Best Christmas films

[Deset Gled]

Right. A June/July release meant that the VHS would be available right on time for the holiday. The rental business was huge then.

I understand the logic here, but... I said 1947.

 

[payn]

I understand the logic here, but... I said 1947.

I didnt quote you directly, but you also said Gremlins and folks been talking Die Hard.

 

[jdrakeh]

Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). Arguably the foundation of the North American slasher genre, Black Christmas is a work of cinematic importance in that regard. Starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon (among others). It's the only Christmas move to absolutely horrify me (and still does all of these years later).

 

[Deset Gled]

I didnt quote you directly, but you also said Gremlins and folks been talking Die Hard.

I get it, just found it funny. @Parmandur's point is correct that in earlier times, there were a limited number of film copies of movies, so a release could take weeks months to travel across the country.

The bigger point, of course, is that you can't really put rules on what makes something an Xmas movie. It's a social construct, not a scientific definition. The more anyone tries to write rules, the more exceptions you will find to those rules.

Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). Arguably the foundation of the North American slasher genre, Black Christmas is a work of cinematic importance in that regard. Starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon (among others). It's the only Christmas move to absolutely horrify me (and still does all of these years later).

An absolute classic. I love the "tracing the call" scenes; very period-specific horror. The remake was a disappointment.

 

[jian]

I get it, just found it funny. @Parmandur's point is correct that in earlier times, there were a limited number of film copies of movies, so a release could take weeks months to travel across the country.

The bigger point, of course, is that you can't really put rules on what makes something an Xmas movie. It's a social construct, not a scientific definition. The more anyone tries to write rules, the more exceptions you will find to those rules.



An absolute classic. I love the "tracing the call" scenes; very period-specific horror. The remake was a disappointment.

Yeah, I tend not to think of rules so much as points for and against. Die Hard came out in the summer and isn’t really about Christmas (in that it could happen on any other day of the year without changing the themes or plot) but it’s a beloved Christmas film for many, so it’s in the list. But for me, it isn’t a Type 1 or 2.

 

[payn]

I get it, just found it funny. @Parmandur's point is correct that in earlier times, there were a limited number of film copies of movies, so a release could take weeks months to travel across the country.

The bigger point, of course, is that you can't really put rules on what makes something an Xmas movie. It's a social construct, not a scientific definition. The more anyone tries to write rules, the more exceptions you will find to those rules.

Totally. I would never in a million years run to google to find a release date as a criteria for an x-mas movie. Though, apparently im very liberal in my holiday movie standards.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah, I tend not to think of rules so much as points for and against. Die Hard came out in the summer and isn’t really about Christmas (in that it could happen on any other day of the year without changing the themes or plot) but it’s a beloved Christmas film for many, so it’s in the list. But for me, it isn’t a Type 1 or 2.

The other thing is it’s an action movie, which is exactly the sort of movie all the family can enjoy.

It’s why a Bond movie used to be the highlight of the British TV Christmas schedule in the 70s and 80s.

 

[jdrakeh]

An absolute classic. I love the "tracing the call" scenes; very period-specific horror. The remake was a disappointment.

There have been two remakes. Both awful.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Most underrated Christmas movie: Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Set at Christmas, released at Christmas, based on a classic Christmas story, great music, manages to tone down the moralising and nauseating sentimentality for the most part and include disturbing and horror-lite imagery.

 

[jian]

One I haven’t seen mentioned is the Czech classic Type 1 Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella, which is a really neat piece of period fairytale with classic 1980s effects.

Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I think it was commonly shown on TV in Germany and Norway. There’s a Norwegian remake, which I haven’t seen.