talemyn

So my favorite time of year is coming up (Christmas) and I figured that it is about time for me to start getting my Christmas DVD selections "in shape". Right now, the only Christmas movies I have on DVD are the newest releases of NL's Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story. Because there are so many options out there, I thought it might be easier to pick your brains rather than try to "search" them all down. What I'm am trying to find out is:

What are the best Christmas DVD releases out there that are currently available or soon-to-be-released?

Some of the ones that I am thinking of specifically, include:
- White Christmas
- It's A Winderful Life
- A Christmas Carol (I, personally, prefer George C. Scott's)
- Holiday Inn
- Miracle On 34th Street (the original)
- Any others . . .

Personally, I can only do R1 right now, but feel free to post other regions, as well, for other people who might be interested.

Thanks for the help everyone and . . .


Edit: Added MO34thS to the "interest list" and also forgot to list The Nightmare Before Christmas SE as one that I own . . . sometimes I forget that it's a Christmas movie . . . thanks for the reminder, Anblue.

Anblue

The Nightmare Before Christmas SE

Edit: whoops, didn't notice what you already had.

Easy

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - 1947 is an old favorite of mine and in pretty good shape, if memory serves. I'm not especially fond of the remake. It's a Wonderful Life also looked pretty darn good to me. There has been a case change or two but all the same transfer.
I have never understood the difference between Holiday Inn and White Christmas. I guess one is a remake? Anyway, White Christmas can currrently be had for $9.36 (free shipping) at deepdiscountdvd as can Homecoming (Waltons).
I see no mention of the Grinch - not a big Carey fan but would like the Dr Seuss cartoon.
If you tire of sentimental stuff - Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and Gremlins storylines all take place during the Christmas Season.

ChefWinduAZ

A Charlie Brown Chirstmas! A must have for any Christmas DVD collection.

Tarnower

It's not available now, but rumored for 2004 is the Vincente Minnelli holiday classic "Meet Me in St. Louis," which introduced the yuletide staple, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

jgido759

A few more to consider:

The Santa Clause (Tim Allen)
The Santa Clause 2 (Available 11-18-03)
Home Alone 1 & 2
Ernest Saves Christmas
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rankin Bass)
How The Grinch Stole Chistmas (The animated version)
The Year Without A Santa Clause (Gotta have my Heat Meiser)

rfduncan

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=327155

talemyn

Oops . . . missed that because it was sent to "Movie Talk", but I think my question is a bit different anyway . . . I'm asking about DVD specs as well. Example: I thought I read somewhere that there was an upcoming re-release of White Christmas. I didn't want to go out and start buying copies of DVD's that were being upgraded in the near future. So many Christmas movies are cosidered "classic" that I would think that we would see more SE's being made.

jough

Jingle All The Way, starring the Governator.

inDefiance

How about "The Lemon Drop Kid" with Bob Hope. Strong Christmas theme, a song (the hit "Silver Bells") and pretty decent (and very sentimental) story. Some good laughs ride along.

tronmaster

Albert Finney's Scrooge!

"Thank you very much, thank you very much. That's the nicest thing anyone has done for me..!"

Brian McHale

People constantly try to say that White Christmas is a remake of Holiday Inn, but they're way off base. Okay, yes, both star Bing Crosby. Both use a New England Inn as a centerpiece for the film. And both feature the song White Christmas.

However, the actual plots are quite different. Holiday Inn might be the better movie, but White Christmas is a much warmer/fuzzier Christmas movie. You could actually argue that Holiday Inn isn't really a Christmas movie at all.

the big train

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" which will be on the Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2.


and "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" - not necessarily a good movie or a good DVD, but how could that not be funny?

SRGilbert

Yep, that's a keeper! Picked that up on release day.

I can't believe no one has suggested Bill Murrey's Scrooged.

And what, no love for Frosty the Snowman?

I'm still waiting for a childhood favorite, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the animated special with the mice and the clockmaker.

Disc-Flipper

The Snowman & Father Christmas

This disc contains two features.

The Snowman: An Academy Award Nominee (Best Animated Short Film, 1982), this delightful animation weaves a spell of magical enchantment as a young boy's snowman comes to life and escorts him on a magical flying visit to the North Pole. Absolutely superlative family enjoyment. Song by David Bowie.

Father Christmas (1991): Deck the halls with the sound of laughter when you join the hardest-working man in snow biz as he takes a well-deserved vacation. Based on the books by Raymond Briggs, the creator of the Oscar-Nominated classic The Snowman, Father Christmas is delightful holiday entertainment that's fun for the whole family.

Bewarned! Some people were displeased with the adaptation of these cartoons, but I thought they were great.



Where is Frosty's Winter Wonderland (the true Frosty sequel) and Christmas in July ??

El-Kabong

There's been a couple of folks that have mentioned the Charlie Brown Chrismas and the Grinch. Both of which are classics to be sure and need to be on any X-mas collection. But a couple of TV specials got overlooked - the Rankin/Bass shows.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph, Frosty t. Snowman, Jack Frost - all classics, each and every one. When I was a kid back in the 70's, it just didnt feel like christmas somehow until I managed to catch one of these shows on TV.

And come on - the "I'm Mr Heat Miser" song? Who cant resist singing along with that one?

Let see if I cant remember everything thats out. . .

* The Year Without a Santa Claus (one disc, but also included Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey and Rudolph's Shiny New Year) And its only 10 bucks at Deep Discount DVD!

* Jack Frost (There appears to be several of this special out. I'm not sure which one is the best. Although they do all range at about 5 bucks a disc, so it's not that big of a loss if you get screwed)

* Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (which includes The Little Drummer Boy

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (only the one show, but a ton of extras)

* Frosty the Snowman (which includes Frosty Returns)

These last three are available in a boxed set for about 25-30 bucks. But no matter how you slice it, these discs are Da Bomb. Heck, I might go round out some of my collection while I'm thinking about it. . . .

Corky Roxbury

Black Christmas
Silent Night, Deadly Night/Silent Night, Deadly Night 2

talemyn

Hey everyone . . . thanks for all of the input! Due in no small part to your recommendations and reminders, combined with visits to DDD, Amazon, Half.com, and a new re-up at CH, I am currently boosting my holiday collection with the following:

- It's A Wonderful Life
- Scrooge (Albert Finney)
- The Peanuts Holiday Collection
- The Santa Clause
- Snowman / Father Christmas
- A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott)
- Dr. Seuss: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated)
- White Christmas
- Scrooged
- Home Alone
- The Year Without a Santa Claus/Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey/Rudolph's Shiny New Year
- Original Holiday Classics DVD Collection 3-Pack (Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/The Little Drummer Boy/Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer/Frosty The Snowman/Frosty Returns)

Add that to my already owned NL's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and The Nightmare Before Christmas and I feel much more complete.





P.S. - I'm still debating the How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey) and am patiently awaiting the release of A Child's Christmas In Wales, The Night They Saved Christmas, and A Christmas Memory (1966, not 1997) on DVD (I have the first two on VHS, but the second one doesn't even exist in that format!).

And if someone mentions that The Night They Saved Christmas is available in R2, I'll kill them . . . stupid <mumble, mumble> frickin' <grumble, grumble> region-free players . . .

jough

I'm still looking for the cartoon that used to be shown every year when I was a kid, "Twas The Night Before Christmas" with the father who was a clock maker/fixer and the mice, and the great song "Even a Miracle Needs a Hand".

Man, I'd totally buy three copies of that on DVD.

talemyn

Yeah . . . I thought of that one two . . . plenty of VHS copies to be had . . . but nothing on DVD.

sracer

March of the Wooden Soldiers is out on disc... $5.88 at WalMart and the like. Warning, although the transfer is surprisingly good considering the price of the disc and age of the film, it is the colorized version. Although I'm a strong proponent of having the film original in content, aspect ratio, audio, color, etc. I believe that being colorized shouldn't be a reason for preventing anyone from owning this forgotten classic. It includes some scenes that have long been cut from the version that has aired on television all these years.

Rankin/Bass boxset. "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer", "Frost the Snowman", and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and "Little Drummer Boy". The transfer on these is great, and includes the full-length version of Rudolph. Over the years bits of it have been cut to make room for commercials and to shorten overall running time. (Costco sold this set for $30 previously, then $36...)

WPIX Yule Log. Although not officially on DVD, I have this on VCD. It was a NYC tradition for nearly 40 years.

jough

I can't recommend the Rankin/Bass discs enough. They are truly wonderful.

talemyn

. . . and . . .That was this one . . .No way I would have missed picking that one up.

For interested parties, it is available at DDD for $34.18 under the title HOLIDAY CLASSICS SET. There are also some good deals around the same price (maybe a tiny bit less) at Half.com.

Star Wars Guy

Gotta add Die Hard & Die Hard 2 (5 Star Collection). It just doesn't seem like Christmas without a little John McClane spreading bullets with Christmas cheer!

And though it's only a bare bones DVD, nothing brings the family together at Christmas like The Ref.

SRGilbert

I know it's a little OT, but I'd like to see Lost in Paradise on DVD. The movie had Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey, and Nicholas Cage as brothers who are bank robbers and are planning a hiest on Christmas in a small town. Pretty silly, but fun.