Empire Magazine's "30 Greatest Christmas Movies"
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- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.Arguably the greatest action movie ever made, and now the greatest Christmas movie ever made, too. Bruce Willis’ John McClane may seem like an unlikely Santa Claus – he doesn’t have enough hair for one – but what better Christmas present is there than the gift of terrorists getting taken down as they try to take Nakatomi Plaza hostage during a Christmas party in order to carry out an elaborate theft? Not for Empire readers the cutesy Christmas trees of other Christmas movies, or the sight of people in ill-advised knitwear drinking eggnog. For you guys, nothing says deck the halls like jumping off a roof tied to a fire hose, and nothing says season of goodwill like a machine gun. Ho ho ho.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.Frank Capra’s perennial classic may not make the top spot here, but it remains essential Christmas viewing. The story of George Bailey, a man trying to do the right thing and finding his options gradually reduced to nothing, is genuinely tough watching at times during the first hour or so, and it’s made even tougher when we see the nightmare of life without his well-intentioned efforts, thanks to angelic intervention. So that happy ending, when it comes, feels earned rather than fluffy, and Christmassy rather than schmaltzy.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHoyt AxtonA young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
- DirectorBrian HensonStarsMichael CaineDave GoelzSteve WhitmireThe Muppets present their own touching rendition of Charles Dickens' classic tale.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsBill MurrayKaren AllenJohn ForsytheA selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.There have been many spins on A Christmas Carol – but in movie terms at least this is the best. Ebeneezer Scrooge is transformed from cold-hearted businessman into yuppie TV exec, and made almost likeable despite his obnoxious behaviour by Bill Murray, on sardonic and sarcastic form. It's so good that we don’t even mind the fact that it finishes up with a singalong song. MVP, apart from Murray, goes to Carol Kane’s Ghost of Christmas Present, who has the delightful habit of hitting her charge with a toaster when necessary. And even when not.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoMichelle PfeifferWhile Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.Why yes, it’s a Christmas movie! Tim Burton’s second Batman outing manages the difficult trick of juggling multiple villains and some Yuletide greetings, and teaches us the useful lesson that mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it (although a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it). Batman, Catwoman, the Penguin and Max Schrek tussle through a Gotham nestling under a snowy Christmas blanket and even use the decorations against each other when necessary. Christmas trees: a handy hiding place for bats. Who knew? It's also a hugely underrated action / comic book romp, which deserves far more love just for the way that Michelle Pfeiffer purrs.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Val KilmerMichelle MonaghanAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsBilly Bob ThorntonBernie MacLauren GrahamA miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsWill FerrellJames CaanBob NewhartRaised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.A recent entrant onto the Christmas chart, but one that went straight to the top of everyone's affections and deserves to be there. When it screened on British TV one Sunday this December it trended worldwide on Twitter, such is its popularity and extraordinary quotability. Buddy the Elf is, along with Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell’s finest comedy creation. You’d have to be a cotton-headed ninnymuggins not to love this one.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternAn eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.Basically a live-action cartoon with a John Hughes script, Home Alone may not be big or even clever but it’s a lot of fun and, in its own way, emphasises the importance of love and family just as much as It’s A Wonderful Life. As in Capra’s tale, being deprived of family and safety makes little tyke Macauley Culkin realise how much he needs them, and fending off burglars all alone gives him a unique appreciation of the Christmas spirit. Also, he gets to drop a hot iron on someone’s face, so that’s nice.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverGary BuseyTwo newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.Of course it’s a Christmas movie: it opens with Jingle Bell Rock, includes a scene in a Christmas tree lot and finishes with the family around a tree on Christmas day. And like all good Christmas movies it’s a morality play, with Riggs learning the value of continued existence over suicide and Murtaugh learning not to judge crazy cops by appearances, or to unquestioningly trust old friends. It also has one of the most moving Christmas present selections ever: Riggs gives Murtaugh the bullet he had intended to use to commit suicide. Admittedly, we’re not sure where he’s going to put that or whether he wouldn’t have preferred a nice new pair of socks, but it’s the thought that counts.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppWinona RyderDianne WiestThe solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.The framing device of this entire story is a grandmother telling her grandchild why it always snows at Christmas – so while the images that linger in the memory are mostly sundrenched and pastel, as you’d expect of the 1950s California setting, the beginning and end, and one of the most emotional scenes on the way through, are snow-covered and Christmassy. Edward’s finest hour sees him sculpting ice for the girl he loves, producing a shower of snow in which she dances – and when it emerges, at the end, that he’s continued to make snow for her every year despite their long separation, well, you’d be forgiven for having a bit of trouble with something in your eye.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloJuliette LewisThe Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.Anothers ‘80s cracker, and the second John Hughes scripts on this list, this one sees family man Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) try his damndest to provide the perfect family Christmas and continually fall foul of his own expectations, his nasty neighbours, his parsimonious boss and his rowdy relations (top honours, of course, to Randy Quaid’s none-more-redneck cousin). The plot is essentially a demonstration of Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. The moral of the story, we believe, is that one should always kidnap the boss if your bonus isn’t up to scratch, and that squirrels and Christmas trees are a bad combination.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.This film – yet another '80s effort – is barely known in the UK, but it’s massively popular in the US, where the adventures of young Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) are a fixture of what they like to call “the holiday season”. The 1940s-set story basically chronicles Ralphie’s attempts to convince his parents, his family and/or Santa Claus that a BB gun is an appropriate Christmas present for a 9 year-old. Everyone, from his teacher to Santa himself, is convinced that Ralphie will “shoot his eye out”, but he remains determined that it’s the only possible present. A great reminder of what it was like to be a kid and obsessed with the presents you’d requested.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
- DirectorBurny MattinsonStarsAlan YoungWayne AllwineHal SmithThe classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.Probably the least scary version of A Christmas Carol out there, this has a certain nostalgic appeal for those who grew up on it – and boasts Scrooge McDuck as Ebeneezer himself which, it turns out, is a good thing. Oh sure, he’s no Michael Caine, but something about the combination of Scottish accent and wizened old duck beak fits Dickens' famous character rather well. And you have to admit that making Bob Cratchit a mouse fits his personality too. Perhaps this is best seen as an entry-level Christmas movie for the very, very small.
- DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiDianne JacksonStarsDavid BowieRaymond BriggsMel SmithOn Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
- DirectorJalmari HelanderStarsJorma TommilaOnni TommilaPeeter JakobiIn the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 meters deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up. This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.The third beloved Christmas movie to emerge from the 2003 season, Richard Curtis’ sprawling ensemble piece is best watched at this time of year, when you’re bound to find at least one storyline among the several million on offer that you like. Perhaps it’s the porn star stand-ins finding a tentative, awkward sort of romance, or Colin Firth’s fumbling attempts to woo a woman with whom he doesn’t share a common language. But for us it will always be the sad stories here that ring truest, with Laura Linney’s devotion to her brother and Emma Thompson’s quiet heartbreak really hitting home.
- DirectorJohn PasquinStarsTim AllenJudge ReinholdWendy CrewsonWhen a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.We’re assuming that our younger readers feel nostalgic about this one, because there’s little else to explain its entry given that horrendous pun in the title. Still, Tim Allen manages to inject some pathos into the tale of a divorced father who can’t seem to get things right for his son until the day when he accidentally knocks Santa off his roof and finds himself forced to take Father Christmas’ place. While the set-up and characters are as clichéd as it comes, there’s still some fun for fans in Judge Reinhold’s stepfather figure and David Krumholtz’ elf.
- DirectorBill MelendezStarsAnn AltieriChris DoranSally DryerDepressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsJim CarreyTaylor MomsenKelleyOn the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.
- DirectorBrian LevantStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerSinbadPhil HartmanA father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. However, every store is sold out, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksChris CoppolaMichael JeterOn Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.Robert Zemeckis’ first feature-length effort in performance capture, The Polar Express may get a lot of grief for dead eyes and its plunges into the uncanny valley, but it does have some rather thrilling action scenes (especially in 3D on the big screen) and some moments of beauty aboard the magical train that takes children to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas. It also gives Tom Hanks the chance to play six different characters, which may not be quite up there with Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets but it’s a worthy attempt.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternOne year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City - and the same criminals are not far behind.A sequel that doesn’t shame the original, so something of a rarity right off the bat, Home Alone 2 inevitably tries to up the stakes of the previous film by stranding our hero away from home rather than in his house. While that does make a lie of the title, it gives him a bigger canvas to play on and, in a major New York department store, a lot more tricks and weapons to turn against would-be thieves Pesci and Stern. At this point, however, we do think that parents Catherine O’Hara and John Heard should be arrested for negligence. To lose a child once may be a misfortune; to lose him twice looks like carelessness.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.