In many ways, 'Smith' is cut from the same cloth as Capra's earlier masterpiece, 'Mr. Deeds Goes to Town', and both films costar the radiant Jean Arthur, here cast as Smith's secretary. She is an old hand at understanding political wheelings and dealings, and at first, she considers her new boss a total idiot! But Smith's integrity wins her over, and with the help of reporter Thomas Mitchell (1939's busiest actor!), the three manage to outlast the forces of Evil, in the most rousing filabuster Hollywood has ever filmed!

Two supporting characters deserve special attention; Harry Carey, one of Hollywood's most beloved Western stars, plays a warm, sympathetic Vice President, in a small but very crucial role; and Beulah Bondi is terrific as Stewart's mother (she would play his mother again in the Capra/Stewart classic 'It's A Wonderful Life').

The new DVD edition offers the insights of Frank Capra, Jr., son of the legendary filmmaker, as well as trailers, vintage material, and a whole lot more!

If you've seen 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' before, treat yourself with this lavish new edition! If you haven't seen it, you are in for one of the most wonderful cinema experiences you'll ever have, from the best year Hollywood ever had!

Simply put, this film is a masterpiece!


Still the best portrayal of what it means to be an American   July 19, 2000
 31 out of 39 found this review helpful

I can still remember the first time I watched the crushing scene of Jimmy Stewart's filibuster in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I was six years old; I was up way past my bedtime, and my parents were both weeping. I looked at the screen; I looked at my parents. I was utterly confused, but I knew that whatever this man was saying had to be important. I can still remember gasping when he collapsed. I didn't see the movie again until after high school, and when I watched it for the first time, aware of what was happening, I found myself crying. When my parents were watching it, Vietnam was in full force; when I watched it, Reagan was denying the lies of Iran-Contra. I still believe that America can be the place Jefferson Smith believed it to be; in many ways, it is this movie which continues to feed that belief. Not because the movie itself creates that belief, but that every single person I have ever watched it with can't hold back when they get to the end of the filibuster. Jefferson Smith's loss is our loss, and his hope is our hope, more than sixty years after the film was made.


This movie taught me the ideals of America   July 23, 2002
 26 out of 30 found this review helpful

I first watched this wonderful movie about six months after I arrived in America from a country where there was little personal freedom. I had just taken an ESL American history class in high school, and had understood little. This movie was simply a great eye-opener for me, a foreigner with little notion of the American freedom.

Capra's masterpiece depicted an America rife with with corruption, with lies and ruthless men to whom America was a money and power machine. Against this backdrops stands Jefferson Smith, the hero, who is picked as a stooge senator for his home state by the political machine. (The original screen play identifies the state as Montana; Capra said it was Illinois; but isn't Jackson City the capital of Mississippi?) His innocence and ideals -- and incorrutibility -- immediately warm the heart of every audience member. He's indeed the light in the dark tunnel, the hope for every American who feels that what this great country stands for is shamelessly disregarded and discarded by our politicians.

The classic filibuster scene is such a joy to watch, esp. for people who don't quite get what a filibuster is. (Of course, how Mr. Smith could go on talking for 23 hours 16 minutes without going to the toilet puzzles me.) The movie also lucidly explains how a bill is written, submitted for consideration, debated, compromised, and finally sent for vote, in the House and the Senate. It's both an entertaining and educational movie.

The filibuster scene may strike some us lecturing. Indeed, the senators in the movie turn a deaf ear to the earnest speeches of Mr. Smith. Democracy, freedom, accountability, "government of the people by the people for the people", all mean nothing to these people. Equally amazing, when the film was screened by Congress in 1939, they damned the film as un-American for depicting them as thieves and stooges. Alas, in film and in real life, politicians are simply people without a conscience. As a naturalized American, I feel all these people should be executed, for betraying the very basic foundation of this country.

I re-watched the movie recently in the aftermath of Sept. 11. My eyes became wet as I listened to Mr. Smith begging his colleagues to wake up their conscience. It's a shame that our politicians, ranging from George W. Bush to the donkeys in Congress to some judges, are still thieves, clowns, and traitors to the American ideal of universal liberty. Every day they chip away at the foundation of America by allowing corrupt business leaders to rob the nation of its wealth, by letting terrorists come in at ease and killing us at will, and by turning blind eyes and deaf ears at the plight of the middle class. Like Senator Paine in the movie, every politician of today pretends they represent the people, while in fact they represent nothing but their selfish needs.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is IMHO the best movie of all time. It's not because it has great acting or fancy special effects. It's because it addresses an endangered concept, first brought forth by America's founding fathers, the concept that this country was to be better than any other country, past or present. And I'm not talking about just being richer or having more Playstation games.


A Wonderful Movie, Properly Restored   December 9, 2000
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

MR.SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is one of the greatest classic of american cinema. Jimmy Stewart is wonderful, Capra's direction is so great. The sory may sound a bit naive, but the emotion of the film so great can overcome this very naiveness and turns into a powerful, truthful idealism. Hollywood then could do that, not today, and I really don't understand why.

I just would like to add one fact to praise this DVD, and encourage everybody who visits this page to buy it, even if they have seen the movie; in many cases, great polular classics are oftenly viewed on poor prints and video masters, because of the very popularity of the film, the prints and negatives tend to get damged. overused, often replaced with inferior film elements. Thus, a great classic for everybody becomes a great film that one's grandpa talked about, and would really look that old.

That is why a special notice should be given to this DVD, because The Library of Congress did a wonderful job rescuing and restoring the film. The trasnfer is from their restored print, which they worked out of the original camera negative. Some parts of the negative were also damged, but they succeeded in replacing them with film elements that are not apparently inferior. The result is, a sharper, detailed look that we have been unable to see for over 4 or 5 decades.

These film archive people are doing a wonderful and important job. Restoring a film is not an easy job, and certainly is not cheap. That why these DVDs are so important, so that you can understand the importance of what they are doing.


A James Stewart and Frank Capra Movie- What Do You Expect?   March 3, 2000
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

It isn't hard to imagine that our founding fathers envisioned politicians like Jefferson Smith. Of course we all know that a man with such integrity and idealism could never achieve political office. The reason: It's right there in this movie. The Jim Taylors and Sen. Paines would never allow it. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington isn't as artistic a film as Citizen Kane or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but it's quite simply the most entertaining and moving film I've ever seen. The reason: It's right there in the movie. The greatest film actor of all time, in arguably his greatest performance, and, in terms of commercial success, the greatest director in arguably his greatest film. The reason I say arguably is because these two teamed up for another film called It's A Wonderful Life. However, I think Mr. Smith is a better movie. It's able to elicit the same emotion and sentiment as It's A Wonderful Life, but it has a powerful message that drives it. More importantly, Frank Capra believes in his subject and his message. Some people accuse him of making commercial movies, not venturing into deeper subject matter, and painting the world in unrealistic ways. But how many of those same critics aren't completely engrossed in the movie when Stewart filibusters before congress, one of the most powerful scenes in film history. I guess Capra believed that there is a little good in all of us and it takes a Mr. Smith to bring it out of us. That may be commercial, shallow, and unrealistic but it's a nice thought anyway. And I certainly don't want to be the one to prove Mr. Capra wrong. So what's wrong with a movie that believes in Americanism and idealism, especially when it is as well-made and well-acted as Mr. Smith.