The Cinerama Christmas Movie Collection – unwrap the ultimate guide to the best festive films

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

Frank Capra’s 1946 tale of healing, generosity and rebirth owes much to Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in its themes and tone. But unlike Dickens’ tale of the selfish Scrooge finding generosity and joy by revisiting his past, exploring his present, and envisioning his future, Capra’s movie shows a good man in crisis just how bleak things would be if he had never existed. Like many of Capra’s films, it is a tale of a good man fighting against injustice—a story about family, community, and hope —and a critique of greed and hate.

It’s a Wonderful Life’s darkness — there is plenty of it — is never allowed to blanket the film’s hope and positivity, reminding us that the path we carve through life touches many and creates ripples we can never fully comprehend.

However, like many Christmas classics, It’s a Wonderful Life didn’t have an easy path to success. Released just after the end of World War II, it was a financial flop at the box office, leading Capra’s newly founded Liberty Films to hit the buffers on its first major release. The film’s box-office struggles were even more puzzling, given that it earned five Oscar nominations. Things didn’t improve when Paramount Pictures acquired Liberty Films in 1947, and It’s a Wonderful Life continued to languish in the vaults. The advent of television made Capra’s film a classic, as its copyright lapsed and television networks picked it up without paying per-show royalties.

Now considered by many to be one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, Capra’s masterpiece reminds us all that hope is never far away, even in our darkest moments, and that even when it seems like there’s nowhere to turn, our loved ones are always there to help us find a new path. And let’s face it, there is no better Christmas message than that.

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY (1952)

WORDS AGI SAJTI

Based on a stage play by Wynyard Browne, The Holly and the Ivy centres on local parson Martin Gregory (Ralph Richardson), his adult children (Celia Johnson, Denholm Elliott, and Margaret Leighton), and two elder sisters as they reunite in post-war Norfolk for the traditional family Christmas. The family’s dysfunction is apparent from the outset, as each child brings their own issues to the table. But one thing they do share is resentment of Martin, who appears to care more about his parishioners than his family.

Director George More O’Ferrall keeps locations tight while maintaining the story’s theatrical roots. Here, the family unit faces a range of problems, from caring for an elderly parent to alcoholism and grief, cramming the narrative with social issues that occasionally feel too dark for a festive celebration.

Despite its surface darkness, The Holly and the Ivy is a genuinely heartwarming Christmas delight, as each family member realises that their judgment of Martin may have been wrong.

HOME ALONE (1990)

Bathed in the classic colours of Christmas, from its sets to its costumes and locations, John Hughes and Chris Columbus’ festive comedy masterpiece is an all-time great of the family movie genre. The McCallister home is adorned with deep reds and luscious greens, from the wallpaper to the rugs and ornaments. The house is a living and breathing Christmas wreath with Kevin, the naughty Christmas elf, at its heart.

Home Alone cleverly adopts a child’s perspective through low-angle camera shots that let the viewer see the world through Kevin’s eyes. It joyfully explores themes of childhood wish-fulfilment and adventure, reflecting the moment when children strive for some independence, even if they are not yet ready to do so without their family’s support.

Home Alone also pays homage to Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, a film on TV when Kevin realises he “made his family disappear.” In Capra’s movie, George Bailey explores the world that could have been if he had chosen to commit suicide. In Home Alone, Kevin explores a reverse situation as he navigates a world where he is the only one remaining. As a result, while George Bailey discovers his value to his family, Kevin learns the value of his family to him.

Through Kevin’s eyes, Hughes and Columbus take us back to being eight years old, wrapping us in an energetic, slapstick Christmas tale bound by the spirit of adventure and the unrelenting imagination of every child.

HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992)

Leaving your child ‘home alone’ once may be forgiven, but leaving them alone a second time at a major international airport and allowing them to travel independently to New York is clearly unforgivable. Following Home Alone with a quick turnaround sequel was never going to be easy, and the second outing was about maximising profit rather than telling a new story. However, as sequels go, many argue that Home Alone 2: Lost in New York successfully built on its predecessor.

Home Alone 2 ultimately succeeds by embracing the darker aspects of the original story, placing a prepubescent child in an adult cityscape where he learns that money can buy safety at the 1990s-owned Trump Plaza Hotel.

The slapstick humour of the first film is turned up to the maximum in the ensuing story, with the traps becoming sadistic in the hands of a new city-dwelling Kevin; in fact, young Kevin often seems intent on killing the hapless burglars. But I guess that’s what a few days in the big smoke does to a child. It may be full of Christmas cheer, but Home Alone 2 – Lost in New York has a far more sinister edge as a city of extremes eats away at a young boy’s mind.

THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992)

Despite high hopes of success, The Muppet Christmas Carol would be left in the shadow of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Disney’s Aladdin on its release in 1992. Yet, despite this, The Muppet Christmas Carol would become an enduring Christmas classic. Its global success would come many years after its cinema release via home video, in the same way It’s a Wonderful Life earned its festive stripes on TV. It’s easy to see why, as The Muppet Christmas Carol treats Dickens’ source material with the utmost love and respect.

Ninety per cent of Gonzo’s narration is taken directly from the book, and Michael Caine never treats the story as children’s entertainment. Instead, he offers us one of his best performances as Scrooge. But maybe what makes The Muppet Christmas Carol so powerful is its place as a love letter from a son to a recently departed father. Brian Henson celebrates his father’s Muppet world with joy, creativity and endless love. The result is a film that embraces and celebrates Dickens’ work while reminding us why The Muppets are among the most important cultural creations of the past 60 years.

GREMLINS (1984)

Gremlins had its worldwide premiere during the height of summer 1984, a strange time of year, given the Christmas lights and snow at the heart of Steven Spielberg and Joe Dante’s sublime monster movie, written by Chris Columbus. Here, the creative collaboration of Spielberg, Columbus, and Dante explores the dangers of buying cuddly creatures for your kids at Christmas, as Billy’s new, loving pet, ‘Gizmo,’ unleashes anarchy and destruction in the town of Kingston Falls. 

Spielberg and Dante’s picture is many things, from a sharp dissection of the growth of 1980s consumerism to a cutting exploration of US colonialism and racism. Dante’s direction recognises that the best family-monster horror films are bathed in deliciously dark humour, and Gremlins offers it in spades. It’s a ridiculous yet ingenious plot that thrives on comic-book anarchy and campfire-inspired horror as a group of deadly yet lovable hooligans sing along to Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

Gremlins is Spielberg, Columbus, and Dante’s love letter to 1950s monster horror, with a dose of 1980s action-adventure thrown in for good measure.

SHAZAM! (2019)

Fourteen-year-old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) spends his days desperately searching for his birth mother. His quest has led him to run away from countless foster homes while developing a lengthy record of petty crimes. But, as Billy arrives at the last chance saloon, his life is about to radically change as an everyday subway journey turns into a magical rollercoaster ride of new and confusing superpowers.

SHAZAM! offered something fresh and unique in an ocean of comic-book movies, placing its tale of courage, super strength, and flight in the hands of a lonely, angry, streetwise schoolboy who felt he didn’t belong. Billy Batson is a teen who has been let down by the adults surrounding him his whole life, a kid who understands loneliness and rejection as he searches for love, hope and family. Billy reflects the desires and wishes of so many kids as they dream of flight, long to fight the bullies who torment them, and gain superpowers to save those they love. The film may be titled SHAZAM! But the heart and soul of David. F. Sandburg’s delightful film adaptation of C.C. Beck and Bill Parker’s unique comic book hero is the young Billy Batson.

Sandberg would dovetail elements of Superman (the end sequence is a love letter to Superman II), Kick-Ass, Big and Vice Versa, creating a lively origin story that appealed to all ages while carrying a far darker edge. Here, what could have been the movie’s biggest flaw ends up being one of its most charming elements: the interface between the overgrown Boy Scout superhero SHAZAM (Zachary Levi), his insecure teenage self (Asher Angel), his found family, and new best friend, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer).

For all its humour, explosions, and dastardly villains, SHAZAM! is a superhero movie about hope, love, and found family —and even better, it’s set during the Christmas festivities.

IRON MAN 3 (2013)

WORDS SAB ASTLEY

It will always be subversive when you get Shane Black to do anything. The third instalment of the Iron Man trilogy has an uneasy relationship with fans, largely due to the fake-out Mandarin reveal, and it being much less Iron Man and much more Tony Stark. The festive winter setting dovetails closely with the thematic complexities Black explores in Iron Man 3, as Tony has reached the winter of his inner discontent. It’s an ironic commentary that the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist is stripped of almost everything at the happiest and most celebratory time of the year. 

What many misunderstand about the greatness of Iron Man 3 is that it’s an interrogation of why it has to be Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit; it can’t just be anyone. Similar parallels can be noticed in Tony’s speech to Peter in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is undoubtedly a valuable lesson he learned from his challenging debacle in this more sombre approach. The Marvel Cinematic Universe often pushes Iron Man to the forefront of what makes him superpowered, when it’s truthfully always been Tony’s dogmatic intelligence and, ultimately, his heroic nature. Just as Obadiah Stane remarks in the original, “Tony Stark built this in a cave, with a box of scraps!” It’s a surprisingly intimate interrogation of Tony Stark —not just as a human, but also of what makes him uniquely powerful compared to his super-powered counterparts.

In an interview for The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black explained his reasoning for setting his rendition at Christmas is because “it creates its own little encapsulated event in time … Christmas bands together and cements a story. You feel like there’s a common unity among all the people in it.” It brings Tony Stark back down to earth, forcing him to walk among everyone and think on his feet. It also conveys powerful emotional resonance in the mental and emotional strength Tony must continue to display in the face of absolute adversity. His intelligence is like a shining beacon in the dark malaise of the snowy night, with his trusty helper/agitator, Harley, at his side. There’s an undeniable magic to their scenes together, and it was long speculated whether that was a more magical manifestation of Tony’s own subconsciousness (debunked following Harley’s appearance in Endgame at Tony’s funeral). 

It’s one of the few Marvel properties to fully incorporate the sentimentality and natural magic of the world, encapsulated within a holiday like Christmas. Only Shane Black could strip away everything about Iron Man and somehow make the best Iron Man film out of Christmas, a box of scraps, and plucky know-how.

SILENT NIGHT (2021)

Words Sab Astley

Nothing says the end of the world like being home for the holidays with the whole family, right? That’s how Keira Knightley’s Nell sees it, hosting a final festive Christmas gathering on the eve of an apocalyptic waste cloud ravaging the UK. Fortunately, a UK-wide painless pill has been issued to prevent what’s sure to be a horrific death if they can stop from tearing one another apart first.

Camille Griffin’s distinct approach to a festive film focuses less on the traditional ‘happy family at Christmas time’ and tells what many understand to be an unspoken truth: sometimes, Christmas with your family is an absolute nightmare. It’s an approach that’s welcomed as part of a small but solid sub-genre of ‘anti-Christmas’ films in the company of Better Watch Out and Gremlins. We all buy into the illusion of perfect peace at Christmastime, often choosing to ignore the hushed arguments echoing down corridors and secrets spilt after too much wine. Her cavalcade includes Nell’s increasingly frustrated husband Simon (Matthew Goode) and their hilariously argumentative son Art (played by the ever-charming Roman Griffin Davis), sisters Bella (Lucy Punch) and Sandra (Annabelle Wallis), with their own big personalities in tow. Outside of our immediate family, there’s Sandra’s husband Tony (Rufus Jones) – the pure embodiment of a milquetoast man; dashing university friend James (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù), and Bella’s girlfriend Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and James’ girlfriend Sophie (Lily-Rose Depp).

Griffin’s world is built with a calculated focus on containing this apocalyptic event within a grounded context – there are government websites with startlingly clear depictions of how the toxic gas will gradually destroy you, and the deceptively over-the-counter packaging of ‘The Pill’ is disarmingly hilarious. There’s a slight socio-political subtext that Griffin sneaks into her script, cunningly so, with climate change as the origin of the gas cloud, alongside a fair mistrust of the government – “Of course, I don’t trust them, they killed Diana!” Despite the hilarity, Griffin is able to conjure palpable, creeping existential dread in this middle-class family.

The essence of the horror that Griffin plays with throughout Silent Night lies in its inevitability and in the contrast between the adults and the children. That eternal disconnect of them being unable to understand loss and death, whilst the adults are forced to confront their own mortality, whilst pretending it’s not even happening. In a way, the cloud has already suffocated the household with anxiety – it’s just a much slower death than what’s to come. Griffin tactically balances this existential dread with hilarity, so it never becomes overwhelmingly tragic – if there’s melodrama, it’s played for laughs, knowingly executed to evoke true gallows humour.

BETTER WATCH OUT (2016)

We’ve all seen Home Alone and Kevin McCallister’s iconic defence against a duo of bumbling burglars, where paint cans of doom, hot molten glue traps and tickly spiders on faces help Kevin overcome the baddies. But before his war with the burglars, Kevin was also pretty damn unbearable, having a classic Christmas strop in front of his family. We all know at least one kid who is intolerable at the Christmas family reunion. However, unlike Kevin, they are often granted unlimited free passes because “they’re just a kid.” Chris Peckover’s deliciously dark Better Watch Out couples the classic spoilt Christmas kid with a far darker exploration of control and manipulation in a movie that could be labelled ‘Home Alone 4: Murder, Torment and Tantrums.’

In Better Watch Out, tweenager Luke Lerner (Levi Miller) gradually unveils a manipulative plan to seduce his babysitter, Olivia DeJonge’s Ashley, into an uncomfortable sexual liaison. Watching Miller’s psychotic tween is akin to watching a slightly older and damaged Kevin McCallister lay out a series of deadly hormonal traps, but here, there is a far more squirm-inducing realism.

Levi Miller’s performance is utterly compelling and unhinged as he weaves his deadly plan, so much so that you want to jump into the screen and strangle him yourself with some fairy lights. Meanwhile, his long-suffering friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) stands in the wings, obeying Luke’s every command. He gazes at him with a puppy-like sense of awe and commitment, despite the horror.

Better Watch Out is the perfect ‘anti-Christmas’ horror, as it combines the spoiled Christmas kid with evil child tropes and classic babysitter-in-peril slashers. It’s a delightfully twisted coming-of-age tale from which there is no escape as two munchkins indulge their little fantasies with deadly consequences.

Peckover’s film may be bathed in a plethora of festive imagery — fairy lights, candy canes, and snow-covered suburban streets — but its soul is firmly rooted in horror and dark comedy, as The Good Son meets Home Alone and the cult classic The Pit. This makes Better Watch Out one of the more underappreciated anti-Christmas gems of the holiday season and a modern cult classic that deserves another outing, but sadly, never got one.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE COOPERS (2015)

Receiving negative reviews upon its release, Christmas with the Coopers (also known as Love the Coopers) suffered from a highly misleading pre-release ad campaign that portrayed the movie as a lightweight festive comedy. However, in reality, Christmas with the Coopers is a tender and humorous family drama that explores themes of connection, belonging, and love. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. All Christmas with the Coopers needs to provide is joy, charm and festive cheer, and it does just that from the opening scenes to the last. I don’t know what critics watched back in 2015, but they got this film wrong.

JOYEUX NOËL (2005)

Joyeux Noël received positive reviews upon its 2005 release, but has since been forgotten in the festive mists of time. Joyeux Noël is an outstanding Christmas movie – its real-life story of humanity in the face of destruction is compelling, emotional and brave.

On Christmas Eve of 1914, in the trenches of Europe, a group of German, British and French soldiers laid down their weapons for a brief moment of solidarity in the face of hate and conflict. The result was an act of humanity, reconciliation, and hope that, sadly, only lasted for one day. Joyeux Noël never shies away from the brutal reality of war while demonstrating that peace is always possible when we listen, talk and build bridges of understanding across nationalistic divides.

CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)

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Festive romantic comedies don’t come much better than Christmas in Connecticut, a classic story of deception, love and pretence directed by Peter Godfrey. Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is an unmarried food writer from New York who writes under a pseudonym. Homemakers adore Elizabeth for her apparent idyllic lifestyle with her husband and their newborn baby on a Connecticut farm.

However, the trouble is it’s all a sham! Trouble soon comes knocking when her publisher (Sydney Greenstreet) – unaware of the fraud – asks her to host a Christmas party for a returning war hero, with Elizabeth borrowing the neighbour’s baby and enlisting her chef uncle (S.Z. Sakall) to keep up the pretence.

The film joyously delves into the ridiculous. Elizabeth cannot perform the most basic household chores, creating moments of sublime situational comedy, while the screwball comedy heightens the plot’s absurdity as gender roles are swapped and a returning war hero becomes a childminder.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951)

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol would influence every Christmas film ever made, in one way or another. Published in 1843, it would become the most famous of Dickens’ four Christmas books. Born of his anger at the social ills around him, Dickens’ book reflected his ongoing campaign for child welfare, justice, and state intervention in the face of poverty. However, unlike many of his books, A Christmas Carol challenged British society and helped define the very image of Christmas.

In 1843, the British concept of Christmas was still taking shape, and charity and goodwill were far from many people’s thoughts as the first Christmas card rolled off the press, alongside 6,000 copies of Dickens’ book. Like the humble Christmas card, Dickens’ gift to London and the world would transform the social image of the festive season, placing charity, well-being, goodwill, and love at its heart. Since then, A Christmas Carol has never been out of print, with its tale of inequality, greed, corrupt power, revelation, and rebirth honoured through countless adaptations and reinventions.

There have, of course, been many adaptations of Dickens’ work, both on TV and film, with each offering a slightly different take on his story. But out of all the adaptations that have graced our screens, Brian Desmond Hurst’s 1951 version starring Alastair Sim takes the crown.

While A Christmas Carol or Scrooge in the United States may not reach the heights of David Lean’s 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations, Hurst’s film beautifully captures the darkness and light of Dickens’ story in a way few other adaptations have. Much of that is due to Alastair Sim, whose magnificent performance became the gold standard many have aspired to reach, but none have managed to better.

BEYOND TOMORROW (1940)

WORDS AGI SAJTI

Christmas movies are often associated with the fantasy genre due to the magical stories they tell. Frank Capra’s ​It’s a Wonderful Life is a prime example; Beyond Tomorrow is a long-forgotten forerunner of Capra’s classic.

Three rich old men, George, Allan and Michael (Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith and Charles Winninger), recruit their Christmas dinner guests by randomly throwing three wallets onto the street, each containing their addresses and some money. Whoever brings them back is welcome to dinner, which is how Jean (Jean Parker) and James (Richard Carlson) meet.

The film’s final message explores themes similar to those in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, both in tone and structure. Although the finale is slightly preachy, it remains a fascinating precursor to many of the festive films that followed.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS (1991)

A Christmas kids’ movie about family separation and divorce doesn’t exactly sound like the most festive offering. But the year was 1991, and divorce was increasing rapidly in the UK and across the pond in the US, so what was the harm in exploring a Christmas stuck between two warring parents?

Many critics felt that the subject matter of Robert Lieberman’s Christmas movie, starring Ethan Embry and Thora Birch, was depressing for kids. In contrast, others argued that the yuppie affluence on display was nauseating. The critics were right on both levels, but All I Want for Christmas also carries a warmth and charm that makes it incredibly festive and sweet despite its significant flaws. Plus, if you look past the sickly-sweet Americana, All I Want for Christmas harbours a much deeper discussion of parental separation and a teenage realisation that not all wishes can come true. Or can they?