20 BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES OF ALL TIME

20 BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES OF ALL TIME

Bad Santa

Release Date 2003
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: Triptych Pictures, Dimension Films (US version) Director: Susan E. Walter, Kenneth Roth, Dave Halls Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly

Summary: A 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.

The Bishop's Wife

Release Date 1947
Rating : 7.6 Production Companies: Samuel Goldwyn Productions, Samuel Goldwyn Company Director: Sam Freedle, Joseph Boyle, Henry Koster Stars: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven

Summary: An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.

Batman Returns

Release Date 1992
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Warner Bros. Director: Tim Burton Stars: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer

Summary: While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin, an employee of a corrupt businessman transforms into the Catwoman.

Gremlins

Release Date 1984
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros. Director: James Quinn, Carol Green, Kenneth Gilbert Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton

Summary: When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable pet named Gizmo for Christmas, he inadvertently breaks the three important rules of caring for a Mogwai, unleashing a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.

Elf

Release Date 2003
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: New Line Cinema, Gold/Miller Productions Director: Jon Favreau, Jessica Clothier, Andrew M. Robinson Stars: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart

Summary: When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

Trading Places

Release Date 1983
Rating : 7.5 Production Companies: Cinema Group Ventures, Paramount Director: John Landis, Renee Bodner Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy

Summary: A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Christmas in Connecticut

Release Date 1945
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Peter Godfrey Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet

Summary: While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones grows familiar with the "Diary of a Housewife" column written by Elizabeth Lane. Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley, for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Elizabeth and her editor, Dudley Beecham, in fear of losing their jobs, hasten to set up the single, childless and entirely nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm.

Tokyo Godfathers

Release Date 2004
Rating : 7.8 Production Companies: Madhouse, Tokyo Godfathers Production Committee Director: Shougo Furuya, Shougo Furuya, Satoshi Kon Stars: Aya Okamoto, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Tohru Emori

Summary: On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Release Date 2010
Rating : 6.6 Production Companies: Filmpool Nord, YLE Director: Sylvi Granheim, Villy Indal, Nina Erdahl Stars: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Tommi Korpela

Summary: Young Pietari lives with his reindeer-herding father in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, a nearby excavation makes a frightening discovery and an evil Santa Claus is unleashed…

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie

Release Date 1998
Rating : 5.8 Production Companies: GoodTimes Entertainment, Golden Books Family Entertainment Director: William R. Kowalchuk Jr. Stars: Eric Pospisil, Kathleen Barr, John Goodman

Summary: Young Rudolph suffers a childhood accident that sees his nose turn from the publicly accepted norm of black to a glowing red colour. His parents worry about him getting teased, and indeed he does in the end. When he is beaten in the reindeer games by his rival for a doe he fancies, Rudolph runs away and moves into a cave with Slyly the Fox. However can he overcome his fear and reach his true potential?

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Release Date 1965
Rating : 8.3 Production Companies: Warner Bros. Home Video, United Feature Syndicate (UFS) Director: Bill Melendez Stars: Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Tracy Stratford

Summary: When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it is a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn the meaning of Christmas.

A Christmas Story

Release Date 1983
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Christmas Tree Films Director: Bob Clark, Blanche McDermaid, Ken Goch Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin

Summary: The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.

Arthur Christmas

Release Date 2011
Rating : 7.1 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Aardman Director: Barry Cook, Barry Cook, Anthony Di Ninno Stars: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy

Summary: Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in one night. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur. Arthur Claus is Santa’s misfit son who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present half way around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Release Date 2020
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Tim Burton Animation Company Director: Henry Selick Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara

Summary: Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Release Date 1966
Rating : 8.3 Production Companies: MGM Television, The Cat in the Hat Productions Director: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam, Ben Washam Stars: Boris Karloff, June Foray

Summary: Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of a nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he decides to raid the village to steal all the Christmas things.

The Shop Around the Corner

Release Date 1940
Rating : 8 Production Companies: Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Director: Ernst Lubitsch, Horace Hough Stars: James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Frank Morgan

Summary: Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.

Holiday Inn

Release Date 1942
Rating : 7.3 Production Companies: Paramount Director: Mark Sandrich Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds

Summary: Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.

Miracle on 34th Street

Release Date 1947
Rating : 7.9 Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 20th Century Fox Director: George Seaton Stars: Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn

Summary: Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

It's a Wonderful Life

Release Date 1946
Rating : 8.6 Production Companies: RKO Radio Pictures, Liberty Films Director: Frank Capra, Arthur S. Black Jr. Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

Summary: A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.