One of my favorite parts about the Christmas season is watching great movies with family (usually with my dad since he's about the only one who can appreciate a good movie with me). Now I've spoken before in this blog how I usually watch all my favorite movies around Christmas season or the end of the year. (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Gladiator, Amadeus, Phantom of the Opera etc) I would even say that I actually watch more non-Christmas movies around Christmas time then Christmas movies,. For me it's nothing against Christmas movies, but it's just my favorite time to enjoy my favorite movies, staying warm by the fireplace. However this year my dad and I had a discussion on the importance of Christmas movies.
Christmas movies have always been a part of my family bonding and tradition. Sure there's been the non-Christmas films we have watched regularly over the years such as Amadeus, Phantom of the Opera, or even Midnight in Paris (I'll have a separate list on this category to come). However it's the Christmas movies that really hone in on the spirit of Christmas. These movies should certainly take precedence over any other films on family holiday occasions. I believe it is also important to watch some new Christmas films each year, which is how they can become classics.
Here is my list of favorite Christmas movies over the years,. I'll admit there are some Christmas classics I have yet to see such as A Christmas Story. And then there are some popular films that I just don't care for such as Elf, The Santa Clause, The Grinch who Stole Christmas, and the very depressing Charlie Brown Christmas. However for the most part I think I have seen most of the staples at this point and can compile a fairly distinguishable list on my current top 10 favorite Christmas films.
Top Ten Favorite Christmas Movies
10. Christmas Vacation
Year Released: 1989
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Actors: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid
Setting: 1980s Chicago Suburbia
Significance: Over the years this has become a Christmas staple for my family, almost to the point of which it is getting old for me. I do remember the first time we all watched it and all of us were roaring in laughter at the scene where the dog chases the squirrel throughout the Griswald houshold. So many classic funny moments in this movie carried by Chevy Chase's witty sense of humor. He's an average middle class suburban dad who only wants to have a good Christmas with his family but everything keeps going wrong. It covers all components of Christmas, from the tree, the lights, the decorating, the egg nog, the family, the carols, and the present exchange. The movie is essentially a Christmas package in it's own right and that's what has made it such an iconic comedy for the holidays.
Famous Quotes:
Clark W. Griswold: "Where do you think you're going? Nobody's
leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No,
no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday
emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap,
happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And
when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna
find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse."
Ellen Griswold: Clark, I think that it would be best for
everybody if they all just went home...before things get any worse.
Clark W. Griswold: WORSE?!?!? How can things get any
worse?!?!? Take a look around you Ellen! We're at the threshold of Hell!
9. The Holiday
Year Released: 2006
Director: Nancy Meyers
Actors: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Setting: Present day Los Angeles and rural Britain
Significance: It is a sappy modern day Christmas comedy, however has a unique twist to it as it spent in Los Angeles and a small town in Britain. Kate Winselt and Cameron Diaz decide to swap houses during the holiday season and find themselves in some comical and romantic situations.
Famous Quotes:
Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies
and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some
reason, you're behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading
lady of your own life for God's sake!
8. Just Friends
Year Released: 2005
Director: Roger Kumble
Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Farris, Chris Kline
Setting: Modern day Suburbia, Los Angeles
Significance: Its a modern day Christmas comedy, which I remember first discovering during my college days. The story is about a guy, Ryan Reynolds trying to get past the friend zone with a girl, Amy Smart, who has always liked since high school. It is a romantic comedy dosed with a suburban Christmas setting. Anna Farris and Chris Kline also provide great comedic supporting roles. It has plenty of laugh out loud moments that my family has really come to enjoy over the holiday season.
Famous Quotes:
Samatha James: (singing) Forgiveness, is more than saying sorry.
7. Love Actually
Year Released: 2003
Director: Richard Curtis
Actors: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy
Setting: Modern day Britain
Significance: It is a British romantic comedy set during Christmas time with many stories going on at once. Each story has a theme of love and Christmas. Some memorable moments include the opening of Keira Knightley's wedding and an original rendition of the Beatles "Love". Then there is the sad coworker of Keira who displays his love for her thru cue cards, yet she is married to another man. Meanwhile Hugh Grant provides his usual quirkiness as the prime minister,. All throughout these romantic stories Bill Nighy provides an original Christmas tune to the melody of The Troggs "Love is All Around Us".
Famous Quotes: Prime Minister: "If you go look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love is actually all around"
6. Miracle on 34th Street
Year Released: 1947, 1994
Director: George Seaton; Les Mayfield
Actors: Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn/ Richard Attenbourough, Elizabeth Perkins, Mara Wilson, Dylan McDermott
Setting: New York City
Significance: It is a classic Christmas story, about a young kid coming to grips with the reality of Santa Clause. Set in New York City during the Christmas season, the young girl of a business manager sees the stores' Santa Clause on a regular basis. While the Santa Clause is very convicing and popular the young girl remains doubtful. However after a court case and a series of unusual events she begins to believe that he is indeed the real Santa Clause
Famous Quotes:
Kris Kringle: "Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, it's a
frame of mind... and that's what's been changing. That's why I'm glad I'm here,
maybe I can do something about it."
Kris: You think I'm a fraud, don't you?
Dorey: Fraud is a bit too strong of a word.
Kris: But you don't believe in me.
Dorey: I believe that Christmas is for children.
Kris: Well your daughter doesn't believe in me, either.
Dorey: I don't think that there's any harm in not believing in a figure that many do acknowledge to be a fiction.
Kris: Oh, but there is. I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I... I... I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If... You can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt.
5. The Nativity Story
Year Released: 2006
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Actors: Keisha Castle Hughes, Oscar Isaac
Setting: Nazareth and Bethlehem
Significance: In today's society it seems Christmas is dominated by the material goods; shopping, food, decorations, Santa Clause, reindeer, presents, etc. However what is sometimes missed is the real reason for the season and that is the birth of Christ. Being raised in a Catholic family the nativity story has always been a cornerstone of our Christmas celebrations. From the advent season, the Christmas mass, and our Venezuelan pesebre, Jesus has always taken a resplendence over Santa Clause in my family. This film is not a usual funny Christmas comedy, yet rather a warm and heartfelt one about the birth of Christ.
Famous Quotes:
Anne: "What about Joseph, he's a good man!"
Joseph: "And you shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save the people from their sins. I know Mary. God showed me. An angel came to me in my dream."
Mary: "You believe me?"
Joseph: "I believe you. The child will need a father. I will declare him as my own."
Mary: "People will not look at you the same. They will not look at us the same."
Joseph: "You are my wife. I am your husband. That is all they need to know"
4. Home Alone 1 and 2
Year Released: 1990 and 1992
Director: Chris Colombus
Actors: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Setting: New York City
Significance: It's one of my favorite childhood Christmas comedies. A story about a bratty child, forgotten by his family and left alone for the holidays. I could always relate to the large noisy family scenes. Macaulay Culkin plays the ideal menacing child who is able to defend his household from a pair of robbers, all during the Christmas season. In the second film he is lost in New York City, however it is a similar theme of being left alone during Christmas. Both the first and second film, are original Christmas stories, and have become nostalgic classics during the holiday season.
Famous Quotes:
Snakes 2nd Gangster: What do you mean?
Johnny 1st Gangster: He's upstairs takin' a bath. He'll call
when he gets out.
Johnny 1st Gangster: (pulls out the gun) Hey!, I think I'm
gonna give you, Snakes. I'm gonna give you the count of ten, to get your ugly,
yella, no-kester off my property, before I pump your gull of lead?.
Snakes 2nd Gangster: [wide eyed] All right, Johnny, I'm
sorry. I'm goin'.
Johnny 1st Gangster: One, two, ten
Johnny 1st Gangster: [starts unloading bullets into snakes
while he laughs]
Johnny 1st Gangster: Keep the change you filthy animal.
3. A Christmas Carol
Year Released: 1938, 1951, 1984, 1992, 1999, 2009
Director: Edwin Marin, Brian Desmond Hurst, Clive Donner Brian Henson, Robert Zemeckis
Actors: (As Scoorge) Reginald Owen, Alastair Sim, George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart Jim Carrey
Setting: 1800s Britain
Significance: It is perhaps one of the most famous and redone Christmas tales, written by Charles Dickens. I have seen so many different versions over the years and can say I always enjoy the story and it's different adaptations. It revolves around the infamous character Ebeneezer Scrooge and his extreme lack of Christmas spirit. On Christmas Eve he is visited by three Christmas ghosts from his past, present, and future who convince him to change his ways. After these visits, Scrooge makes an extreme change to share merriness with his nephew and his employee Crotchet. Some of my favorite versions of this story include the 1984 version with George C. Scott, the 1992 Muppets version, the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart, and the original version with Reginald Owen. This story is not so much about Santa Clause and fairy-tales yet rather about the Christmas spirit and doing good onto others.
Famous Quotes:
Scrooge: "Bah-Humbug"
Tiny Tim: "God Bless all of us, each and everyone of us!"
2. Jingle All the Way
Year Released: 1996
Director: Brian Levant
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Setting: Minneapolis
Significance: Along with Home Alone this was one of my all-time childhood favorite Christmas films. My brother and I would quote so many of the memorable lines from Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is quite an original Christmas story about a dad trying to buy a gift for his son on Christmas Eve. It's loaded with a theme of today's Christmas culture, which is heavy on materialism and shopping. Yet it's a good-natured comedy as Schwarzenegger desperately sweeps the city of Minneapolis for the very popular Turbo Man action figure. The film is full of surprises and so many funny moments carried by Arnold Schwarzenegger's terrible acting. I would say this would be my all time favorite Christmas movie in general for many years now until just recently.
Famous Quotes:
Turbo Man: "Its TURBO TIME!"
Howard Langston: "I'm not a pervert! I was just looking for a Turbo Man doll"
1. It's a Wonderful Life
Year Released: 1946
Director: Frank Capra
Actors: James Stewart, Donna Reed
Setting: 1940s Suburbia
Significance: It is a classic film that has become a traditional part of the Christmas season. Funny thing about this movie, is that it doesn't overdue it with the Christmas Setting. It's rather a story about life and love and family and being grateful for what you have. It's these things that make up the essence of the Christmas spirit which are portrayed masterfully in this story. The film actually does finish with a strong dose of a Christmas setting, carols, and cheer. It has become my new all time favorite Christmas movie, of which I hope to watch with family for many Christmases to come.
Famous Quotes:
George Bailey: Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry
Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!
Clarence: You see George, you've really had a wonderful
life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?
George Bailey: What is it you want, Mary? What do you want?
You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull
it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary.
Mary Hatch Bailey: I'll take it. Then what?
George Bailey: Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all
dissolve, see... and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your
toes and the ends of your hair... am I talking too much?
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