I remember this film so well, though I was only about eleven or twelve when I saw it. I'm not sure if I had seen the Jimmy Stewart version before, but I THINK I had.
I would love to see this version again. I loved Art Carney's interpretation and would like to see how it stacks up against the "original" that i have now seen ... I dunno, maybe 25 times.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Harry Anderson's version, though to me his performance seemed .... well, rushed. I suppose he was trying to put a slightly different personality into the role, and I believe that is a good thing to do. I just liked the slower-paced, more relaxed Elwood that Jimmy Stewart showed us. That Elwood seemed happier ... or at least more contented ... than Harry's version. And that's the Elwood I would prefer to sit down and have a quiet drink with. And with Harvey, too, of course.
In many ways I preferred Swoosie Kurtz's interpretation of Veda, Elwood's sister, to the admittedly fabulous "original" one. And I did enjoy the rocking chair at the end ... definitely different from the Stewart ending, but I did like it very much. I recall the Carney ending as being similar to the "original," though I believe that we saw Harvey's shadow right before the fadeout. Not positive, though, which is one reason I'd love to see it again.
It would be nice to have Art Carney's version to see, as an adult, so I could really compare it with the others.