Christmas
Top 5 Christmas movies of all time: The Snowman
Home Alone
Even though Home Alone didn’t turn out to be the greatest
thing to happen to Macaulay Culkin, we feel rather fond of this classic
Christmas hit. For those who haven’t yet watched it (where have you been
though?) here’s a quick summary: eight-year-old Kevin McCallister gets
forgotten by his family who jet off to Paris without him. Whilst his
family try desperately to get back to America, burglars try to break
into poor Kevin’s home. However, through much hilarity, Kevin skilfully
defends his home with the aid of a tarantula and some artfully crafted
cardboard cut-outs.
Film fact:
The picture Kevin finds of Buzz’s
girlfriend whilst he raids his big brother’s room was actually a boy
wearing a wig. The director felt it would be too harsh to use a real
girl for this scene.
It’s A Wonderful Life
For those who don’t like black and white movies It’s A Wonderful Life
might not seem like the most appealing choice when you’re picking a
Christmas movie to watch, but trust us, this is definitely one of the
top five Christmas movies of all time. Even though It’s A Wonderful Life
didn’t cause much of a stir when it was first released, the movie has
proved timeless. The story is focused upon George Bailey; a local
businessman who is shown what life would be like if he didn’t exist by a
guardian angel. After seeing what life would be like without him,
George realizes the positive impact he has had on his small town. The
movie’s main message is one we all like to be reminded of at Christmas;
that love makes you richer than money.
Film fact:
Prior to this film, snow was made for
movies using corn flakes and white paint. Yet the flakes made too much
noise so, as an alternative, the creators of It’s A Wonderful Life made snow using soap, water and foamite. This creation won an Academy Technical Achievement Award in 1948.
The Snowman
The Snowman is a magical and simplistic movie that is a
firm favourite on this best Christmas movies list. The animated movie is
a great family hit, not only because of the stunning pictures and the
magical world in which the story takes place, but also because its
mesmerizing music can calm even the most hyperactive of overexcited
children down and send them soundly to sleep until Father Christmas
arrives. This one is great to watch on Christmas Eve.
Film fact:
The key song in the movie, Walking In The Air,
was not actually sung by Aled Jones. It was sung instead by Peter Auty
and was released by Aled Jones three years later in 1985.
Die Hard
Okay, so it’s not a traditional Christmas movie per se and you couldn’t watch it with the kids, but most men agree that Die Hard
is a definite contender for the best Christmas movie ever. Of course,
some people won’t agree that this is a Christmas movie, in part because
of the guns and the violence and the lack of Christmas cheer; yet
despite all of this, there are some strong Christmas themes in Die Hard.
Not only is the terrorist dressed in a Santa suit, but there are plenty
of Christmas trees on view amidst the shooting. Plus, in the movie’s
finale, good does conquer evil, which has to be the ultimate Christmas
theme.
Film fact:
If you’re still not sure this movie should be on the top-Christmas-movies-of-all-time list then consider this; in Die Hard 2 the body count reached the staggering heights of 164. Yet for Die Hard the body count was just 18.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Surely this movie makes the top-Christmas-movies-of-all-time list
for the simple reason that Chevy Chase is the star of the show? No?
Well, what about the fact that this Griswold Christmas movie delivers on
the goofball, slapstick front like no other? In every scene someone
falls through a ceiling, off a roof or sets fire to something in a
disastrous fashion. Typically, the Griswolds try desperately hard to
make a perfect Christmas for their family and inevitably, as every other
National Lampoon movie proves, the harder you try the worse the day turns out.
Film fact:
Remember the Griswolds’ neighbor’s
house? Did it seem familiar? Well, if it did that’s probably because it
was used as Murtagh’s home in Lethal Weapon.
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