It's a Wonderful Life
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Why you'll love it
A classic small-town drama about a man who has given up his dreams to help others and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton
A widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama defends a black man against a false rape charge while teaching his young children about the sad reality of prejudice.
Why you'll love it
A small-town drama that deals with serious issues of racial inequality, as seen through the eyes of a young girl.
Fargo
William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Why you'll love it
A crime drama set in a small town, involving a car salesman, his wife's kidnapping, and the ensuing investigation.
The Last Picture Show
Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd
In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.
Why you'll love it
A coming-of-age drama set in a small, declining Texas town, focusing on the lives of its young residents.
Mystic River
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon
The tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.
Why you'll love it
A drama about three childhood friends from a small town who are reunited as adults by a brutal murder.