It’s pure cinematic transcendence in narrative, acting and writing—that much is clear and inarguable. I think though, this viewing has taught me what a doggedly formal work it is so I’ve taken it to another level (and I already had it in my top 100 of all-time). Nearly every element in the film has a counterpoint (in childhood and then again later as an adult), bookend (there is sacrifice by Stewart’s Bailey and, in turn, he’s paid back), or doppelganger (in the Pottersville surrealism nightmare). There an unquestionable economy in the script but it’s more poetic than that—it’s about film form like Paterson or The Searchers the elements of duality
It’s a mount rushmore performance from Jimmy Stewart (perhaps second to his work in Vertigo) amongst the best of all-performances of the 1940’s which put it up there all-time (on my short list of top 25). I’ve also said before that Stewart may be cinema’s greatest single actor
The supporting cast is uniformly superb. Donna Reed is so pure and genuine. Other standouts include Lionel Barymore, the devastating Thomas Mitchell (as Uncle Billy and my god when he loses the money his scenes are tough to watch they’re so wrenchingly powerful) and Gloria Grahame.
Solid Dimitri Tiomkin score but not amongst his best—it’s better known for the absolutely perfect timing and usage of Auld Lang Syne
The flashback voice over structure (it’s basically an omniscient narrative (though creatively done) narrator and dark surrealism sequences make people think of noir but it’s not noir—there’s no fatalism in the flashback
Even without the formal elements there’s real ambition in the storytelling. These two characters (again well done by Stewart and Barrymore) are large, Faustian—the embodiments of good and evil
The talented ensemble is aided by the idiosyncrasies in the characters put in by Capra. We have Clarence the Angel reading Tom Sawyer (both telling us about his adventurous spirit—which matches George Bailey) and sets up a future joke about the “modern author Mark Twain”
There’s no reason, outside of genius writing, to have the “Hee-Haw” element put in the character Sam Wainwright (Frank Albertson). I love it—it gives him personality and us, the viewer, and identifier as we’re thrown so many characters from the ensemble in a short time
The mise-en-scene and décor is more instructive and well-done than I had thought of previously. We have a poster of Abe Lincoln
I’m of a mind to think that George Bailey, perhaps only second behind Michael Corleone from the godfather (who has the benefit of 2 masterpieces and 6+ hours of brilliant cinema to work with), is the greatest single character in cinema history. He’s heavy—something like David Copperfield from Dickens or something from Dostoevsky—it’s novelistic in his arch and depth.
Again, everything has such formal balance and meaning—everything has a counter-point- we have the teacher and the husband Bailey insults on the phone. But it’s not just an excuse to show he’s angry (and he cares about his daughter getting sick) and not himself—he’s punched and that blood shows him (in part) hitting rock bottom and also acts as a signifier that he’s no longer in the normal Bedford Falls reality—
One of the best scenes of acting on display is Stewart breaking down and praying in the bar (pic above)—it’s shattering.
Another favorite shot of mine is the close-up of Stewart (with what looks like a wide angle lens) after visiting his mother in the surrealism Potterville scene—it shows he’s absolutely floored by the situation
Sacrifices paid back along the way of this “wonderful life”- rigid formalism
Breezy wipe edits—which is trademark of Capra and his pacing—I’m not always in love with it here—but he is trying to condense a novel on film here into 130 minutes. I would’ve used a different transition and made it 135 or 140 minutes.
When we first show Stewart (as a grown up George Bailey) we have him in freeze frame—great shot—he’s a huge personality
The poison story with Mr. Gower (HB Warner) and a young George Bailey is a brilliant novella on its own—it could be a standalone short story and a great one at that
“hot dog” line is another sign of formalism repeated— in fact nearly every lined is repeated or comes back- the bannister top, etc.
There are a few poorly edited transitions—not a big deal but could do without
Again, if it were just the writing, acting and consistency of Capra’s voice as an auteur (he and his populist themes and narratives he was known for) we’d still have a masterpiece but formal aspects are glaring to me now and the ending, which wipes me out every time, is a formal masterstroke with everything coming back
I’d include Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List and Woody Allen in Annie Hall. Possible Kyle macLachlan in Blue Velvet or malcolm mcdowell in clockwork. possibly groucho marx in duck soup and for chaplin in top 25 id instead have city lights. maybe in time Phoenix in Joker. for a supporting role, pesci in raging bull. John wayne in searchers de niro in Once Upon A Time In America and adam sandler in punch drunk love are my top three i think although in my opinion and perhaps the best acted scene is peter otooles “No Prisoners.”
@ Drake @ Randy White @ m. This brings back old memories. My first comment over here was incoherent rambling over this particular subject.
Lorre, Watts and Bergman in Notorious are inspired picks. Tips hat. Splitting hairs but these would be the ones that I’ll change.
Pacino (The Godfather) over Brando.
Pesci (Goodfellas) over Phoenix
Liotta (Goodfellas) over Denzel Washington
Anne Bancroft (The Graduate) over Mia Farrow.
Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) for Chaplin.
Masina (Nights of the Cabiria) for John Wayne.
Ledger (The Dark Knight) over Stewart (It’s a wonderful life)
Cmon man Ray Liotta was good in Goodfellas don’t get me wrong but he’s nowhere near Denzel in Malcolm X who put on a masterful performance that should be studied in all acting schools. Same for thing for Ledger and Hauer they’re good but your overhyping them a bit especially Roger who’s performance who’s performance is good but certainly not all time great.
@ M, Randy and AP— great stuff here. Honestly every single one of these suggestions are performances I considered except for Kyle MacLachlan in Blue Velvet (I think I may mention Rossellini and Hopper from the same film before him here) and Groucho in Duck Soup.
As for the suggestion of doing a 100 performances I’ve had that request before- I’ll think about it. I’m just really enjoying my greatest director of all-time project (I want to establish pages 200 or 250 of them that I can come back and update) and I will probably do my 2019 page and top 10 at some point within the next week or two
Matt Harris
January 11, 2020 at 9:59 pm
Natalie Portman – Black swan
Drake
January 11, 2020 at 11:00 pm
@Matt Harris— you are correct, sir. Portman in Black Swan is the answer— tough to decide what to take off here– maybe Mia Farrow- they’re both brilliant and doing a lot of the same things.
a movie i have changed my mind on, the last temptation. i don’t agree with it because Christ is perfect and has no flaws but the way it shows how even Christ is tempted… willem dafoe could be on the list
replace gold rush with city lights and also add klinski in wrath of God. it took me a while to get to wrath of God but i just watched it last night and was blown away by this absoute asterpiece.
@m – It would be almost all actors, sadly. That’s one reason I split them up. I think it would be the top 2-3 maybe and then probably the 12 or 13 remaining males. It isn’t talent– these female actors are at least equal to the males- it has to do with resume.
Tom Cruise in Magnolia is great, probably in the top one hundred. He reminds me of Jack Nicholson, and I think Nicholson’s performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest would be a lot higher than Cruise, and probably in the top twenty.
Brad Pitt for Jesse James is an interesting choice. He’s skilled and absorbing, but frankly I think Casey Affleck is giving a significantly more interesting performance, as impossible as that is. Affleck is probably not quite top 25, but top 50 I think.
As for some suggestions that haven’t been mentioned by anyone yet, I’d add DDL in My Left Foot, Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (prefer her purposeful overacting to Bette Davis), Perkins in Psycho, Bogart in Sierra Madre, Hackman in The Conversation, Leigh in Gone With the Wind, and Douglas Rain in 2001 (it might not count for you being only vocal).
James Robbins
September 24, 2020 at 4:20 pm - Reply
Incredible performances, I would include a couple supporting roles as well most notably Joe Pesci in GoodFellas and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Also would include at least one comedic performance, maybe Sellers in Dr Strangelove
All right, I’m going to do a list for this question. Everyone’s suggestions on this thread so far are great. I should mention that because I have not been an avid cinephile for long, I have not seen some of the mentioned films such as Rosemary’s Baby, Woman Under the Influence, Clockwork Orange, Gold Rush, La Strada, and Malcolm X. I hope to watch them soon.
1. Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront: The perfect representation of wistfulness and naturalism
2. Maria Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc: Mind-bogglingly powerful and expressive
3. Peter O’Toole – Lawrence of Arabia: An odd mix of charisma, ego, and charm coming together perfectly
4. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull: A cinematic exploration of anger, regret, and hatred
5. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood: Dark, explosive, and precise, even if he’s not going for realism
6. Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Ever-growing energy and endless rebellion
7. Marlon Brando – The Godfather: No other actor could have done the wheezy voice and bulldog expression with such iconic perfection
8. Gloria Swanson – Sunset Boulevard: This cynical drive toward madness is fearfully relatable
9. Anthony Perkins – Psycho: This nervous, naturalistic, and strange paranoia is quite unusual for a pre-New Wave performance
10. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight – No one else could have done the unexplainable voice and the playful madness as well
11. James Stewart – Vertigo: Scottie’s dark obsession brings an incredible new side to the archetypal withered detective character
12. Humphrey Bogart – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: The greedy, blue collar side of Bogey that was always in plain sight
13. Natalie Portman – Black Swan: High-voiced and childish with gut-wrenching inner demons
14. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot: Perhaps the pinnacle of obsessive method acting, DDL brings nuance and anger to what could have been sappy sentiment
15. Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves: An odd mix of a million things I can’t describe in few words
16. Douglas Rain – 2001: A Space Odyssey: The calm voice that is at once both completely unreachable and startlingly human
17. Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind: A smiley and selfish start gradually leads to inner depths
18. Gene Hackman – The Conversation: Brilliant and underrated, a stoic examination of hating what one does and stands for
19. Klaus Kinski – Aguirre, the Wrath of God: A believable descent into self-serving greed
20. Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel: A whimsical lesson about learning to love life
21. Al Pacino – The Godfather Part II (I’m not sure part 1 isn’t a better performance): Hauntingly exacting and intriguing
22. Diane Keaton – Annie Hall: Relatable in every way even if I’m not similar to her at all
23. Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke: Introverted acting contrasting with the also-rebellious performance #6
24. Ingrid Bergman – Notorious: Even better performance than Casablanca, unlike other Hitchcock heroines, calmly expressive
25. Joaquin Phoenix – The Master: Complex tics, posture, and speech patterns make a masterfully unique performance
I’m quite mad to be leaving off many masterful performances. Here are some I’m the most sad I couldn’t include, NOT IN RANK ORDER.
Katharine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby
Takashi Shimura – Ikiru
John Wayne – The Searchers
Marcello Mastroianni – La Dolce Vita
Jean-Paul Belmondo – Breathless
Robert De Niro – Taxi Driver
Rutger Hauer – Blade Runner
Anthony Hopkins – The SIlence of the Lambs
Maggie Cheung – In the Mood for Love
Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James [etc.]
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
I’ve already put a top 25 and nearly a dozen honorable mentions, but I can’t help slapping myself for others I left out. Here’s a supplement to my honorable mentions:
Charlie Chaplin – City LIghts
Peter Lorre – M
Henry Fonda – The Grapes of Wrath
Orson Welles – CItizen Kane
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman – Casablanca
Orson Welles – The Third Man
Bette Davis – All About Eve
A bunch of performances from 1957- von Sydow in Seventh Seal, Fonda in 12 Angry Men, Douglas in PoG, Guinness in River Kwai; I cannot decide which one is the best
Jack Lemmon – The Apartment
Marcello Mastroianni – 8 1/2
Tatsuya Nakadai – Ran
Joe Pesci – Goodfellas
Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue
Frances McDormand – Fargo
Jeff Bridges – The Big Lebowski
Tom Cruise – Magnolia
Adam Sandler – Punch-Drunk Love
Bill Murray – Lost in Translation
@Graham great list. As far as a newer talent I’d replace ledger/joker with Oscar isaac as llewyn davis. I’d also replace portman’s swan performance with her revenge of the sith, definitely top 20 for me though not everyone would agree. i feel like lemmon in apartment is top 20 and sandler in punch drunk probably 50. i agree about brando godfather and falconetti of arc in the top 5. as far as fargo i’d go with carroll lynch over mcdormand. john wayne in searchers is top 5. marcello in 8 1/2 and belmondo in breathless. de niro in taxi driver and bull, as well as keitel in mean streets are great. any number of grant, stewart and kate hepburn performances. nicholson needs a mention, i suppose cuckoo’s nest might be his best. o toole is also top 5 in lawrence. probably kane to round out my top 5. dustin hoffman is my favorite actor and his best might be tootsie. gene kelly donald o connor and reynolds in singing in the rain. and the two gable and leigh in gone, as well as judy garland and even renoir as octave is top 50 so would i say thomas mitchell in stagecoach (1939 was a great year.) sorry i listed so many they are just all great. (oh yeah, frank morgan is a great character actor and him as the wonderful wizard or shop around the corner was great.)
Somehow I have not yet seen this despite being a big fan of holiday themed movies (I dedicated the entire month of October to horror movies/thrillers ha). Going to change that this year. What are some of the best movies that are Christmas related?
@James Trapp- the one and true answer: Die Hard (for me MS/MP)
Others:
Gremlins (R)
Bad Santa (R)
Eyes Wide Shut (MP)
Black Christmas (R)
In Bruges (MS)
I also think that Brazil (MP) centers a little bit around Christmas, but I am not sure.
@RujK@Drake – thanks for the suggestions. Funny, my uncle also watches Die Hard every Christmas. At one of my old jobs my co-workers were amused when I referred to Die Hard as a Christmas movie but it is certainly a classic. I absolutely love Bad Santa, one of my all time favorite comedies.
Will have to check out The Shop Around the Corner, I love Jimmy Stewart.
KidCharlemagne
December 24, 2022 at 5:58 pm - Reply
What is your top 25 Performances of all time?
I’d include Liam Neeson in Schindler’s List and Woody Allen in Annie Hall. Possible Kyle macLachlan in Blue Velvet or malcolm mcdowell in clockwork. possibly groucho marx in duck soup and for chaplin in top 25 id instead have city lights. maybe in time Phoenix in Joker. for a supporting role, pesci in raging bull. John wayne in searchers de niro in Once Upon A Time In America and adam sandler in punch drunk love are my top three i think although in my opinion and perhaps the best acted scene is peter otooles “No Prisoners.”
Eh I love Woody but Diane Keaton most definitely gave a better performance in Annie Hall and plus Woody’s best performance is in Manhattan
*forgot about sean young in blade runner
@ Drake @ Randy White @ m. This brings back old memories. My first comment over here was incoherent rambling over this particular subject.
Lorre, Watts and Bergman in Notorious are inspired picks. Tips hat. Splitting hairs but these would be the ones that I’ll change.
Pacino (The Godfather) over Brando.
Pesci (Goodfellas) over Phoenix
Liotta (Goodfellas) over Denzel Washington
Anne Bancroft (The Graduate) over Mia Farrow.
Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) for Chaplin.
Masina (Nights of the Cabiria) for John Wayne.
Ledger (The Dark Knight) over Stewart (It’s a wonderful life)
Cmon man Ray Liotta was good in Goodfellas don’t get me wrong but he’s nowhere near Denzel in Malcolm X who put on a masterful performance that should be studied in all acting schools. Same for thing for Ledger and Hauer they’re good but your overhyping them a bit especially Roger who’s performance who’s performance is good but certainly not all time great.
@ M, Randy and AP— great stuff here. Honestly every single one of these suggestions are performances I considered except for Kyle MacLachlan in Blue Velvet (I think I may mention Rossellini and Hopper from the same film before him here) and Groucho in Duck Soup.
As for the suggestion of doing a 100 performances I’ve had that request before- I’ll think about it. I’m just really enjoying my greatest director of all-time project (I want to establish pages 200 or 250 of them that I can come back and update) and I will probably do my 2019 page and top 10 at some point within the next week or two
Natalie Portman – Black swan
@Matt Harris— you are correct, sir. Portman in Black Swan is the answer— tough to decide what to take off here– maybe Mia Farrow- they’re both brilliant and doing a lot of the same things.
You should do a page on what you believe are the top 100 Performances Of All Time
a movie i have changed my mind on, the last temptation. i don’t agree with it because Christ is perfect and has no flaws but the way it shows how even Christ is tempted… willem dafoe could be on the list
replace gold rush with city lights and also add klinski in wrath of God. it took me a while to get to wrath of God but i just watched it last night and was blown away by this absoute asterpiece.
@m nice work! glad you were blown away by Wrath of God– and I don’t hate these two changes!
if you combines actors and actresses what would be your top 15 performers of all time.
@m – It would be almost all actors, sadly. That’s one reason I split them up. I think it would be the top 2-3 maybe and then probably the 12 or 13 remaining males. It isn’t talent– these female actors are at least equal to the males- it has to do with resume.
drake what about max von sydow from seventh seal as top 25 performances. that was one of the best acting ive ever seen.
@m – I like that one– he’s incredible. Good suggestion.
What is your thought about Cruise in Magnolia or Pitt in Jesse James ? Top 25/30 of the best Male performances ? Top 50 ?
What about a DiCaprio or Newman performances who deserves the top 30 ?
Tom Cruise in Magnolia is great, probably in the top one hundred. He reminds me of Jack Nicholson, and I think Nicholson’s performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest would be a lot higher than Cruise, and probably in the top twenty.
Brad Pitt for Jesse James is an interesting choice. He’s skilled and absorbing, but frankly I think Casey Affleck is giving a significantly more interesting performance, as impossible as that is. Affleck is probably not quite top 25, but top 50 I think.
As for some suggestions that haven’t been mentioned by anyone yet, I’d add DDL in My Left Foot, Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (prefer her purposeful overacting to Bette Davis), Perkins in Psycho, Bogart in Sierra Madre, Hackman in The Conversation, Leigh in Gone With the Wind, and Douglas Rain in 2001 (it might not count for you being only vocal).
Incredible performances, I would include a couple supporting roles as well most notably Joe Pesci in GoodFellas and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Also would include at least one comedic performance, maybe Sellers in Dr Strangelove
All right, I’m going to do a list for this question. Everyone’s suggestions on this thread so far are great. I should mention that because I have not been an avid cinephile for long, I have not seen some of the mentioned films such as Rosemary’s Baby, Woman Under the Influence, Clockwork Orange, Gold Rush, La Strada, and Malcolm X. I hope to watch them soon.
1. Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront: The perfect representation of wistfulness and naturalism
2. Maria Falconetti – The Passion of Joan of Arc: Mind-bogglingly powerful and expressive
3. Peter O’Toole – Lawrence of Arabia: An odd mix of charisma, ego, and charm coming together perfectly
4. Robert De Niro – Raging Bull: A cinematic exploration of anger, regret, and hatred
5. Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood: Dark, explosive, and precise, even if he’s not going for realism
6. Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Ever-growing energy and endless rebellion
7. Marlon Brando – The Godfather: No other actor could have done the wheezy voice and bulldog expression with such iconic perfection
8. Gloria Swanson – Sunset Boulevard: This cynical drive toward madness is fearfully relatable
9. Anthony Perkins – Psycho: This nervous, naturalistic, and strange paranoia is quite unusual for a pre-New Wave performance
10. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight – No one else could have done the unexplainable voice and the playful madness as well
11. James Stewart – Vertigo: Scottie’s dark obsession brings an incredible new side to the archetypal withered detective character
12. Humphrey Bogart – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: The greedy, blue collar side of Bogey that was always in plain sight
13. Natalie Portman – Black Swan: High-voiced and childish with gut-wrenching inner demons
14. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot: Perhaps the pinnacle of obsessive method acting, DDL brings nuance and anger to what could have been sappy sentiment
15. Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves: An odd mix of a million things I can’t describe in few words
16. Douglas Rain – 2001: A Space Odyssey: The calm voice that is at once both completely unreachable and startlingly human
17. Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind: A smiley and selfish start gradually leads to inner depths
18. Gene Hackman – The Conversation: Brilliant and underrated, a stoic examination of hating what one does and stands for
19. Klaus Kinski – Aguirre, the Wrath of God: A believable descent into self-serving greed
20. Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel: A whimsical lesson about learning to love life
21. Al Pacino – The Godfather Part II (I’m not sure part 1 isn’t a better performance): Hauntingly exacting and intriguing
22. Diane Keaton – Annie Hall: Relatable in every way even if I’m not similar to her at all
23. Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke: Introverted acting contrasting with the also-rebellious performance #6
24. Ingrid Bergman – Notorious: Even better performance than Casablanca, unlike other Hitchcock heroines, calmly expressive
25. Joaquin Phoenix – The Master: Complex tics, posture, and speech patterns make a masterfully unique performance
I’m quite mad to be leaving off many masterful performances. Here are some I’m the most sad I couldn’t include, NOT IN RANK ORDER.
Katharine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby
Takashi Shimura – Ikiru
John Wayne – The Searchers
Marcello Mastroianni – La Dolce Vita
Jean-Paul Belmondo – Breathless
Robert De Niro – Taxi Driver
Rutger Hauer – Blade Runner
Anthony Hopkins – The SIlence of the Lambs
Maggie Cheung – In the Mood for Love
Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James [etc.]
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis
I’ve already put a top 25 and nearly a dozen honorable mentions, but I can’t help slapping myself for others I left out. Here’s a supplement to my honorable mentions:
Charlie Chaplin – City LIghts
Peter Lorre – M
Henry Fonda – The Grapes of Wrath
Orson Welles – CItizen Kane
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman – Casablanca
Orson Welles – The Third Man
Bette Davis – All About Eve
A bunch of performances from 1957- von Sydow in Seventh Seal, Fonda in 12 Angry Men, Douglas in PoG, Guinness in River Kwai; I cannot decide which one is the best
Jack Lemmon – The Apartment
Marcello Mastroianni – 8 1/2
Tatsuya Nakadai – Ran
Joe Pesci – Goodfellas
Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue
Frances McDormand – Fargo
Jeff Bridges – The Big Lebowski
Tom Cruise – Magnolia
Adam Sandler – Punch-Drunk Love
Bill Murray – Lost in Translation
@Graham great list. As far as a newer talent I’d replace ledger/joker with Oscar isaac as llewyn davis. I’d also replace portman’s swan performance with her revenge of the sith, definitely top 20 for me though not everyone would agree. i feel like lemmon in apartment is top 20 and sandler in punch drunk probably 50. i agree about brando godfather and falconetti of arc in the top 5. as far as fargo i’d go with carroll lynch over mcdormand. john wayne in searchers is top 5. marcello in 8 1/2 and belmondo in breathless. de niro in taxi driver and bull, as well as keitel in mean streets are great. any number of grant, stewart and kate hepburn performances. nicholson needs a mention, i suppose cuckoo’s nest might be his best. o toole is also top 5 in lawrence. probably kane to round out my top 5. dustin hoffman is my favorite actor and his best might be tootsie. gene kelly donald o connor and reynolds in singing in the rain. and the two gable and leigh in gone, as well as judy garland and even renoir as octave is top 50 so would i say thomas mitchell in stagecoach (1939 was a great year.) sorry i listed so many they are just all great. (oh yeah, frank morgan is a great character actor and him as the wonderful wizard or shop around the corner was great.)
[…] It’s A Wonderful Life– Capra […]
Somehow I have not yet seen this despite being a big fan of holiday themed movies (I dedicated the entire month of October to horror movies/thrillers ha). Going to change that this year. What are some of the best movies that are Christmas related?
@James Trapp- the one and true answer: Die Hard (for me MS/MP)
Others:
Gremlins (R)
Bad Santa (R)
Eyes Wide Shut (MP)
Black Christmas (R)
In Bruges (MS)
I also think that Brazil (MP) centers a little bit around Christmas, but I am not sure.
@RujK- great suggestions- @James Trapp- also I’d include Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner (1940) also with Jimmy Stewart
@RujK@Drake – thanks for the suggestions. Funny, my uncle also watches Die Hard every Christmas. At one of my old jobs my co-workers were amused when I referred to Die Hard as a Christmas movie but it is certainly a classic. I absolutely love Bad Santa, one of my all time favorite comedies.
Will have to check out The Shop Around the Corner, I love Jimmy Stewart.
The perfect Christmas movie. Merry Christmas.
@KidCharlemagne – Merry Christmas- thank you for visiting the site and all the stellar comments over the years.
Merry Christmas Drake, and everyone else of course. Hope you all have a wonderful day
(Relatives got me a yearly subscription to the Criterion Channel and a limited edition vinyl of the 2001 Space Odyssey soundtrack, not bad)
@Matthew- Merry Christmas to you as well- and congrats on the nice score with the Criterion channel and 2001 vinyl!
@Matthew – That is the best gift possible, when I first got it I was like a kid in a candy store!! Merry Christmas to all.
I know right? I’ve already browsed a little bit and it’s absolutely loaded.