Best Christmas Movies
Although they're not ALL family fare, these films all have stories that at least partially take place during the Christmas holidays.
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31 titles
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
- CreatorAlan BallStarsPeter KrauseMichael C. HallFrances ConroyA chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.OK, this one's not a movie, but the pilot episode of this TV series launches itself with a family tragedy that takes place as they all gather for Christmas. I always felt that one episode could have stood alone as a short film.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
- DirectorChristian CarionStarsDiane KrugerBenno FürmannGuillaume CanetIn December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other's way of life.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsWill FerrellJames CaanBob NewhartRaised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
- DirectorChuck JonesBen WashamStarsBoris KarloffJune ForayDal McKennonA grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.Once again, it's a TV Special, not really a movie, but it's an absolute classic.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloJuliette LewisThe Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsDenis LearyJudy DavisKevin SpaceyA cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlastair SimJack WarnerKathleen HarrisonEbenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsPatrick StewartRichard E. GrantJoel GreyAn old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.This film is really tied with the 1984 TV movie of the same story, that stars George C Scott. Both Patrick Stewart and George C Scott give wonderful and memorable performances as Ebenezer Scrooge.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
- DirectorSharon MaguireStarsRenée ZellwegerColin FirthHugh GrantBridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
- DirectorJon TurteltaubStarsSandra BullockBill PullmanPeter GallagherA hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.
- DirectorNancy MeyersStarsKate WinsletCameron DiazJude LawTwo women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
- DirectorDonald PetrieStarsJack LemmonWalter MatthauAnn-MargretA lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsBilly Bob ThorntonBernie MacLauren GrahamA miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
- DirectorBill MelendezStarsAnn AltieriChris DoranSally DryerDepressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.Here's another TV special, rather than a full length film, but like The Grinch, this one is a must-see classic at Christmastime.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsBill MurrayKaren AllenJohn ForsytheA selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorJohn PasquinStarsTim AllenJudge ReinholdWendy CrewsonWhen a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
- DirectorChris WeitzPaul WeitzStarsHugh GrantNicholas HoultToni ColletteWill, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled 12-year-old boy. As they become friends, Will learns to be responsible while he helps Marcus with his studies.
- DirectorPeter ChelsomStarsJohn CusackKate BeckinsaleJeremy PivenA couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsNicolas CageTéa LeoniDon CheadleA fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsBruce WillisWilliam AthertonBonnie BedeliaJohn McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksChris CoppolaMichael JeterOn Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.
- DirectorMichael PressmanStarsJohn DenverJane KaczmarekEdward WinterA widowed New York City architect and his young daughter take a Christmas vacation and end up in a small mystical town in Colorado where everyone believes in Santa Claus.This isn't all that great a movie, I mostly like it because it has John Denver in it.
- DirectorAlan JacobsStarsJames CoburnVirginia MadsenBarbara BainWhen his daughter is shot just before Christmas, Martin Tillman journeys across the U.S. using the gun's serial number to track down the truth behind Penny's killing.The performances by James Coburn and Virginia Madsen in this film could definitely be better, but it's an intriguing story. The girl who plays the grand-daughter is pretty good.