Page 48 - 2017-12-16_june_july_2009.qxd
P. 48
48 25 Best Christmas Stories of All Time
25 Best Christmas Stories • Critics Consensus: No consensus yet. • Critics Consensus: Its many imitators (and
• Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis sequels) have never come close to matching
of All Time Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald the taut thrills of the definitive holiday
Gardiner action classic.
• Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman,
#25 - WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)
#16 - TOKYO GODFATHERS (2003) Reginald VelJohnson, Bonnie Bedelia
• Critics Consensus: It may be too sweet for
• Critics Consensus: Beautiful and
some, but this unabashedly sentimental
holiday favorite is too cheerful to resist. substantive, Tokyo Godfathers adds a #6 - THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE
• Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera- moving -- and somewhat unconventional -- CHRISTMAS (1993)
Ellen, Rosemary Clooney entry to the animated Christmas canon. • Critics Consensus: The Nightmare Before
• Starring: Toru Emori, Aya Okamoto, Christmas is a stunningly original and
Yoshiaki Umegaki, Shôzô Îzuka visually delightful work of stop-motion
#24 - BAD SANTA (2003)
animation.
• Critics Consensus: A gloriously rude and
#15 - BETTER WATCH OUT (2017) • Starring: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara,
gleefully offensive black comedy, Bad Santa
• Critics Consensus: No consensus yet. Glenn Shadix, Danny Elfman
isn't for everyone, but grinches will find it
• Starring: Levi Miller, Olivia DeJonge, Ed Directed By: Henry Selick, Tim Burton
uproariously funny.
Oxenbould, Dacre Montgomery
• Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac,
Tony Cox, Brett Kelly #5 - HOW THE GRINCH STOLE
#14 - RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS (1967)
TALE (2010) • Critics Consensus: How the Grinch Stole
#23 - THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1948)
• Critics Consensus: Rare Exports is an Christmas brings an impressive array of
• Critics Consensus: The Bishop's Wife
unexpectedly delightful crossbreed of talent to bear on an adaptation that honors a
succeeds thanks to the strength of winning
deadpan comedy and Christmas horror. classic holiday story -- and has rightfully
performances from a stellar cast, which
• Starring: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, become a yuletide tradition of its own.
includes Cary Grant and Loretta Young.
Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi • Starring: Boris Karloff, June Foray, Thurl
• Starring: Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta
Ravenscroft, Eugene Poddany
Young, Monty Woolley
#13 - UN CONTE DE NOEL (A
CHRISTMAS TALE) (2008) #4 THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
#22 - BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
• Critics Consensus: A sharp black comedy (1940)
• Critics Consensus: Director Tim Burton's
about a chaotic family holiday gathering, A • Critics Consensus: Deftly directed by Ernst
dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael
Christmas Tale is always involving, thanks Lubitsch from a smart, funny script by
Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the
to an impressive ensemble cast. Samson Raphaelson, The Shop Around the
flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The
• Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Corner is a romantic comedy in the finest
Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well,
Amalric, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Anne sense of the term.
Christopher Walken make the sequel better
Consigny • Starring: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart,
than the first.
• Starring: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut
Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken #12 - THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S
CREEK (1944) #3 - HOLIDAY INN (1942)
• Critics Consensus: The Miracle of Morgan's • Critics Consensus: With the combined might
#21 - A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951)
Creek finds director Preston Sturges at his of Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Irving
• Critics Consensus: The 1951 adaptation of
most zanily subversive -- not to mention Berlin working in its favor, Holiday Inn is a
Charles Dickens' timeless classic is perhaps
hilarious. seasonal classic -- not least because it
the most faithful film version -- and Alastair
• Starring: Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, introduced "White Christmas" to the world.
Sim's performance as Scrooge is not to be
missed. William Demarest, Diana Lynn • Starring: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire,
• Starring: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale
Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley #11 - RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED
REINDEER (1964) #2 - MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
• Critics Consensus: No consensus yet. • Critics Consensus: Irrefutable proof that
#20 - GREMLINS (1984)
• Starring: Burl Ives, Larry D. Mann, Billy gentle sentimentalism can be the chief
• Critics Consensus: Whether you choose to
Richards, Paul Soles ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on
see it as a statement on consumer culture or
34th Street delivers a warm holiday message
simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick,
#10 - A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS without resorting to treacle.
Gremlins is a minor classic.
• Starring: Zach Galligan, Hoyt Axton, (1965) • Starring: Edmund Gwenn, John Payne,
Frances Lee McCain, Phoebe Cates • Critics Consensus: A family Christmas Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood
Classic for all.
• Starring: Peter Robbins, Tracy Stratford, #1 - IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
#19 - ELF (2003)
Christopher Shea, Sally Dryer • Critics Consensus: The holiday classic to
• Critics Consensus: A movie full of Yuletide
define all holiday classics, It's a Wonderful
cheer, Elf is a spirited, good-natured family
#9 - A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) Life is one of a handful of films worth an
comedy, and it benefits greatly from Will
• Critics Consensus: Both warmly nostalgic annual viewing.
Ferrell's funny and charming performance as
and darkly humorous, A Christmas Story • Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed,
one of Santa's biggest helpers.
• Starring: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob deserves its status as a holiday perennial. Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Newhart, Edward Asner • Starring: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, • Directed By: Frank Capra []
Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella
#18 - TRADING PLACES (1983)
#8 - ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (2011) From Everyone in the Video /
• Critics Consensus: Featuring deft interplay
• Critics Consensus: Aardman Animations Television Production Division
between Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd,
broadens their humor a bit for Arthur
Trading Places is an immensely appealing of
Christmas, a clever and earnest holiday film
social satire. REL-MAR McConnell Media
with surprising emotional strength.
• Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Company,
Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche • Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill
Nighy, Jim Broadbent MERRY CHRISTMAS
and
#17 - CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT
#7 - DIE HARD (1988) A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
(1945)
