Favorite Xmas movies:

Most are pretty schmaltzy for me to enjoy without squirming (or admitting). GE's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from 1964 is a sentimental favorite of mine (I cannot listen to There's Always Tomorrow or Burl Ives warbling Silver and Gold w/out getting misty-eyed), not to mention to the Franken-Bass stop animation from the early 70s. And yeah, having Bruce Willis kick some serious *** in the first Die Hard movies are very guilty pleasures for me.

But the two that stand out for me are a statement not just about Christmas but America post-WWII, and despite being revered as chestnuts today are meant for the big kids as well as the little kids to enjoy, and assumed their audiences were intelligent--and as much as the standards at the time would allow, didn't pull their punches either. I think because they are well made they have stood the test of time.

2). Miracle on 34th Street (1947): An utterly political satire of the time if there ever was one. Actually one of my favorite political movies of all time.

1). and of course, It's a Wonderful Life (1945). For all of its sentimentality, you feel Jimmy Stewart's claustrophobia (god I gotta get out of this town) and despair. The menace of Potter is particularly dark, and you feel death and poverty at doorstep -- which is what everyone lived through from the Depression through WWII. You feel the darkness, and then at the end, that last scene, I find I still get misty-eyed watching it after having seen umpteen times. For me, it probably hits home more having come from a small town (son of a shopkeeper) and the good and bad that comes with it. For it is Christmas that exposes the bond and weakness of family, taking stock of one's life at years end. For all the mirth and merriment of Christmas, it is also for most of us the beginning of winter and all the pain we remember with the joy of our lives at the same moment.

Wow, a bit more soapbox than what I intended. Ragey, keep the lists coming and happy holidays everyone!

Caveman

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I'm in love with the little red-headed girl!