Snuggling up on a couch and watching Christmas movies is a great way to flutter the holiday spirit. Watching a holiday flick with a heart-warming mug of hot cocoa is such a merry part of the season. Of course, there is the tree decorating and cookies baking. However, a tried-and-true classic picked from an endless list of holiday films sets the mood right. You can choose from family-friendly, cheesy-but-festive rom-coms or even think of Christmas horror movies. But, as the pandemic scuppers Christmas plans for this year, watching movies will surely bring more comfort than usual.
We bring you some of our festive favourite classes that will surely lighten up your mood:
1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Yes, it can seem less of a wonderful life for 120 of the total of 130 minutes of this film. It is a tale of a down-on-his-luck bank clerk driven to the edge of suicide, before an angel trainee shows up to get him to think otherwise. This 1946 Frank Capra film is deeply emotionally draining but also warm, life-affirming, timeless, funny, and a deserved classic. The film got six Academy Award nominations.
2. Home Alone (1990)
Three decades gone by since the most-watched Christmas movie released to a thunderous response. So many people still enjoy watching 8-year-old Kevin McCallister scheme his way and knock out a home burglary by adorably outwitting the Wet Bandits. You learn some of the most inventive, surprisingly violent, self-defence tactics every time you watch this classic.
3. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
One of the best elucidations of Charles Dickens’s festive allegory came courtesy of a group of wise-cracking puppets. Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge promised to act like he is working with the Royal Shakespeare Company or any antics happening around him which helped his tactics work. If you want to introduce someone to a classic Christmas tale, start with a musical featuring the iconic Muppets playing Dickens’s characters.
4. Miracle on 34th St. (1947)
You can think of this film as a heart-warming gem as it turned out to be a perennial Christmas favourite even decades after it was released. The 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by George Seaton is based on a story by Valentine Davies. The story of the film revolves between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day and focuses on the impact of a store Santa Claus who avows to be the real Santa. Miracle on 34th Street starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn won three Academy Awards and was preserved by The Academy Film Archive in 2009.
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
It would be a Christmas travesty not to include this one on the list. The American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard happened with Jim Carrey who took the lead. The Grinch got a live-action, full feature-length film with this whimsical Christmas tale adapted from Dr. Seuss’s 1957 book of the same name. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup as well as getting nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.