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+--- Thread: Favorite Christmas Movies (/thread-1358.html)
Favorite Christmas Movies - Ken Valentine - 12-06-2005
Maggers Wrote:I love that yule log! That and the '51 version of Christmas Carol and I'm all set for a merry old time. Now if I can just get my hands on Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, I'd be in heaven.
Although it's not exactly a Christmas movie -- it takes place at Christmas time -- "BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE is one you might like. Released in 1958, it's a romantic comedy about witchcraft in New York. It stars Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemon, Ernie Kovacks, Elsa Lanchester, and Hermione Gingold.
Ken V.
Favorite Christmas Movies - Scott Miller - 12-07-2005
I figure if Die Hard can be considered Christmas fare, why not make it a double feature with Lethal Weapon.
Favorite Christmas Movies - t4terrific - 12-07-2005
Scott Miller Wrote:I figure if Die Hard can be considered Christmas fare, why not make it a double feature with Lethal Weapon.
No doubt!!! That's a fun night of movies any time of year!
Favorite Christmas Movies - Peter - 12-07-2005
I remember Bell, Book and Candle! I had forgotten it completely until Ken mentioned it. I dont recall much of it except falling head over heels for Kim Novack. I was young, I was impressionable and Damn she was attractive. Oh and something about Jack Lemmon putting street lights out.
Having read the above again it appears I dont really remember the film at all. But I do remember Kim Novack. Does this say something about me do you think?
Favorite Christmas Movies - thisisatest - 12-07-2005
Steve D
I think you've covered all the movies I would vote for, but how about TV shows:
I'd have to put the Twilight Zone episode that has Art Carney becoming Santa Claus at the top of my list.
M*A*S*H had a great episode when Charles gives Christmas gifts in secret and Klinger finds out.
Tearjerkers both.
Favorite Christmas Movies - mike36799 - 12-08-2005
I had to add on Charlie Brown Christmas. I watched it last night on Tivo, and whatmore can I say except it's a perfect Christmas movie. Got to love that tree!
Favorite Christmas Movies - Ken Valentine - 12-08-2005
Peter Wrote:I remember Bell, Book and Candle! I had forgotten it completely until Ken mentioned it. I dont recall much of it except falling head over heels for Kim Novack. I was young, I was impressionable and Damn she was attractive. Oh and something about Jack Lemmon putting street lights out.
Yeah . . . and she had the most stunning wardrobe.
Quote:Having read the above again it appears I dont really remember the film at all. But I do remember Kim Novack. Does this say something about me do you think?
Something about you . . . something about her as well.
Ken V.
Favorite Christmas Movies - Kenji - 12-08-2005
Scott Miller Wrote:I figure if Die Hard can be considered Christmas fare, why not make it a double feature with Lethal Weapon.
Oh yes! Why did I forget Lethal Weapon?! Opening song, "Jingle Bell Rock" is my favorite Christmas song.
Favorite Christmas Movies - Flinx - 12-09-2005
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
I can't believe I forgot this one.
Favorite Christmas Movies - Mick C. - 12-14-2005
We watch a LOT of Christmas-themed shows in my house.
The Grinch (original) - can't beat the combination of Chuck Jones, Dr. Seuss, and Boris Karloff. Didn't care for the Jim Carrey version.
Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty, and Rudolph get a lot of rotation with my kids.
The Year Without a Santa Claus - pretty pedestrian Rankin-Bass stop-motion special, exceptional only for the genuinely bizarre characters of Heat Miser and Cold Miser and their catchy theme songs. Cold Miser was voiced by Dick Shawn, who also played the hippy-Adolph Hitler in the original film of "The Producers".
The 1951 Christmas Carol seems to be a favorite version for a lot of us - Sims was the BEST Scrooge, bar none. Alos cool to see a young Patrick MacNee as Jacob Marley, and Ernest Thesiger (Dr. Praetorius in "Bride of Frankenstein") as the undertaker. Really chilling, bleak visuals - the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are like something out of a Hammer horror film.
Blackadder's Christmas Carol - I love the Blackadder series.
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol - a favorite of my childhood. Hard to find on DVD or VHS, but I think Amazon has it.
The Christmas Carol with George C. Scott is also pretty good and stays very close to the book. Scott's Scrooge is the most physically threatening and imposing Scrooge, I think.
An SCTV Christmas - The 2 SCTV Xmas specials, this just came out on DVD and I bought it yesterday, can't wait to see it. Include's Johnny LaRue's famous crane shot.
Lethal Weapon - First (only) Xmas movie with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fight scenes.
Love Actually - Very sweet-natured adult Xmas movie.
The Ref - I'm a big Dennis Leary fan, nice antidote to the sweetness and light overload of a lot of Xmas films.
Mr. Bean's Christmas - Goofy fun.
The Lord of the Rings - The movies were originally released at Xmas time, so I tend to associate these with the season. My son and I are going to take a Sunday and watch the extended version of all 3 back-to-back. How is it Christmas-themed? Well, according to the Middle-Earth calendar, the Fellowship sets out on its quest on December 25...
(I'm also reading Tolkien's "Letters from Father Christmas" to the kids as a bedtime story this year)
Some TV Xmas specials and shows, thanks to the wonder of DVD series sets:
"Amends" - the Xmas-themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4th season episode - a ghoulish cross of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Carol", as Angel is haunted by the shades of innocents he murdered through history (actually the work of a series villain who reappears in the 7th season story arc. The final scene is pretty touching.
"Midnight of the Century" - the 2nd season Xmas episode, with Darren McGavin as Frank Black's estranged father, and Frank seeing ghosts wandering the streets of Seattle. The flashbacks to Frank and his parents as a kid, his mother, and the ending, always gets to me.
The Simpsons Christmas Special - still a hoot.
Some that I saw as a kid but haven't seen in years:
The Waltons: The Homecoming - the series pilot was actually a made-for-TV Xmas movie - a lot bleaker view of the depression than the series had, I'd like to find a copy of this.
The House Without a Christmas Tree - A special with Henry Fonda that I enjoyed a lot.
A Christmas Memory - Based on part of Truman Capote's biography, another interesting, somewhat downbeat Christmas film.
My all-time favorite, that no one else has mentioned: The animated verison of "A Christmas Carol" directed by Richard Williams and produced by Chuck Jones for ABC in the 1970s. If you haven't seen this, please do yourslef a favor and buy it. It is, I think, one of the BEST animated features EVER made. Based on Victorian engravings, narrarated by Sir Michael Redgrave, with Alaistair Sims repeating his role as Scrooge and Michael Hornden repeating his role as Marley from the 1951 production, the swooping, detailed animation is nothing short of amazing, and this is one of the creepiest things ever animated. Try to find a copy of this!