A truly great Christmas movie should channel the mood of the holiday season. Since we all have different traditions, that means Christmas films can take many chestnut-roasting, Jack Frost-nipping forms: unrelentingly cheery musicals, vaguely religious dramas, defiantly grim horror films, or gleefully vulgar comedies.
The movies you’re about to read about are actually about Christmas – with all the joys, anxieties, and surprises they bring. So here’s my personal top 10 Christmas film list (in date order).
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

1 – Holiday Inn (1942)
With the combined might of Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Irving Berlin working in its favour, Holiday Inn is a seasonal classic – not least because it introduced “White Christmas” to the world.
Holiday Inn is a 1942 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Crosby and. Astaire. With music by Berlin, the composer wrote twelve songs specifically for the film, the best known being “White Christmas”. The film features a complete reuse of the song “Easter Parade,” written by Berlin for the 1933 Broadway revue As Thousands Cheer.
The film received a 1943 Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as Academy Award nominations for Best Score and Best Original Story. In this Irving Berlin musical, Jim (Crosby) and Lila (Virginia Dale) are members of a performing trio who plan to quit and run a country hotel. When Lila says she has fallen in love with the dancer in the act, Ted (Astaire), Jim leaves town with a broken heart. After turning the inn into a holidays-only live entertainment venue, Jim winds up booking and falling for Linda (Marjorie Reynolds). But when Ted shows up at the place after being dumped by Lila, he too sets his sights on beautiful Linda.
The song that would become “White Christmas” was conceived by Berlin on the set of the film Top Hat in 1935. He hummed the melody to Astaire and the film’s director Mark Sandrich as a song possibility for a future Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicle. Astaire loved the tune, but Sandrich passed on it. Berlin’s assignment for Paramount was to write a song about each of the major holidays of the year. He found that writing a song about Christmas was the most challenging, due to his Jewish upbringing. When Crosby first heard Berlin play “White Christmas” in 1941 at the first rehearsals, he did not immediately recognise its full potential. Crosby simply said: “I don’t think we have any problems with that one, Irving.”

2 – Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
A disarmingly sweet musical led by outstanding performances from Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien, Meet Me in St. Louis offers a holiday treat for all ages.
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 American Technicolor musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis, leading up to the opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in the spring of 1904.
The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, who met Garland on the set and later married her.
A major success with both critics and audiences, Meet Me in St. Louis was the second-highest grossing picture of 1944, only behind Going My Way, and was also MGM’s most successful musical of the 1940s.
Garland debuted the standards “The Trolley Song,” “The Boy Next Door”, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” all of which became hits after the film was released.
The lyrics for “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” were originally different. The lyricist, Hugh Martin, wrote opening lyrics which were deemed too depressing by Judy Garland, Tom Drake, and Vincente Minnelli (they were: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past”), so Martin changed the lyrics.
(Years after the movie’s release, additional lyric changes were made for Frank Sinatra, who objected to the song’s generally downbeat tone. The most notable changes included “Next year” becoming “From now on”, “Once again, as in olden days / Happy golden days of yore / Faithful friends that were dear to us / Will be near to us once more” becoming “Here we are, as in olden days / Happy golden days of yore / Faithful friends that are dear to us / Gather near to us once more”, and “Someday soon we all will be together / If the fates allow / Until then we’ll just have to muddle through somehow” becoming “Through the years we all will be together / If the fates allow / Hang a shining star upon the highest bough”.
This revised version is the one now most commonly performed.

3 – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet The Greatest Gift, which Philip Van Doren Stern published in 1943.
The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George how he, George, has touched the lives of others and how different life would be for his wife Mary (Donna Reed) and his community of Bedford Falls if he had not been born.
Although It’s a Wonderful Life initially received mixed reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office, it became a classic Christmas film after it was put into the public domain, which allowed it to be shown on TV without licensing or royalty fees.
The film is considered one of the greatest films of all time. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and has been recognised by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made.
Capra revealed that it was his favourite among the films he directed and that he screened it for his family every Christmas season.

4 – Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Irrefutable proof that gentle sentimentalism can be the chief ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on 34th Street delivers a warm holiday message without resorting to treacle.
Natalie Wood portrayed Susan Walker, a precocious little girl whose well-meaning mother (Maureen O’Hara) has raised her not to believe in Santa Claus. When their lives intersect with that of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn), an elderly man hired to play Santa at New York City’s famous Macy’s department store, Susan begins to suspect he may be the real St. Nick. After a jealous fellow employee frames him for an assault, Kringle is placed in a mental hospital. At the ensuing sanity hearing, Kringle and his attorney attempt to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.
Although the movie was released in the summer, it became a box-office hit and ran in theatres through the holiday season. Its legacy is such that it is regularly aired on television right after Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and the store has frequently decorated its windows during the Christmas season with displays based on the film. The popularity of Miracle on 34th Street is due in part to the performances of Gwenn, who won an Academy Award, and Wood. The story inspired several remakes, including a big-screen version released in 1994 that starred Richard Attenborough in the Kris Kringle role.

5 – A Christmas Carol (1951)
This adaptation of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic is perhaps the most faithful film version – and Alastair Sim’s performance as Scrooge is not to be missed.
A Christmas Carol, also called Scrooge, British dramatic film, that is widely considered the best adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic tale of the same name. It is a perennial favourite at Christmas time, when it is frequently broadcast on television.
Dickens’s timeless tale depicts the life of Ebenezer Scrooge (Sim), a rich, self-obsessed miser. On Christmas Eve he is given one last chance for redemption when the ghost of his equally miserly business partner, Jacob Marley (Michael Hordern), comes back to warn him of the potentially devastating consequences of his cruel behaviour. After receiving visits from the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future, Scrooge is persuaded to change. One of the first people to benefit from Scrooge’s newfound generosity is his underpaid employee, Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns). At his family’s Christmas dinner, Cratchit’s ill son, Tiny Tim (Glyn Dearman), delivers perhaps the film’s most memorable line, “God bless us, everyone.”
The modestly budgeted film quickly became a holiday classic. There were numerous film versions of the story released before this one, and further versions followed it, but this adaptation, grounded by Sim’s memorable interpretation of Scrooge, set the standard.

6 – White Christmas (1954)
It may be too sweet for some, but this unabashedly sentimental holiday favourite is too cheerful to resist.
“White Christmas” is guilty of many of the sins catalogued by other commentators: it’s got a sappy story line, predictable plot twists, it plays outrageously for sentiment and patriotism (not your usual Christmas theme)!
Rosemary Clooney is lovely in the rather thankless role of the practical sister and was at the peak of her genius as a pop singer, Vera-Ellen does her usually charming thing, and Crosby! The master implants his genius in virtually every frame. In supporting roles veteran character actor Dean Jagger is splendid as the general, while Mary Wickes steals every scene she’s in as the nosy hotel housekeeper, Emma. The singing and dancing are first-rate (even without Astaire), and the songs by Irving Berlin are among his very best, including a number of tunes written especially for the film. One that never ceases to charm me is the trifle, “Snow,” sung by our four stars in the dining car of the railroad train bound from Florida to Vermont. What a magical moment, among many in this thoroughly delightful, if flawed, jewel.

7 – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
Marketing man Neal (Martin) is in a last ditch dash to get home for Thanksgiving. He makes his flight, which is then delayed and diverted to Wichita. In flight, he reluctantly befriends Del (Candy), an enormous slob who proceeds to follow Neal – via an assortment of transport – like a bad smell.
Producer-writer-director John Hughes has brought together two of America’s biggest comedy talents for this likeable comic foray into life on the road. Martin and Candy are ill-starred business travellers (one a marketing consultant with the archetypal ’80s suit and hair, one a polyester-clad clod of a shower-ring salesman – Candy plays the latter, just in case anyone needed clarification) who have to navigate their way from New York to Chicago overland in time for Thanksgiving. As time and options slip through their hands, desperation sets in, as does a mutual dependence.
This bond is a genuinely touching one; Candy’s massive vulnerability swallows Martin’s incisive cynicism and it’s hard to deny the film its warm-hearted if twee ending.
A warm, mature offering from Hughes, with Martin’s restraint a perfect counterpoint to Candy’s enormous (and enormously amusing) fooling around. You’ll find sympathy here, but just as many calamitous antics as you’d expect in any Hughes vehicle.

8 – Die Hard (1988)
Its many imitators (and sequels) have never come close to matching the taut thrills of the definitive holiday action classic.
Die Hard is a 1988 American action-thriller film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Alexander Godunov. Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife.
Finding a star proved difficult: the role of McClane was offered to a host of the decade’s top stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, all of whom turned it down. Willis, who was known mainly for his TV work, was eventually chosen and paid $5 million for the role, an unheard-of figure at the time that attracted considerable controversy towards the film prior to its release. Filming began in November 1987 on a $25 million–$35 million budget. McTiernan and De Souza made alterations to the script throughout filming, including adding and changing scenes, and altering the ending. Die Hard was filmed almost entirely on location in and around Fox Plaza in Los Angeles.
Die Hard was a box office success, grossing between $139.8 million–$141.5 million, and defying pre-release expectations that Willis’ lack of star appeal would hurt the film’s success. It was the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1988 and the highest-grossing action film. Initial reviews were mixed: criticism was levelled at the violence, plot, and Willis’ performance, while McTiernan’s direction and Rickman’s charismatic portrayal of the villain Hans Gruber were praised. Die Hard received four Academy Award nominations. The film elevated Willis to leading-man status and took Rickman from relative obscurity to celebrity.
In the wake of its release, Die Hard has been critically re-evaluated and is now considered to be one of the greatest action films ever made. It also has retroactively been called one of the best Christmas films, since the film’s events take place on a Christmas Eve.

9 – Home Alone (1990)
An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.
Kevin and his family are all set to go to Paris to spend Christmas vacation with various relatives, a trip that has no appeal for Kevin at all. He in fact wishes that all of his family would simply disappear, a wish which comes true in a manner of speaking when they leave for France without him. Initially delighted by the prospect of spending the festive period doing as he wishes Kevin soon runs into problems when two burglars decide to set their sights on his home.
Hughes’ most successful screenplay to date and the film, which made Macaulay Culkin a household name, is a festive tale from a disgruntled child’s perspective. Hughes manages to capture Kevin’s (Culkin) feelings of precociousness and childish dreaming with a deft ability. We follow Kevin as he goes from delight at having the house to himself (and believing that his dreams really have come true) to defending his territory against the burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). The majority of comedy comes from the booby traps the inventive Kevin creates which ruin each burglary attempt with fine slapstick humour.
Culkin walks a fine line between annoyance and endearment throughout the film. While never ‘cute’ you cannot help but side with him, although you also pity Pesci and Stern who never stand a chance. This is a film which manages to capture some of the best qualities of Christmas in a surprisingly enjoyable format and will provide the whole family with large quantities of festive spirit.

10 – Elf (2003)
A movie full of Yuletide cheer, Elf is a spirited, good-natured family comedy, and it benefits greatly from Will Ferrell’s funny and charming performance as one of Santa’s biggest helpers.
Elf is a Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum, and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner.
Ferrell gives an inspired lunacy turn as a man who was raised by elves at The North Pole and discovers to his dismay he’s actually human sparking his quest to be re-united with his long-lost father (Caan in an inspired bit of casting), a ‘naughty-list’ occupant, who works as a children’s book publisher in New York City, just in time for Christmas. Hysterically funny thanks to the goofy yet sweet and wonderful turn by Ferrell (no one else could pull off the razor’s edge of looking like an idiot yet retaining the innocent glee of a child and bears a striking resemblance to Tom Hanks’ turn in ‘BIG’) with a great cast especially the beguilingly pretty Daschanel as his fellow Santa’s Little Helper at Gimbels’ who he falls in love with.
Directed with style and witty warmth by Favreau (who has a cameo) and written by newcomer David Berenbaum with a smart, fun script that caters to all ages with a nostalgic nod to classic animated holiday specials for good measure.
Trivia: On the final day of shooting in New York City, it was just director Jon Favreau, Will Ferrell, and a camera man driving around the city looking for locations to shoot. They would jump out and ask pedestrians if they would be willing to be extras for some quick cash, while Ferrell paraded around acting like Buddy. Much of the montage when Buddy first arrives in New York City was filmed then, such as when he is getting his shoes shined, and jumping between traffic.
George Georgiou

Source: rottentomatoes.com and en.wikipedia.org