'Tis the season for Christmas specials on TV and perennial holiday favorites on the big screen (see "Holiday movies light up the big screen in Austin"). Here, in alphabetical order, is the Austin Classic Movies Examiner's list of the Greatest Holiday Movies Ever Made:
Bad Santa (2003): Billy Bob Thornton is foul-mouthed and bitterly funny in director Terry Zwigoff's black comedy. With Lauren Graham.
The Bishop's Wife (1947): Makes the list for Cary Grant as Dudley the Angel, David Niven and Loretta Young as the Bishop and his wife, and for being so much better than the awful remake with Whitney Houston.
A Christmas Story (1983): Based on the short stories of Jean Shepherd (who also narrates), Bob Clark's film about Ralphie and his family was a box office disappointment that became a holiday classic.
Die Hard (1988) and Lethal Weapon (1987): Two classic shoot-'em-ups set at Christmastime. Yippee-Ky-yay and a Ho! Ho! Ho!
Elf (2003): Will Ferrell is Buddy the Elf in this charming and very funny fable. With James Caan, Bob Newhart, and the lovely Zooey Deschanel.
Holiday Inn (1942) and White Christmas (1954): One great song, two great movies. In the former, Bing Crosby teams with Fred Astaire, while the latter, in technicolor, teamed Der Bingle with Danny Kaye.
It's a Wonderful Life (1947): James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore star in this holiday chestnut that was a commercial disappointment that later became beloved thanks to regular screenings on television.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947): Edmund Gwenn is the greatest screen Santa as Kris Kringle, with a letter-perfect cast that includes Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and a young Natalie Wood.
Scrooged (1988): Bill Murray is hilarious in Michael O'Donohue's pungent satire about a network television executive who gets his mind blown by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940): James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan star in Ernst Lubitsch's adaptaion of the Miklós László play. Later remade as You've Got Mail.
The TV Classics: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) / A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) / Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1961) / Frosty the Snowman (1968), et al.: Program your own holiday film festival with these television classics that have entertained several generations of viewers. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the first of many Peanuts specials, and still the best. Forget the awful live-action film and enjoy Chuck Jones's original Grinch, which is available on DVD separately, or as part of Warner Home Video's Christmas Television Favorites, which also includes "The Year Without a Santa Claus," "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July," and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year."
Honorable Mention:
Joyeaux Noel (2006)
Love Actually (2003)
8 Crazy Nights (1999)
South Park: Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo (1996)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Gremlins (1984)
Black Christmas (1975)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Christmas in Connecticut (1942)
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