Movies for Advent and Christmas

  • Thread starter Thread starter Potter
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Potter

Guest
This time of year there are a great many ‘Christmas’ movies, some merely set during the season (Home Alone), and most with the same essential idea (“Being nice is good”). What films hold the deepest meaning for you and would be appropriate for this season of anticipating our Savior?
 
  1. Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” is high on my list. I like Alastar Sims, George C. Scott, and Jean Luke Piccard (oops, I mean Patrick Stewart) in that order. Stewart is an excellent actor as they all are, I’d say.)
  2. Then, of course, “It’s a Wonderful Life” has a very Christian meaning.
  3. Also, one should not ignore, I think, shows about Our Lady of Guadelupe like the animation “Juan Diego: Messenger of Guadalupe” Her feast day is December 12…
Those are my 3 ideas. But specfically for Advent? That is more difficult.

Fr. Barron has a new 2 hour DVD series. “Priest, Prophet, King.” Have not yet seen it.
 
I really like The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet.

I detest that the Cameron Diaz character sleeps with a drunk man who shows up at her door (Jude Law), but I like the overarching theme of love. Amanda learns she really can love, Iris learns she is loveable for who she is, and Arthur finds out how much he really is loved.

My favorite character is Arthur Abbott!! 😛
 
I have several movies I like to watch this time of year.

White Christmas
A Holiday Affair
Home Alone
The Christmas Story - the boy who wants the Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas
Meet Me in St. Louis
A Christmas Carol
Christmas in Connecticut
Come to the Stable with Loretta Young
 
This site: textweek.com/movies/advent.htm makes an interesting case for one of my favorite films, Big Night, as an Advent movie, although it is not set at Christmas. (It is a love letter to the art of cooking, however.):

Big Night (1996)
Two Italian brothers who own a good but struggling restaurant are supposedly helped by the owner of the hopping Italian restaurant in town. His help is that he is going to send Louis Prima and his entourage to this struggling restaurant. The formal publicity and “the buzz” created by Prima’s presence will be the spark needed to get the restaurant going. The film becomes about all the preparation, excitement and anticipation of this visit. They plan a huge party for him, but he never arrives. The successful restate fabricated the whole story. Yet in the midst of disappointment, they rejoice and understand that in the preparation, excitement and anticipation, they created wonderful night. I think of this story as I consider Luke 10 and the 70 who proclaimed the Gospel without immediate results. (Alfred Bakewell)
 
My go-tos are:
A Christmas Carol (any version)
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Nativity Story
The Grinch That Stole Christmas
Holiday Inn
 
Arizona_Mike said:
This site: textweek.com/movies/advent.htm makes an interesting case for one of my favorite films, Big Night, as an Advent movie, although it is not set at Christmas. (It is a love letter to the art of cooking, however.):

Big Night (1996)
Two Italian brothers who own a good but struggling restaurant are supposedly helped by the owner of the hopping Italian restaurant in town. His help is that he is going to send Louis Prima and his entourage to this struggling restaurant. The formal publicity and “the buzz” created by Prima’s presence will be the spark needed to get the restaurant going. The film becomes about all the preparation, excitement and anticipation of this visit. They plan a huge party for him, but he never arrives. The successful restate fabricated the whole story. Yet in the midst of disappointment, they rejoice and understand that in the preparation, excitement and anticipation, they created wonderful night. I think of this story as I consider Luke 10 and the 70 who proclaimed the Gospel without immediate results. (Alfred Bakewell)
Click to expand...
A bit of a stretch.
 
My favorite Christmas movie is “the Bishop’s Wife” with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.
 
“Into Great Silence” (2005) is a good film for the Advent season. I find it to be a superb antidote to all of the “Holiday Season” commercialism.
 
Tesseract said:
“Into Great Silence” (2005) is a good film for the Advent season. I find it to be a superb antidote to all of the “Holiday Season” commercialism.
Click to expand...
I don’t think I have ever heard of this movie before now.
Who was in it and what was it about?
 
7_Sorrows said:
I don’t think I have ever heard of this movie before now.
Who was in it and what was it about?
Click to expand...
It’s essentially this documentary about the daily lives of Carthusian monks in the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the order located in the French Alps, where visitors are normally not permitted.
 
I will be watching The Nativity Story for the first time tonight. Of course, I’ve already read the book, so I know how it ends… 😉

My favorite version of A Christmas Carol – and I am bonkers for that story, I’m even going to watch a theatrical version of it this weekend – is Patrick Stewart’s. This is not just because of he’s Captain Picard, but the music is so utterly charming. There’s a brief pennywhistle melody that sounds whenever his sister Fran is mentioned, and though it’s short (10~ seconds) it plays over and over again in my mind. There’s such a sweet wistfulness about t.
 
I thought Black Nativity had a lovely message of forgiveness and second chances, and I enjoyed the music as well. It was kind of schmaltzy, but there seem to be so few Christmas movies that mention the Christ part of Christmas that I’ll forgive some schmaltziness.
 
Obviously this is not one for kids, but I love The Passion of Christ
 
Potter said:
This time of year there are a great many ‘Christmas’ movies, some merely set during the season (Home Alone), and most with the same essential idea (“Being nice is good”). What films hold the deepest meaning for you and would be appropriate for this season of anticipating our Savior?
Click to expand...
The Christmas List - She gets everything on her list just not in the way she thinks she will

Noelle - Wonderful move about life and our choices.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I have several movies I like to watch this time of year.

White Christmas
A Holiday Affair
Home Alone
The Christmas Story - the boy who wants the Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas
Meet Me in St. Louis
A Christmas Carol
Christmas in Connecticut
Come to the Stable with Loretta Young
Click to expand...
I also like Meet Me in St. Louis and also The Good Old Summertime which seems to take place mostly in the good old wintertime.

I also like the Emmet Otter film from Jim Henson. Forgot the title.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top