You Can't Take It with You: Amazon.ca: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, Spring Byington, Samuel S. Hinds, Donald Meek, H.B. Warner, Halliwell Hobbes, Dub Taylor, Joseph Walker, Frank Capra, Gene Havlick, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Robert Riskin: DVD

Product Description

Amazon.com Essential Video

Frank Capra's 1938 populist spin on the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart play about a family of happy eccentrics is a great deal of fun, though it significantly rewrites the original work and doesn't represent Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) at his best. Jean Arthur plays a member of the blissful Vanderhof household who falls in love with a rich man's son (James Stewart) and brings him into her nutty home. Lionel Barrymore, who played such a bad guy eight years later in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, is the wonderful Grandpa Vanderhof, who addresses God during the dinner prayer as "sir" and speaks plainly and beautifully of why it's good to be alive. Capra took this opportunity to rail against big business and champion the common man, but the overall tone of the film--typical for the director's comedies--is buoyant and snappy. --Tom Keogh

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

classics(2)

classic film(1)

dvd(1)

Customer Reviews

37 Reviews

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I thought Columbia cared about classics. I thought wrong., Mar 7 2003

By

Rachel Lai (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can't Take It With You (DVD)

This film itself:

5 stars.

It's a wonderful, warm, witty, and simply enjoyable movie. I love it.

The DVD:

1 star

I bought this DVD without reading any reviews (I also bought "Talk of The Town", a day-and-date Columbia release), because Columbia has, in the past, done astounding work restoring and remastering their old films ("It Happened One Night" from their Classics collection is nothing short of an amazing transfer). Apparently, their agenda has changed: they are now content to simply release anything as long as they can tout it as a "high-definition remaster", thus tricking their customers into thinking that some money and time was actually spent on striking a new print. Both this and "Talk Of The Town" look and sound absolutely horrible. The VHS version of this film has less grain and fewer sound defects (hissing, popping abound). In fact, this transfer is akin in quality to the one I often see on network television -- it's an absolute disaster on all levels. Virtually unwatchable. Avoid at all costs until Columbia treats its customers (and this film) right with a proper DVD release. Even Paramount is doing it with their catalogue releases, Columbia! Get with the program.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm & Wonderful, Mar 1 2004

By

Deborah E. O'Connor (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can't Take It With You (VHS Tape)

This is a gem of a movie. It's all madness & mayhem on the surface, and warm & cozy underneath. Like most of Frank Capra's movies, this is a morality play. The filmaker continues his favorite theme, downplaying the materalistic and embracing the things that really matter, love, both romantic & platonic, friends & family. This type of material might be a preachy bore in the hands of a person less skilled than Frank Capra, but he makes it work. Not only does it work, but the movie is hilarious. The cast is excellent, starring Lionel Barrymore, I would say at his best, but I never saw anything he was in where he wasn't great. Jimmy Stewart plays one of his nice guys here to the max & is terrific also. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. I especially loved the "mad Russian" played by Mischa Auer. Eddie Anderson steals every scene he's in whether he's speaking or not.
All in all, it's a fine ensemble cast, everyone is very good. Do yourself a favor, if you have an opportunity to see this, please do!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous and fun!, Jan 17 2012

By

LisaHD - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can't Take It with You (DVD)

Worth the watching! Clean, amusing and worth watching more than once. Everyone should have this one in their collection. James Stewart at his very best.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 37 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 111 reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars So what good is it?
Frank Capra tries out eccentricity for size in the enchanting "You Can't Take it With You," a movie all about doing whatever makes you happy, not rich. Read more

Published on Feb 22 2007 by E. A Solinas

3.0 out of 5 stars Maudlin
Anthony P. Kirby (Edward Arnold) is closing the real estate deal of the century. All he needs to complete this is a small plot of land. Read more

Published on Mar 6 2006 by bernie