What's the Best Christmas Movie?
by Vic Bilson
Christmas is a great time to gather your family together with a big bowl of popcorn to watch a Christmas classic or a new Christmas movie. Curling up on the couch with a warm blanket and a favorite Christmas movie is a tradition Americans savor every year.
It seems everybody has an opinion about what the best Christmas movie is, but there are a few examples that seem to rise to the top every year. What everyone agrees on is that a good Christmas movie is one every family should watch together. The true test of a good Christmas movie is if you can watch it every year and still laugh (or cry) at the appropriate moments.
Following are a few recommendations for families looking for a Christmas movie to enjoy.
No Christmas movie list would be complete without including It's a Wonderful Life. This Christmas movie classic has been shown millions of times and has truly proven to be a keeper.
For many, A Christmas Story is on its way to becoming an annual holiday classic, one to keep on the shelf with It`s a Wonderful Life, the puppet-animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Directed by Bob Clark, it`s based on the childhood memoirs of humorist Jean Shepherd (from his hilarious book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash). And it is Shepherd`s wry, deadly accurate and gently nostalgic comic sensibility that shines through in this kid`s-eye-view of an all-American Christmas in the 1940s.
For others, what comes to mind is the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. It's the story of an old man who hates Christmas being taught the true meaning and spirit of Christmas by ghosts who show him his own past and present. He is also shown what the future holds for him if he doesn't change his behavior. There are numerous versions of this Christmas classic including the popular A Muppet Christmas Carol.
Another popular Christmas movie classic is White Christmas, the semi-remake of Holiday Inn (the first movie in which Irving Berlin`s perennial, Oscar-winning holiday anthem was featured). It doesn`t have much of a story, but what it does have is Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, an all-Irving Berlin song score, classy direction by Hollywood vet Michael Curtiz, VistaVision (the very first feature ever shot in that widescreen format), and ultrafestive Technicolor!
A few other Christmas movie favorites are:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Tim Allen's
The Santa Clause
Scrooged with Bill Murray
The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Christmas Movie Shopping
Explore more about Christmas Movies
Christmas Goes Hollywood
There are so many great Christmas movies, so many memorable characters and
wonderful story lines, that picking a handful of flicks that stand above the
rest is difficult. But were always up for a good challenge, so why shy away
from one now?
Jimmy Stewart Christmas
Movie
It's a Wonderful Life Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed
The Christmas Shoes
(2002)
A young boy tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for his dying
mother, while a lawyer tries to deal with the break-up of his marriage.
5 Christmas Movies for the Whole
Family to Enjoy!
Christmas is coming! And, Christmas time is all about
family and togetherness. We've put together some recommendations for movies to
have on hand for the Christmas season that the whole family will enjoy. These
are all movies to buy and watch year after year!
Animated Christmas
Movie
Some favorite animated Christmas movies sure to please the whole
family.
Mickeys Christmas Carol
DVD
One of the most recognized symbols of America, Mickey Mouse and
friends return to the screen in the animated short Mickey's Christmas Carol.
It's the same old classic Charles Dickens story with an all star Disney
cast.
