Although there is no shortage of Christmas movies out there, very few of them end up lasting a long time in the public consciousness. The last movie to truly prove itself long-term was the 2003 comedy "Elf," which is up there on most people's rewatch list every time the holidays come around. For the most part, though, our favorite Christmas movies are the older ones, like "Home Alone" (1990), "A Christmas Story" (1983), "A Christmas Carol" (1951), or "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947).

Before all of those was "It's a Wonderful Life," which came out in 1946 and is now considered the absolute best film the Christmas genre has to offer. With a score of 8.6 out of 10 on IMDb, the movie is ranked 21st among the site's top movies ever. In 2024, at least, nobody's got a bad thing to say about the film. It's a heartwarming story about a guy who learns to value the wonderful life he has,...