Every Jew should have a list of favorite Christmas movies
I can always tell when the holiday season has started (Nov. 1st, more or less) because I start seeing a spike in Google searches such as "Best Christmas Movies" leading people to my list of Ultimate Christmas Flicks from the Dec. 2001 Gear.
This is one of the few film lists I've made (and I've made a lot, mostly for my own amusement on long car rides) where narrowing it down to three was not hard, because I could only think of four Christmas films that are any good at all (the runner-up was Die Hard).
My list (justifications here): It's A Wonderful Life, Metropolitan, A Christmas Story.
What's yours? And, sorry, but counting TV specials is cheating in my book. (By the way, this lady's criticism of It's A Wonderful Life -- subversive! -- goes a long way toward explaining what I love about it).
Oh, and did an Amazon customer really recommend The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Reifenstahl in addition to It's A Wonderful Life? Is it because of the similar titles, or because both movies contain the line, "Why must you torture the children?"
Comments
November 1? Maybe in the good old days, but I work near Radio City Music Hall, and they put their Christmas trees up on October 25. Was there ever really a time when decorations didn't go up until after Thankgsiving, or do we just wish such a time had existed?
As for my list: Bad Santa, and, depending on how liberal we are with the definition of a Christmas movie, Stalag 17 and Trading Spaces.
Now if we could just get even one decent Hannukah movie.
Posted by: Jesse | November 20, 2004 3:46 AM
Die Hard. And though it's "cheating," A Charlie Brown Christmas warms my heart.
Posted by: lexine | November 25, 2004 1:45 AM
"Fanny & Alexander".
Posted by: Mick | November 29, 2004 4:50 PM