Review of Frank Capra's American Dream

I watched this documentary on the Criterion Collection edition of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. It looks at the life and major works of Frank Capra, and goes into a satisfying amount of detail. I enjoyed the debunking of the idea that Capra's movies were all sentimental mush without hints of ambiguity or darkness. I could have done without some of the hyperbolic gushing (every scene seemed to be "the finest proposal in movie history" or "the most sublime close-up of all time" or "the best nose twitch since FRED OTT'S SNEEZE"), but overall I came away from the documentary with a better appreciation of Capra's style and ideals. It's so weird how a filmmaker so steeped in the concerns and pop culture of the 1930s and 1940s can still touch so many.