NOT ENTIRELY A WONDERFUL YEAR

Good news: “It’s a Wonderful Life” is available on vidcassette for $12.95. Bad news: You won’t get the whole picture.

Coast Video has been selling a version that’s 19 minutes shorter than Frank Capra intended his classic. One notable omission: the scene where Jimmy Stewart teases an embarrassed (and slightly undressed) Donna Reed by refusing to give back her robe.

Sales manager Eric Utterman told Outtakes that the master that Coast worked from was cut likewise: “Out of the hundred titles we carry, this is the first time I’ve seen this thing happen.” He promised to exchange truncated copies for any of his other movies.

A call to Tower Video revealed that Select-A-Tape Classics offers the full 129-minute version--for $49.95.