DVD of the Week: "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" (Frank Capra, 1939)

by James Hansen

The DVD of the Week was purposefully delayed this week, as to make it land on the holiday. Although it might not have a ton of stars and stripes and fireworks shooting in the air, but Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is still one of the most well defined, uplifting movies about the power of America's system of government and proof that each person can make significant changes if they keep working and stick to their beliefs. Jimmy Stewart is just terrific, as always, and Capra's direction, taking a single place and building an ecstatic amount of nervous energy leading to a couple of the best courtroom-type scene ever filmed, was never sharper. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is a celebration of America and its individual citizens without the oftentimes annoying, blatant fanfare that drowns other Fourth movies in tired nostalgia. Forget Yankee Doodle Dandy. Mr. Smith is the man for me.

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Classics... in the making

While I continue working on my review of the glorious Edge of Heaven (is that enough a review for now? If it is in your town, GO SEE IT!), I thought that this recent article in Jim Emerson's Scanners was well worth a look. We continue to talk about lists and what is "the best" or "a classic" and this ponders that a little further. If anyone is up for further discussion, let's get something going in those comments!

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