Favorite Holiday Special/Movie

[anya_angie]

What's everyone's favorite holiday TV special/film that you like to watch this time of year?

 

[anya_angie]

I can even think of a few more that, were it not for the limit of ten, I would have added too!

Ernest Saves Christmas
The Santa Clause

 

[tracylynn]

I voted for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" because it's a classic. I just love Linus's speech in the cartoon. I would also vote for "Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer" because it's not Christmas without it.

"A Christmas Vacation" is another must see movie for me.

 

[anya_angie]

LOL Oh I forgot about National Lampoon! hahahahaha that cracks me up!

 

[flutterby1145]

I voted for "A Christmas Story". I love that movie! My mom and I watch it every year, both on the 24 hour Christmas Eve marathon and our video. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without watching that movie.

 

[anya_angie]

Another classic:

It's A Wonderful Life

 

[BronzeisGolden]

Don't forget "Scrooged"!

 

[anya_angie]

Oh yes, I love Scrooged! And most every Christmas Carol adaptation, particularly the one with Patrick Stewart made-for-tv a few years back.

 

[Germanice]

I can't believe "It's a wonderful life" and Dickens' "The Christmas Carol" aren't on the list!

Anke

 

[iluvtodd]

Barishnikov's "Nutcracker" & Peter, Paul, & Mary's Holiday concert which were shown on PBS for many years.

 

[julietvalcouer]

"And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown..."

It's not Christmas without "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I also always watch "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street", "Miracle on 34th Street" (the original, though that's oddly a 'Thanksgiving' movie, to me), "One Magic Christmas" (Mary Steenburgen, Harry Dean Stanton), "Prancer" (gotta love Sam Elliot), "Rudolph" (much as my mother wanted to kill that dentist elf, or at least tell him to run screaming from the profession--Mom was never really thrilled with dentistry, I think; said she retired because "I got sick of looking in people's mouths.")

"A Christmas Story", or, the movie that resulted in my brother getting a Red Ryder bb gun one year, and in my getting hit in the face with a riccochet. (It doesn't even break the skin. Lever-action air rifles don't fire at a strong enough muscle velocity to hurt much of anything--we still use it to scare squirrels off the bird feeders, and it doesn't do more than sting them.)

"A Christmas Carol", 1951 (Alastair Sim) is always the Christmas-Eve movie. We also get in the 1980s version with George C. Scott, the Muppet verion (also "John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together"), and the Patrick Stewart version. My brother likes "Scrooged." I do not.

For the sake of the dancers, I watch Ballanchine's The Nutcracker, which would be great if not my ideal vision of the story except for the ROTTING SQUIRREL CARCASS THAT IS MACAULEY CULKIN. The entire NYCB should have gotten Oscars, just for keeping a straight face during his less-than-amateurish crack at the Nutcracker Prince's solo in Act II. *I* could dance that part better than he did. Six-year-olds in intro classes could. My current favorite version is the Royal Ballet's, which is I think truer to the spirit of Hoffmann's book, if not Petipa's vision (though I think Tchaikovski would agree with me.) I watched Barishnikov's version on PBS and, the outdated color schemes aside, it did rather little for me.

The Nutcracker I'd like to see, if a filmed version exists, is the 1981 Pacific Northwest production with art and design by Maurice Sendak. I have the book of the Hoffman with his illustrations and costume designs.

 

[Piel]

I love "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant and it's remake "The Preacher's Wife" with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington. Did any of you see "Blizzard" that was on TV a couple of weeks ago? It was about a little girl who loved to skate and starred Brenda Blethyn (sp?) with Whoopi Goldberg as the voice of Blizzard. The scene whre Blizzard "skated" around the pond with the little girl was so cute! Also on TV last week was "Noel" with Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, and Robin Williams (as an ex priest)...excellent.

 

[show 42]

Of the ones listed, I chose "A Christmas Story". I also love to watch an oldie called "Come To The Stable" with Loretta Young and Celeste Holm, and "The Bells of Saint Mary's" with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman..........42

 

[Kasey]

Christmas time has always been "sound of music" time in our house

 

[Eliza]

"
The Nutcracker I'd like to see, if a filmed version exists, is the 1981 Pacific Northwest production with art and design by Maurice Sendak. I have the book of the Hoffman with his illustrations and costume designs.

It used to be on TV every year. Don't know if it still is. Haven't seen it on the TV schedule this year.

I usually try to see the Nutcracker if it's on & I love A Christmas Story.

 

[sashay]

Barishnikov's "Nutcracker" :

ITA, I LOVE Baryshnikov's Nutcraker, haven't seen it in years, would love to get a tape of that. I picked "The Christmas Story" from the list, it's too funny, I always enjoy watching it!

 

[baseballnut]

I always liked Garfields christmas