Access Atlanta > Movies > Blog > Archives > 2005 > December > 09 > Entry
Some movies worth finding in your stocking
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Mr. Smithee,
Now that we’re in December, I’m sure the TV networks will be chock full of classic holidy films. And before you know it, some junior programming exec over at Turner will think it’s a good idea to run “Miracle on 34th Street” 24 hours a day. My taste in holiday movies runs to more recent fare, like “Scrooged” and “Bad Santa.” Which ones top your list of best-ever holiday movies?
Scott Line, Decatur
Dear Ebenezer,
And what’s wrong with “Miracle on 34th Street”? Perhaps, you’d rather they put that old Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman-Stanley Kubrick clunker “Yawns Wide Open” on the telly over and over again. It’s got a holiday theme, too.
My holiday list is probably unlike that of anyone else you know. I have eclectic tastes. “Ernest Saves Christmas”? It’s OK in my book.
What I’ve tried to do for you, Scott, is come clean - to rank the best movies in the proper order, no matter if I happen to be sick to death of watching them countless times.
So, concentrating on Christmas, here are my top 10 films:
1. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1949) - I’m not telling you anything everybody doesn’t already know.
2. “The Ref” (1994) - I have never laughed so many times no matter how many times I’ve watched it.
3. “White Christmas” (1954) - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and the grandest son of a soldier of them all.
4. “Fanny and Alexander” (1982) - Ingmar Bergman creates the most beautiful Christmas you’ll ever see.
5. “The Lion in Winter” (1968) - Think of it as “The Ref” in olde England, with Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn in top form.
6. “Die Hard” (1988) - Seasons greetings, Nakatomi Plaza.
7. “A Midnight Clear” (1992) - World War II. Us. Them. And baby Jesus’ birthday.
8. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) - Before Tim Burton sold out.
9. “A Christmas Memory” (1966) - The hard-to-find TV classic with Geraldine Page, narrated by Truman Capote.
10. “March of the Wooden Soldiers” (1934) - Also known as “Babes in Toyland” and featuring Laurel and Hardy.
Others I certainly appreciate: “Nutcracker: The Motion Picture” (1986), “Prancer” (1989), “Millions” (2004), “Friday After Next” (2002), “Go” (1999), “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989), “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” (1962), “A Christmas Carol” (1938), “Elf” (2003), “Bad Santa” (2003) and “The Dead” (1987).
And, of course, “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947).
I understand why many people like “Home Alone” and “A Christmas Story,” but I am not like most people.
I can recommend the new “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
By the way, I also recently saw Diane Keaton’s “The Family Stone,” which opens Dec. 16. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again - if that tells you anything.
Alan
P.S. You get my “Christmas with the Kranks” mini-tree and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
Dear Mr. Smithee.
I am an Indian studying in St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. As part of the course, a group of us are required to share our views on teenage issues. The topic we have selected is teenage suicide. For this I wanted to project a movie. I would thus be most grateful if you could recommend movies based on teenage suicide, which would be relevant to our presentation.
Tanya Alvares, Mumbai, India
Dear Ho, Ho, Ho,
Hey, I’m all about laughter and joy during the holidays and even a little sadness - but not quite on the level you seek.
Still, who am I to stifle the process of education?
For quality films dealing with teen suicide, you should consider Sofia Coppola’s deftly handled “The Virgin Suicides” (1999), Franco Zeffirelli’s masterful “Romeo and Juliet” (1968) and Peter Weir’s tasteful “Dead Poets Society” (1989).
There are the outrageous mass suicides in Japan’s “Suicide Club” (2002), the admirably filmed suicide scene in the college-set “The Rules of Attraction” (2002), and the whimsy and biting social commentary contained in the very funny “Harold and Maude” (1971).
And while they all don’t strictly deal with teen suicide. each of these is remarkable: “The Hours” (2002), “Full Metal Jacket” (1987), “Girl Interrupted” (1999) and, especially, “The Sea Inside” (2004).
Alan
P.S. You get an “Aeon Flux” shoulder bag and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
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