It's a Wonderful Life is the Christmas picture of them all. It also captures the human spirit. The last twenty minutes is what transcends the film as a whole to another level, hence the repeated viewings. Any time you're confronted by a person who wants to commit suicide, the best answer is telling him to watch It's a Wonderful Life. This piece of advice will probably save his life, offering him a new perspective of the world.

Think of all the great classics James Stewart appeared in, and one of them is undoubtedly Harvey. It's among the warmest movies ever made and something that would have come out of Frank Capra's treasure chest. The funniest thing is I actually believed Harvey, a 6'8" invisible rabbit, existed. That's the magic of James Stewart's acting. No one would've done better than him.

Full of brilliant writing, brilliant acting, and brilliant direction, Anatomy of a Murder may be almost three hours long, but it's very fast-paced and serves as a strong example of courtroom procedure. James Stewart gives one of the best performances of his career and is always riveting to watch during the trial.

Vertigo is a technically, visually, psychologically, and brilliantly crafted neo-noir. All of the elements including acting, screenplay, in/exterior sets, fashion, sound, score, and cinematography come together so well that it's a rare achievement. It exemplfies what a legendary director Alfred Hitchcock was and why his movies are constantly revered to this day. There's something about them that remains timeless.

What a cast: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, and so on. That's five Oscar winners among them. Of course, James Stewart is believable for a pilot because he had flown missions during WWII. The whole thing is reminiscent of Alive except it takes place on the desert with Hardy Krüger stealing the show.

Call Northside 777 is another great one in James Stewart's oeuvre. There's no doubt that the more films I see, the more I feel James Stewart may have solidified himself as the best actor ever. The story is superb, and there's a human element to it. Henry Hathaway's direction is sleek and fresh. An interesting trivia is the man who administered the lie detector test is the very inventor himself: Leonard Keeler. You can't do better than that.

It'll never happen in real life that one can see everything that goes on in an apartment building because there are no curtains on most windows. But Alfred Hitchcock wants me to suspend my disbelief and watch Rear Window for the sake of simplicity. Nevertheless, the cast is great, and it's impossible to go wrong with James Stewart. Thelma Ritter is the true winner as Stella who takes care of his character in wheelchair.

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is one of the best Western noir pictures ever made. The plot, the performances, the setting, the atmosphere, the screenplay, and the direction are phenomenal. John Wayne is brilliant, and John Ford's direction is mesmerizing. And how the story unfolds: the hero shoots the villain dead and the other guy gets the girl.