Amazon cuts pivotal scene from Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life for ‘abridged’ version, outraging fans

Amazon viewers were angry this Christmas season when they found out that the streaming platform had edited out a key scene in the abridged version of the timeless 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life." That scene was the one in which lead character George Bailey, played by James Stewart, said that he wishes he'd never been born. This results in his guardian angel giving him a tour of the lives of people he'd touched if he'd never been there at all. It's called the Pottersville scene, where George is at a crossroads between life and death.

In the new, abridged version from Amazon, George goes from being told by his guardian angel Clarence that he must earn his wings to a seen of joy where George has learned all the lessons without having undergone any of the teaching. The version goes from George's guardian angel offering to help, with George seeming incredulous about that offer, to George running around happy. 

Without that scene, the film lacks context, viewers say. It is that scene upon which the rest of the film is based. Seeing that he really did matter after all is what brings George to the realization that despite everything, he does indeed have a wonderful life.

Viewers took to X to make their complaints.

"Amazon Prime has clarified that the full version of the film still remains on their platform," the Daily Mail reported. "Moreover, it appears the version of the film was released following a copyright dispute regarding the scene, which was based on a short story."