It's Christmas time once again.
Time to pick out a Christmas tree and deck it out with lights and ornaments. Time to reacquaint ourselves with the unique taste of eggnog. Time to write out Christmas cards wishing friends and neighbors good health and good cheer. Time to wrap presents in green and red ribbons and bows. And it is also time to decide which of the many holiday specials and movies are worth an hour or more of your time in front of the television. To help you sift through the reindeer and snowmen to find the cream on top of the Christmas toddy, here is one man's listing of the Top 10 holiday movies/specials of all time.
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10. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1951, B and W) This British production of the Dickens' classic hits all the right notes. Alastair Sim set the standard for capturing the true essence of Ebenezer Scrooge. Sim's Scrooge is a man full of depth and deep shadow, not the cardboard villain he is so often reduced to. The story of Christmas redemption through the atonement for past sins is one that is timeless and relevant to every generation.
Best line: "God bless us, everyone." From the mouth of Tiny Tim.
9. The Year Without A Santa Claus (1974, Color) This stop-motion classic from the team of Bass and Rankin is more commonly referred to as "the one with Heat and Snow Miser." Although Hollywood legends Mickey Rooney and Shirley Booth supply the voices of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, it is the vaudeville song-and-dance routines of the Miser brothers that bring down the house.
Best line: "They call me Heat Miser, whatever I touch begins to melt in my clutch. I'm too much!"
8. Holiday Inn (1942, B and W) Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire run an inn that is only open for business during the holidays. Marjorie Reynolds plays both men's love interest. Irving Berlin wrote the musical numbers, each tied in to a different holiday. Cost of a new DVD of "Holiday Inn" along with "Going My Way": $10.49. Watching Bing croon "White Christmas": Priceless.
Best line: "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know, where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow."
7. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977, Color) Originally produced as a special for HBO, this reworking of "The Gift of the Magi" by Muppet creator Jim Hensen is a holiday classic. Emmet and Ma Otter live a simple life, struggling to stay ahead of the bills left behind by Pa Otter when he went to that great running stream in the sky. Each decides to enter a talent contest in hopes of winning prize money to buy the other a nice Christmas present. On the day of the contest, it appears that it is a two-horse race between Emmet's jug band and Ma Otter. Then a heavy metal band of ne'er-do-wells from River Bottom called The Nightmare show up. Their performance not only wins the talent contest, but also steals the whole show.
Best line: "We know we're a mess, our kind does not like to be clean. We don't brush our teeth 'cause our toothache can help us stay mean."
6. Frosty the Snowman (1969, Color) This one is also from Rankin and Bass, but uses standard animation. A gust of wind blows a magical hat owned by Professor Hinkle onto Frosty's head and the spirit of Christmas magic is alive and well. Narrated by Jimmy Durante, it tells the tale of little Karen's plan to save the snowman from melting by hopping a freight train to the North Pole. Even now, it puts a lump in my throat when Karen returns to find nothing more than a pool of water, a corncob pipe and three pieces of coal.
Best line: Professor Hinkle, "I've got to get busy, busy, busy!"
5. A Christmas Story (1983, Color) Some movies are classics the second they are released. This one is one of them. Told in retrospect from the perspective of an adult, the tale recounts the 1940s-era Christmas pursuit of what a prepubescent Ralphie believes to be the ultimate Yuletide gift Ñ a Red Ryder Carbine Action, 200 Shot, Range Model Air Rifle. There are many scenes that will have you doubling over in laughter. From Dad's sexy leg-lamp ("It's a major award!"), to a kid's tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole, to Ralphie using the forbidden swear word in front of his father, to the family having Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant after the neighbor's dogs help themselves to the turkey, this movie has a little bit of everything. Its message is that a loving family is the true gift of the holidays.
Best line: "You'll shoot your eye out."
4. Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas (1987, Color) Vinton took Rankin and Bass' stop-motion technique to another level. Two dinosaur narrators, Herb and Rex, introduce a series of musical vignettes, each woven around a classic holiday song. Vinton's mastery of the form is a thing to behold. Who would have thought clay could be used so expressively? Many enjoy the California Raisin's rendition of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," but the show-stealer is the Quasimodo-led "Carol of the Bells."
Best line: Dumbbell, "I lost mine."
3.How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, Color) Chuck Jones of Warner Brothers cartoon fame illustrated this wonderful adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic. The Grinch hates the Whos of Whoville and is determined to break their spirit by stealing Christmas from under their noses. Boris Karloff is perfect voicing the nefarious green one. Cindy Lou Who embodies all that is good and innocent in a little girl's heart. Max the dog is the perfect sidekick and draws many laughs when the Grinch fits him with a pair of antlers. The Grinch discovers that it is he who is in for a surprise as his heart grows three sizes on Christmas Day.
Best line: "The three words that best describe you are, and I quote, stink, stank, stunk."
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965, Color) As far as animated specials go, this will never be outdone. Director Bill Melendez perfectly captures the angst of misfit Charlie Brown as he tries to reach the mainstream clique and clue them in to the real spirit of Christmas. While the rest of the gang, including Chuck's own dog, Snoopy, are caught up in the commercialism of the holiday, Charlie Brown is determined to cut to the heart of the matter as he attempts to direct the school Christmas play. The jazz score offers perfect companionship to Chuck's search. Who among us can hold back a tear when the gang finally recognizes the beauty in Charlie Brown's frail, little Christmas tree?
Best line: Linus' recital of the nativity story, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
1. It's a Wonderful Life (1947, B and W) Like a fine wine, this American movie classic has improved with age. When it was released, it won no Oscars. Due to a copyright oversight, the film entered the public domain and was shown repeatedly on television throughout the holiday season. Today, it epitomizes for many the true spirit of Christmas. Jimmy Stewart is perfect as George Bailey, the would-be world-traveler whose sense of responsibility leaves him stuck in Bedford Falls running his father's savings and loan. Donna Reed is the picture of starlet beauty as George's wife, Mary. While some say this is not director Frank Capra's finest work, none can deny that it is his most enduring. When Clarence the angel shows George what Bedford Falls would be like without him, we are given the knowledge that our lives matter and that the people we know and love would not be the same minus our presence. The final scene will bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened of souls. All that, and Zuzu's petals, too.
Best line: George Bailey says, "Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?"
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 21 2004 |