GremlinsPhoto: Warner Bros. Pictures / Amblin E / Sunset Boulevard / Corbis
The “Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?” debate has gained a lot of traction since we first posted this list a few years back. Sure, you may not automatically think of Alan Rickman invading an office building or legendary car chases or surrealist parables when you’re celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah—although maybe you do, we won’t judge (after all, It’s A Wonderful Life has its dark moments as well).
But after so many years of Miracle On 34th Street and White Christmas, it’sdefinitely time to branch out into a more off-brand breed of holiday film. The pivotal moments of these twenty-plus cinematic efforts take place during the holiday season, but they’re not the ones that necessarily come to mind when you think “holiday movie.” So this December, curl up with a double feature from the below list for a much-needed new take on the holiday spirit. (And for the record, Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie.)
(1944)
Though most people can probably hum “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” they’re less likely to know that the song originated in the Judy Garland musical Meet Me In St. Louis. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, the film charts a year in the life of the upper-middle class Smith family as they eager anticipate the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair—right in their own hometown! While it hits many of the major holidays (Halloween is appropriately spooky), the Christmas segment serves as the film’s heart. After Mr. Smith announces his plan to move the whole family to New York, there’s extra poignancy to what the Smiths assume is their last Christmas in St. Louis. An elegant Christmas Eve ball becomes a high-stakes comedy of errors full of lost tuxedos, absent dates, mischievous dance cards, and underlying anxiety about the future. And later that night when little Tootie (Margaret O’Brien) worries that Santa won’t be able to find their new East Coast home, Esther (Garland) comforts her sister with a ballad that embraces the melancholy of the holiday season. In fact, it basically sends Tootie into a minor emotional breakdown. Though the film may ultimately have a happy ending, those moments of Christmas pathos make it feel like more than just a fluffy musical confection. [Caroline Siede]
