Welcome to our special holiday edition of our FilmNerds Recommends series where the writers and contributors here at FilmNerds give you our top picks for the DVDs you should be watching this month. Every film fan is familiar with the traditional staple Christmas movies we find running all over basic cable this time of year but we here at FilmNerds believe there are more than a few holiday classics that don’t quite get the respect and attention they deserve. This month, we’ll be taking you through our top Christmas recommendations including a few that you may not have heard of before. As usual, every FilmNerds recommendation is currently available on Netflix so if you see a pick you like, simply click on the DVD cover art to link straight to the movie’s page on Netflix.

Christmas Classics (pre-1980)

Ben Stark’s Pick – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

I’ll take the obvious one here. It’s a Wonderful Life is not just essential viewing for the Christmas season, but also in life in general. It’s worth a view every year to remind us of how great and healthy the American version of the Christmas tradition is. It’s also nice to have our perspectives refreshed before starting a new year. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a darker and more terrifying movie than you can imagine.

Corey Craft’s Pick – Miracle on 34th Street (1959)

Though I haven’t seen it in a long time, the original Miracle on 34th Street is pretty much aces, isn’t it? Maureen O’Hara and child Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn, perhaps the definitive performance of Santa Claus on screen?

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Ben Flanagan’s Pick – A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Winner by a mile for me, though Frank Capra’s fable is the king of the feature length examples of this category. This is easily one of my earliest memories of enjoying a Christmas-themed movie, show or special. My parents would always insist I pay attention to Linus’ explanation of the true meaning of Christmas, and I was always glad I did. Plus, Vince Guaraldi’s legendary musical accompaniment continues to surge through my Christmas playlist.

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Graham Flanagan’s Pick – Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Since Stark stole the “Christmas Goose” with It’s a Wonderful Life, I’ve got to go my brother’s route and choose another Made-for-TV animated special that actually came out a year after the Peanuts special: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 1966. With a combination of Chuck Jones’ brilliant animation and direction, Boris Karloff’s classic narration and Albert Hague’s unforgettable song and score, adaptations don’t get much more faithful and successful than this. It’s an immortal Christmas classic that should be required viewing every holiday season.

Matt Scalici’s Pick – White Christmas (1954)

While it’s not nearly as Christmasy as the films you see listed above, White Christmas obviously has enough seasonal connotations to qualify for our list but above all else, it’s just a purely fun piece of classic Hollywood entertainment. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are among the greatest all-around talents to ever share the silver screen and Rosemary Clooney is at her most charming. It may not feature any Christmas miracles but it’s a movie about friends, good times and great music, all of which fit in perfectly with the spirit of Christmas.

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Christmas Comedy

Ben Stark’s Pick – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Again, I’ll leave the first obvious pick (an unnamed Bob Clark classic) to someone else, so that leaves me the second obvious pick. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation isn’t just a hilarious Christmas stand-by, it’s also my personal favorite film in the Vacation series. “Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead?”

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Corey Craft’s Pick – Bad Santa (2003)

Bad Santa, if only for the cursing. Terry Zwigoff’s misanthropic comedy (with a rewrite, I hear, by the brothers Coen) hits all the sour notes a sad person might want to hear during a season that’s all about good cheer and happiness and good will towards men and all that crap that miserable people hate to hear about. Plus it’s just straight-up funny; I can’t think of a better comedic performance by Billy Bob Thornton.

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Ben Flanagan’s Pick – The Ref (1994)

I’d normally count Die Hard because Bruce Willis gives a fantastic comedic performance, but the go-to here is Ted Demme’s blistering, profane, highly adult comedy The Ref, starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. Severe marital quarrels are at the core of this would-be friendly holiday experience, as Spacey and Davis play a pair of squabbling spouses who get kidnapped by Leary’s unlucky burglar. Leary certainly does his regular (as in the good 90s regular) schtick, but the film’s (black) heart is the dynamic between Spacey and Davis, who do their absolute best work here. Riddled with adult themes, I swear it’s HILARIOUS.

Graham Flanagan’s Pick – Home Alone (1990)

I’m going to resist Stark’s low-hanging fruit and go with another somewhat obvious pick: Home Alone. At the time, the 1990 blockbuster probably existed as a majority of 7-12 year-olds’ pick for ‘favorite film of all time,’ and it has only improved with age. John Hughes’ last great contribution to American cinema (forgive me, Beethoven fans) is primarily known for its slapstick-riddled third act… but the movie is held together by its supporting cast, anchored by Catherine O’Hara, as a mother so determined to get back to her stranded son that she’s willing to sit in the back of a rental truck with a group of ‘polka bums’ led by John Candy in one of the greatest cameos of all time.

Matt Scalici’s Pick - A Christmas Story (1983)

Pretty obvious pick here but in the process of writing my recent review for <shameless plug> Back to the Movies </shameless plug> I rediscovered just what a perfect comedy this movie truly is. Every segment of this episodic comedy is chock full of classic big laughs that still hold up today no matter how many times you’ve seen this movie and there’s just enough nostalgia factor to give us all that warm fuzzy Christmas twinge without coming off as too cheesy.

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Obscure Christmas Pick

Ben Stark’s Pick – Futurama: Bender’s Big Score (2007)

Had trouble with this one, but I’ll give a nod to Futurama: Bender’s Big Score. This, the show’s first full-length film, features an amazing musical number featuring the evil Robot Santa, Kwanzaabot, and the Chanukah Zombie, in which they force elves into arming our heroes for a space battle featuring numerous solid gold Death Stars.

Corey Craft’s Pick – The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

I don’t think this counts as obscure, really, but amongst adaptations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” I probably enjoy The Muppet Christmas Carol the most, and I’m not sure that people think of it like they should when they think of Christmas comedies or Dickens adaptations. Come on, it’s the Muppets. I could watch a Muppet movie every day and I think that’d be just fine. (Editor’s Note: INCREDIBLY, Netflix does not carry The Muppet Christmas Carol. Click the image to link to Amazon to purchase the DVD. You should own it anyway.)

Ben Flanagan’s Pick – The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire” (1989)

I’ll cheat and pick a television special, though it’s not feature length. Like many people, my first exposure to “The Simpsons” came when Fox broadcast “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” which was actually the first full-length episode to actually air. Not only did it introduce perhaps the greatest television show ever, but we got to know Homer Simpson rather intimately through his well-kept secret of financial problems he wouldn’t dare share with Marge, namely that he wasn’t getting the Christmas bonus they were banking on. For me, this episode nails the special meaning of Christmas, that material things take a back seat to a family and its newest addition, which is Santa’s Little Helper here (after Homer visits the dog track to raise some extra cash). “Ow, quit it…”

Graham Flanagan’s Pick – Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Of course, you won’t find Stanley Kubrick’s underrated 1999 masterpiece Eyes Wide Shut on any Christmas movie marathons on the ABC Family Channel. However, it definitely contains plenty of Christmas spirit since almost every scene in the film features a Christmas tree (I might have missed one, so allow me to go back and watch EVERY SCENE one more time…); perhaps this is the director’s not-so-subtle way of reminding the audience that human beings are capable of some of the worst things imaginable, even against the backdrop of a season synonymous concept of humanity.

Matt Scalici’s Pick - The Christmas Toy  (1986)

Not to knock the almighty Pixar, but the idea of toys coming to life when their owners aren’t around was not quite an original idea. This Jim Henson made-for-TV special follows a group of toys who come to life when no one is looking and just like Woody the cowboy, our hero in this movie is a favorite toy insecure about being dropped for a newer model. One key element that Henson included was that unlike the Toy Story toys, the stakes are a little higher this time: if a toy gets caught out of his normal place, he becomes “frozen forever”. A little intense for the small kiddies but among Henson’s most underrated work.

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Movies Featuring Santa as a Character

Ben Stark’s Pick – The Polar Express (2004)

People often lament the creepiness of The Polar Express, one of my recent Christmas favorites. Possibly one of the creepiest parts of the film is the climactic introduction of Santa, who enters the square of the North Pole in the same way the WWF’s Undertaker is introduced to wrestling arenas. The elves here are terrifying cult members, which I think is a unique interpretation.

Corey Craft’s Pick – The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Miracle on 34th Street could apply here, too, but I’m fond of the cranky portrayal of a besieged Santa in The Nightmare Before Christmas, which pits St. Nick against a skeleton interloper who longs to bring good cheer instead of spreading fear. But don’t take my word for it; The Nightmare Before Christmas is a classic.

Ben Flanagan’s Pick – The Santa Clause (1994)

The Santa Clause always found its way into the VCR this time of year when I’d spend the night at my grandmother’s house. Looking back, I watched that movie A LOT, and I can’t decide whether or not it was because it was the only Christmas movie available. Truth be told, I think it’s a swell holiday pick, featuring a nice comedic performance from Tim Allen, someone I can’t say I followed before or after seeing the movie. Best moments may be when Allen takes shots at Judge Reinhold, his ex-wife’s new sensitive, sweater-donning boyfriend.

Graham Flanagan’s Pick – Santa Clause: The Movie (1985)

Many consider the 1985 release Santa Clause: The Movie to be one of the most noteworthy Christmas flops of all time. While it was negatively received in the USA, the film apparently did big business at the worldwide box office.. and – according to the movie’s Wikipedia page – is considered a “classic” in the United Kingdom! Who knew? I actually saw this movie during its initial theatrical release in the 1980s.. however I must admit I don’t remember a single frame. I definitely plan on checking it out (on Bluray!) and making a definitive decision.

Matt Scalici’s Pick – Elf (2003)

Ed Asner’s grumpy, slightly put-upon version of Santa brings a lot of underrated comedy value to Jon Favreau’s modern Christmas classic (and I do think this one has major staying power). I particularly like Santa’s carefully worded explanations about Ray’s Pizza and “peep shows” to Buddy the Elf. This is clearly a well-traveled and world-weary Santa.

Note: Back to the Movies is a special feature on the FilmNerds blog in which Matt Scalici will be watching the Top 50 highest-grossing movies of 1983 in order from 50 to 1.

In my original post on the 1983 re-release of Disney’s 1977 animated feature The Rescuers, I was initially unable to find out exactly what was behind the re-release, a question that was thankfully answered by some of our readers (check the comments section on my Rescuers post). In short, the answer is that in addition to a number of other factors, The Rescuers re-release provided Disney with an opportunity for a theatrical venue for its first attempt in three decades at a new Mickey Mouse cartoon. Disney’s franchise character had remained a major part of Disney’s overall branding but with no new material since the 1953 short “The Simple Things”, the character’s street cred was beginning to fade among Disney’s key target audience, children.

As reader David Wright pointed out, Disney was in the midst of a minor crisis in 1983, dealing with a major management transition as Roy Disney Jr. stepped down as well as a shifting of focus towards other revenue sources such as the theme parks and the newly-launched Disney Channel. Still, The Rescuers was a popular title in 1983 and the added bonus of a brand new Christmas-themed Mickey Mouse short was surely a big part of the draw for this release so I felt it deserved its own post here in Back to the Movies.

In terms of the story, I probably don’t have to say much. Odds are you’ve already seen one of the other 42 film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (that includes made-for-TV movies) so you know the drill: Scrooge is mean, three ghosts, Tiny Tim, a cooked goose for everyone. The main distinguishing quality here is that all the classic characters are played by established Disney characters, some from the Mickey Mouse clan and some from various other Disney animated features.

The star of the show is obviously Scrooge, played by the Disney character inspired by him, Scrooge McDuck. Scrooge was already a well-established comic book character for Disney (ask our contributor Ben Stark sometime if you’d like to hear more about that) but had appeared on film just once prior to Mickey’s Christmas Carol (in 1967′s Scrooge McDuck and Money). Scrooge is voiced here by the man who continued to voice the character throughout the ’80s and ’90s as the character became more popular, veteran TV actor Alan Young (best known as Wilbur from “Mister Ed”).

Mickey plays the part of kindly Bob Cratchett while Goofy is brilliantly cast as the ghost of Jacob Marley and Donald Duck (voiced for one last time by legendary voice actor Clarence Nash) plays Scrooge’s chipper nephew. Disney’s choices for the three Christmas ghosts were a little interesting but mostly good fits, with Jiminy Cricket playing the Ghost of Christmas Past, the giant from Mickey and the Bean Stalk as the Ghost of Christmas Present (a bit of an obscure choice but it works) and Mickey’s old arch-nemesis Pete as the Ghost of Christmas Future.

With a slim running time of just 24 minutes, the story gets a pretty quick treatment and works as a sort of quick parable that is especially effective for younger audiences. I remember seeing this as a child (I’m going to guess it was in the late ’80s when NBC had the TV rights to it) and remember this being my first introduction to the story of A Christmas Carol. I certainly wouldn’t say this cartoon highlights some of the elements like nostalgia and regret that other adaptations have done such a wonderful job with (including the Muppet version, which features for my money the most emotionally rich portrayal of Scrooge I’ve seen courtesy of Michael Caine) but in terms of introducing a young audience to this timeless story, it certainly covers all the bases.

This short is pretty easy to find these days, whether on DVD (as part of the Walt Disney Treasures box set), on TV (it currently airs on ABC Family every December) or on the internet, though you didn’t hear that from me (just search for it on Youtube).

Read my Back to the Movies review for The 1983 re-release of The Rescuers.

Check out the entire FilmNerds crew (Matt Scalici, Benjamin Stark, Graham Flanagan, Ben Flanagan and Corey Craft) took over Aspect Radio this week to talk Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 as well as our favorite holiday movies, DVD picks and more. Download the full podcast by right-clicking the link below.

CLICK HERE to download Aspect Radio – Nov. 27th

We arrive at the first movie on this list that I’ve already seen, Bob Clark’s holiday classic A Christmas Story. For the purposes of this blog, I’ve decided to give a fair re-watch of all the films I’ve already seen on the list, in the hopes of gleaning something new from them in the context of all the other major releases of 1983. Upon my most recent viewing, which has to be at least the 10th time I’ve watched the all the way through, my feelings and overall opinion of the film hasn’t changed but viewing it in the context of the other films of its day that I’ve now seen, my appreciation for it has perhaps grown a little.

Unless you don’t have cable or live under a rock, you’ve probably seen A Christmas Story. It’s a collection of Depression-era stories surrounding one Christmas season in the life of young Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) narrated by an adult version of the main character. The narration is in fact voiced by the author of the stories upon which the film was based, writer and radio personality Jean Shephard. When it was released in November of 1983, the film opened to respectable numbers, finishing with a total of $19.2 million on a $4 million budget, a success by anyone’s measure.

But it wasn’t the theatrical run that made this film into the classic it has become today (I’d say without a doubt this is the most widely-known and popular of the films I’ve reviewed on this list thus far). In the late ’80s the film began to fill time on some of the smaller broadcast networks around the holidays (FOX, TBS and WGN) and after seeing the success it was having, Turner decided to start using the film as a part of its regular holiday programming on its various cable channels, including TNT and Turner Classic. By the late ’90s, the film was ubiquitous around Christmas time and these days you can regularly find 24-hour marathons of the film running every Christmas Eve.

So of all the Christmas movies out there, what about this film made it take American pop culture by storm and become one of the great modern classics of the genre? There aren’t many big names in the film in terms of stars. Billingsley had a moderately successful TV career after the film and the movie’s biggest name, Melinda Dillon, while a major name in the ’70s and ’80s has since faded from popularity.

In my opinion the film’s cultural appeal comes down to two contrasting elements: dark comedy and nostalgia. This is a strange combination and not one you’d expect to see in a Christmas movie. I think when you ask most people about this film they wouldn’t think of it as a dark comedy but a quick review of the film’s biggest laughs shows that there’s definitely an edgy quality to the comedy in the film. The Skut Farkus scenes, the frozen tongue incident and particularly the department store Santa scene are all prime examples of dark comedy, certainly much darker than what we see in the vast majority of Christmas films. They help highlight the embarrassing absurdity we often feel when thinking back on certain childhood memories, which is a unique angle to take when making a nostalgic film about childhood.

Director Bob Clark is certainly no stranger to exaggerated, edgy comedy. He directed the now infamous sex comedy Porky’s as well as its sequel released earlier in 1983. The more outrageous scenes in A Christmas Story showcase Clark’s particular comedic strengths as a director, none more so than my favorite scene in the film, Ralphie’s fantasy sequence involving soap poisoning. The acting in the scene is so perfectly cartoonish, exactly the right tone for the fantasy sequence of an indulgent, short-sighted child.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE “SOAP POISONING” SCENE

This scene happens to stand out as my favorite but if you ask anyone who’s seen the film about their favorite scene, you’ll probably get a variety of answers. This film has the amazing quality of having almost every scene qualify as a classic, memorable film moment. That’s due in large part to the episodic format, which worked similarly well in other nostalgic films like Radio Days and Meet Me In St. Louis. Our memories are broken up into little episodes and stories so it only makes sense that a movie about nostalgia and memories should be formatted the same way.

The film works on so many levels, from the story to the pitch-perfect delivery of the narration. But what elevates it to the classic it has become and will always be are the three excellent lead performances. Billingsley’s chubby face and awkward glasses embody what we all felt like as children, the weakness, the vulnerability, the innocence and the foolish ability to remain hopeful and happy throughout all that. Melinda Dillon has some terrific comedic moments as the loving and selfless mother and Darren McGavin as the father, or “the old man” as he’s called in the film, delivers a truly classic comedic performance embodying the absurd confidence of a father emboldened by his status as head of the household.

A Christmas Story‘s position so far down this list is the perfect example of a film outliving its box office performance to become a classic through video and television. It was a story that would be told many more times in the years following the dawn of home video but A Christmas Story remains one of the earliest examples of the rule that classics are rarely established instantly.

Next Up: An American remake of the French New Wave classic Breathless.