I don't know. But I haven't been able to finish the whole film through until tonight. So, that explains the impetus behind why decided to complete watching it.
I had a hard time swallowing the story line because I couldn't suspend my disbelief sufficiently to allow the story to hold onto me. More than that, as the story progressed my incredulity kept mounting all the way to the last scene.
I saw that the film had been nominated for four Oscars, so I thought there must be something to the film. So was human behavior like that the reality back in the '30's? Or, was this what it should have been suggested as: a feel-good fairy tale?
I also watched it because it's expiring tonight. Thought it was one of the better Capra films I've seen. Loved that the American moxie -- spearheaded by the gangsters and panhandlers, but also embraced by the mayor and governor -- thoroughly dupes the European aristocracy in the end. Dunno, felt like another of Capra's great American fantasies.
shareThat's too funny you mention that. That development was one of the things which added to my incredulity. Add to that, the 'queue the interruption' moment just before Apple Annie was about to tip her hand.
I guess I went into viewing the movie with a more realistic expectation than would allow me to enjoy the fantasy. Still, I can't stop from wondering, "were people THAT naive back then?"
Couldn't you say that about all Capra's films? None of them strike me as "realistic" -- that's just not his aesthetic.
shareOne has to suspend disbelief for nearly all Hollywood films. E.T. comes to mind - a boy helping an alien return to his planet requires an incredible amount of suspended disbelief, but it's still a wonderful, enjoyable movie. So, making over an old woman into a 'Lady' is hardly a stretch. The makeover by Annie's many friends was half the fun in this film. Also, one has to consider the time that such a film like this is released. 1933 is depression era, and people wanted to see a rags to riches story told as tenderly as Capra did in this film.
It's one my favorites!
I saw that the film had been nominated for four Oscars, so I thought there must be something to the film. So was human behavior like that the reality back in the '30's? Or, was this what it should have been suggested as: a feel-good fairy tale?
Well, obviously you don't believe in fairytales. The film spells out that it is a fairytale. share