What do you watch as part of the season? (Substitute holiday of your preference if you're not a Christmaser.) The sad fact is that most such films are pretty sappy and hard to take. But I'll admit that despite their (non-negligible) shortcomings in terms of cinema-as-art, I do enjoy the following: It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, and Miracle on 34th Street. Definitely Die Hard. (Remember it takes place during a Christmas party?) Oh, and I'd be quite remiss if I didn't mention Edward Scissorhands, which is not a film with shortcomings -- it's a masterpiece. (You can bet good money I'll be enjoying a generous helping of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street this holiday season -- thanks for seconds, Depp and Burton!) Heck, The Nightmare Before Christmas is good too.
Anyway, go ahead and toss your holiday faves into the comments, open our eyes to the cinematic wonders of the season.
Let me finish with a huge recommendation of a short story that I like to read every year at this time. There's even been a film version made, but I doubt I'll ever see it, since the story itself is one of the most perfect works of art I've been lucky enough to experience. The story is, of course, "The Dead" by James Joyce, from his collection Dubliners. (You can find copies of the book for $2 or $3 at almost any used bookstore, or you can follow either link above to find the story and/or the book for free.) Don't be scared off by the name Joyce, this is early Joyce not the brilliant-but-very-challenging Joyce of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. He plays it straight here and is utterly masterful in telling the tale of a Christmas party on a snowy night in Ireland. He captures the joys, the petty annoyances, the gravity, and the wistfulness of the season, and his psychological insight into the characters is just astounding. Some people say this may be the greatest short story every written (and on many days I would be one of them), but even if you don't end up thinking it's quite that good, I think you'll find it a nice addition to your holiday season.
Happy holidays, everyone!
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6 comments:
Fun blog ~ thank you! I agree with almost all of your Christmas film recommendations, and would like to add White Christmas, Garfield Christmas :) (slightly alarming those last two movies are in the same sentence, ha!) and While You Were Sleeping to the list. Merry Christmas!
Amy (Neel) Paulson
Oh, and I forgot to add, I'll definitely be reading that short story! Thank you so much for the recommendation!
Ame
The Dead truly is an amazing read. The film is also quite good. Thank you, David, for reminding me to pull that out for another read.
Happy Holidays!
Andrea
I'll go with "Elf" (Will Ferrell!), "Home Alone" (aiiiiigh!), "Gremlins" (Mogwai!), and I'll second Dave's "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Die Hard". Classics!
Also a shout out for "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" which is the reigning Thanksgiving movie.
Nice call on Planes/Trains/Autos. I thought about mentioning Elf, too, but you have to admit it falls apart near the end. Still, the first hour or so is pretty great.
And Gremlins is a great one. Too long since I saw that.
Also, Bad Santa is pretty funny if you're in a very foul mood. A friend of mine once said it was hilarious but that he felt like he needed to take a shower and/or go to church afterwards, which is a pretty perfect review.
We're always sure to watch Rudolph, Frosty, and especially Charlie Brown Christmas.
Thanks to Wenz family tradition, I'm learning to love the Rankin Bass classic, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It's great if you like clocks and mice. And, I have to say, it has made me appreciate that poem more than ever before.
("As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky) Good stuff!
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night. :)
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