Censorship, copyright, and numerous other factors often pose real threats to existing works, from the removal of certain books from reading lists to the cutting of scenes from films. Amazon faced backlash after cutting one of the classic film’s most important scenes It’s a wonderful life.

The scene where George Bailey looks at himself and wonders if he would be better off dead is the turning point of the entire film. In this scene he looks at his life and talks about how he will be more valuable dead than alive.

However, his guardian angel helps him to see the truth. In this crucial scene of It’s a wonderful life, George is shown the light. His angel shows how much he has influenced others. It shows him what life would have been like without him.

The point of the film is to show George that life is worth living and that he is more than he realizes. Without the so-called “Pottersville scene,” the film doesn’t actually make any sense. However, Amazon released the classic without it, which sparked outrage.

The internet reacts to the removed Pottersville scene

Of course the slaughter of the classic film It’s a wonderful life did not go unnoticed. You can’t rip the heart out of art and expect people not to cause a scene. Removing the Pottersville scene completely changes the meaning of the film.

If you want to know what’s wrong with the world, Prime Video has an “abridged” version of “It’s a Wonderful Life” that removes THE ENTIRE POTTERSVILLE SCENE where George sees life if he wasn’t born .

That’s all shortened. The best and most important part of the film. Only. Wow. pic.twitter.com/H8Z82lGk9X

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) December 24, 2024

Instead of realizing his self-worth, George simply receives money and becomes content. This could be an idea that Amazon is happy to push, as it is the consumer-oriented version of the Vatican City. But it’s not the way the film originally played.

One X user compares it to a crazy story from South Korea. “I remember the time when South Korean cinema cut out all the music and singing in The Sound of Music.” This actually happened because of the popularity of the film. The cinema owner thought he could take advantage of the number of performances per day by cutting out all the singing!

However, others are saddened by the shortened version of It’s a wonderful life now available on Amazon. You realize how much of the plot is lost. “So someone who has never seen the original thinks they had an epiphany because they were drinking at the bar and crashed into a tree on the way home???”

The film has lost its essence. However, the original versions are still available. This is just another reason to start buying physical media again.