{"id":25528,"date":"2017-07-15T06:34:48","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T12:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/?p=25528"},"modified":"2020-06-08T02:56:54","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T08:56:54","slug":"the-five-most-essential-movies-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/the-five-most-essential-movies-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Most Essential Movies of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Lloyd Larsen &#8212; Guest Blogger on My Merry <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The history of film is slowly watering down the quality that was once fairly exclusive to <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a>. Recent releases with <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> themes such as &#8220;The Night Before&#8221; has taken the once proud genre of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> and cast it as a suspect reason for even making a movie. That is why the following list of essential <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> movies contains mostly older titles.<\/p>\n<p>Some will brand me old fashion. Or stubborn. Or maybe just old for doing it this way. But if you are a <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> fan who guards closely not only the sanctity of the season but also holds high the standard of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> movie excellence you have to consider these five films the most essential of the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uAERYfeiYBc\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>How does a movie that is not even about <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> become the gold standard?<\/p>\n<p><em>It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life<\/em> is considered by most film critics as one of the best films ever. Those are it&#8217;s critics. But why do fans revere it so as a <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> standard?<\/p>\n<p>This movie came from an important era in history. By that I&#8217;m not talking world history or American history. I mean family history. It is reflective of a time where family was valued above all else.<\/p>\n<p>This movie vocalizes what many feel about their families and it represents the best of what families are to each other. And that IS <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, it is a nostalgic look back in time. And yes, it has little to do with <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> other than having it as a backdrop. But isn&#8217;t that what <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> is to all of us? Doesn&#8217;t <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> drape our lives with atmosphere, energy, <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/sneaking-christmas\/\">love<\/a> and hope? This movie encapsulates that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Scrooge (1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K8MWjFO9NCc\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>There are great and not-so-great versions of <em>A <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>I pick the 1970 musical <em>Scrooge<\/em> as the most essential because it is, quite honestly, the most Christmasy, in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p>It is also, for whatever reason, the least known.<\/p>\n<p>Which is odd because the musical Muppet version of the story is wildly popular with younger generations and while entertaining it isn&#8217;t half as well crafted as the 1970 version.<\/p>\n<p>I also like that the focus is put squarely on Scrooge, even as to go so far as to name the production after him. It highlights how this <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> story is about one man and how <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> changes him forever, albeit through a ghostly lens.<\/p>\n<p>This is a classic story of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> and its lessons are endless.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Miracle on 34th Street<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/--uyzf7X_0c\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Though made in 1947 this is a very modern take on <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It is ALL <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a>, too. The subject is <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Santa<\/a> Claus. And <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/sneaking-christmas\/\">love<\/a>. And believing.<\/p>\n<p>While the focus is on a little girl and an old man I like the fact that it is also a <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/sneaking-christmas\/\">love<\/a> story.<\/p>\n<p>This movie finds a way to promote all the great themes of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> without being preachy. It should be at the very top of every <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> fans&#8217; list.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. The <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Santa<\/a> Clause<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYSnjxH-H0A\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This movie has a clever premise and a lot of laughs. It wraps <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> well behind the modern realities of single parenting, too.<\/p>\n<p>And it dips itself well into the healthy world of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> fantasy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> is an escape from reality. It is a draw from each of us because it relieves us of the burdens of this world if even for a brief period each year and places us face to face with those feelings of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/sneaking-christmas\/\">love<\/a>, family and tradition that we so miss and cherish.<\/p>\n<p>This movie is an original story that takes full advantage of ancient <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> traditions. It is both old and new. It&#8217;s not <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> without it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. A <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> Story<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yzht2_41caU\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Though overplayed these days A <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> Story remains a standard of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> because it highlights the reality of family like no other <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> film.<\/p>\n<p>Who doesn&#8217;t see a bit of their own father in The Old Man? And who doesn&#8217;t see their Mother in Ralphie&#8217;s Mom?<\/p>\n<p>This movie is a series of moments altogether too real. The department store <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Santa<\/a> is a nightmare, the use of bad language resulted in a treatment of soap, the listening of <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/celebrating-20-years-of-the-merry-forums\/\">Christmas<\/a> entertainment together on the <a href=\"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/a-glimpse-of-christmas-100-years-ago\/\">radio<\/a> &#8212; hey, this is real stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The story is not complex. But this is a movie about us and we can all relate. No matter the age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lloyd Larsen &#8212; Guest Blogger on My Merry Christmas The history of film is slowly watering down the quality that was once fairly exclusive to Christmas. Recent releases with Christmas themes such as &#8220;The Night Before&#8221; has taken the once proud genre of Christmas and cast it as a suspect reason for even making [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","iawp_total_views":48,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-25528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-movies","tag-christmas-movies-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}