Holiday movies you watch every year

For those who have kids, I would recommend "Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965). Below clip is memorable because Linus recited a scripture from the Bible about the meaning of Christmas. Note the American flag near the stage.



Edit. "The Little Drummer Boy" (1968). Anybody remember the Bethelem scene (start around 17 minute 20 seconds mark)?

 
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For those who have kids, I would recommend "Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965). Below clip is memorable because Linus recited a scripture from the Bible about the meaning of Christmas. Note the American flag near the stage.
Read verbatim I think from the American Standard version, Luke's gospel. Charles Schulz was a remarkable man. What a different place America was then.
 
Read verbatim I think from the American Standard version, Luke's gospel. Charles Schulz was a remarkable man. What a different place America was then.
Amen. It was quoted from the King James Version, Luke 8-14. My brother and I grew up watching a lot of good clean Christmas programs and movies in the late 1960's to 1970's. We celebrated "Russian Christmas" on January 7th instead of America's December 25th version.
 
Just saved a copy of this for when the little ones come to visit, thank you! Finding appropriate material for young children that will not bore them to death is another layer of complications.
For those who enjoy playing Christmas music, try listening to these two "The Little Drummer Boy" oldies.

The Harry Simeone Chorale (1958) and another version from 1965.
Edited. YT is showing an annoying "Unavailable" error message; I changed the above to links.

"The Little Drummer Boy" lyrics

Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see
Pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

So to honor Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come

Little baby
Pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum
Mary nodded
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum
Then He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
 
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Aside from the obvious IAWL (1946) during Christmas time, I usually watch:
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1946)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
The Bishop's Wife (1947)

B&W movies to be sure, but still good.
 
Aside from the obvious IAWL (1946) during Christmas time, I usually watch:
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1946)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
The Bishop's Wife (1947)

B&W movies to be sure,
For those who enjoy playing Christmas music, try listening to these two "The Little Drummer Boy" oldies.

The Harry Simeone Chorale (1958) and another version from 1965.
Edited. YT is showing an annoying "Unavailable" error message; I changed the above to links.

"The Little Drummer Boy" lyrics

Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see
Pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

So to honor Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come

Little baby
Pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum
On my drum
Mary nodded
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum
Then He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Nobody can sing it better than the Vienna Boys Choir
 
Death Wish (1974) directed by Michael Winner, starring Charles Bronson.

"Ghee Whizz, who the heck watches that kind of movie in his Christmas holiday".

Well, widowed, grumpy, late Gen X-ers with bad PTSD (yours truly).
This explains a lot.

Merry Christmas and may God bless you, you old grumpy codger with PTSD.
 
One Christmas movie I haven't seen mentioned is The Family Man. My wife and I watch it every year.

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It stars Nicolas Cage as a wealthy executive who gets a glimpse of what his life would have been like had he married his college girlfriend rather than leaving her to pursue his lucrative Wall Street career. It's almost like a twist on It's a Wonderful Life in the sense that it would be as if George Bailey had been able to leave his hometown for his life of adventure only to be shown the family and community he could have been a part of had he stayed. It's a lighthearted movie that is sweet and comedic without being Hallmark sappy. It touches on a lot of themes that I think men can relate to when it comes to settling down.
 
I watched Godfather 2 with a few family members during Christmas yesterday. My uncle claims he watched it 4 times. Apparently he speaks Italian, and I was too shy to bring up the no subtitles thing until one or two scenes. Most of my family doesn't handle 3 hours of movie, so for the most part there were pauses every hour with a few of them joining every once in a while. Part 3 was also discussed since everyone there only watched it on release at the stone age.
Good stuff.
 
For me, it's always been Scrooge (1951) with Alastair Sim, It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart, and of course, who can forget A Christmas Story...young Ralphie with his heart set on the “official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time”...and the Chinamen in the restaurant trying to sing Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells...Oh, my sides!


Surprisingly, the funniest character is not Ralphie, but his little brother. The funniest moments in the film come from him.
 
Just watched the 1959 version of Ben-Hur with Charlton Heston on Christmas. That's a movie that has been on my to watch list for a while due to it's status as a classic but it's nearly 4 hour length was something that discouraged me from sitting to watch it. Well I decided Christmas would be a good day to do it and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. There's movies these days that are 90 minutes are less and I struggle to get through those while this one was a pleasure of me to watch all the way through. It's such a refresher when compared to movies that come out now. There's no over use of sarcasm or witty one-liners, no excess irony, and all the actors and actresses just exude either masculinity or feminity from the way they move and their mannerisms. This applies also to the characters that aren't conventionally masculine because they are old or conventionally feminine because they aren't a smoke show.

 
I watched Godfather 2 with a few family members during Christmas yesterday. My uncle claims he watched it 4 times. Apparently he speaks Italian, and I was too shy to bring up the no subtitles thing until one or two scenes. Most of my family doesn't handle 3 hours of movie, so for the most part there were pauses every hour with a few of them joining every once in a while. Part 3 was also discussed since everyone there only watched it on release at the stone age.
Good stuff.

@GodfatherPartTwo likes this 👍

Earlier...

[Godfather voice activated]

"Do me this favor. Let her watch the movie during Christmas. Write a review. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor."

7e.jpg
 
Surprisingly, the funniest character is not Ralphie, but his little brother. The funniest moments in the film come from him.
Hahaha, yes, if I remember correctly, Ralphie's little brother was named Andy. And after Ralphie got into that fight with the degenerate Scut Farcus and handed his ass to him, Andy was hiding under the sink, whimpering about how Dad was gonna kill Ralphie....but Mom fixed the sitiuation.....
 
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