Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Christmas Movie


Boxer is now busying herself with hosting some kind of weird blogger New Years Eve Party. So it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE. A timely theme for sure and one that's been done before, but 'tis the season...


You can't think about traditional Christmas movies with naming those two Yuletide dynasties - It's a Wonderful Life and a Christmas Carol. So I chose a Christmas Carol. The version I like is more correctly called Scrooge. Made in 1951 and starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, this period piece of jolly old 19th century England absolutely screams Christmas at me every year.







Then on the other side of the Christmas genre we have the comedies. A Christmas Story use to be my favorite but the USA channel killed it for me by running it continuosly for days. Hard to believe that Peter Billingsly (Ralphie) is almost 40. And you all know one of my other favorites is Bad Santa, so I won't go into that. But because it's the holiday season, I'm going to drag out another Chevy Chase movie (I did Caddyshack a few weeks ago) that I think is hysterical. 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I saw this in the theater and never laughed so hard at a Christmas movie (not even Bad Santa). And anyone who's ever ventured into the world of exterior illumination will really appreciate this scene (a little long - sorry):





So go on over to the Madman's and see if there's a little something under his tree for you. So Merry Christmas to all.

8 comments:

Princess said...

That has to be the best scene of the movie.
Merry christmas to you and yours...

moi said...

Whoa . . . A Christmas Carol was going to be my pick, too. Until I was reminded of the best Christmas movie EVER. Well, if you have nerd tendencies, like I do. Bad Santa was my second. The Chevy Chase flick is just pure, dumb fun.

Jenny said...

Yah, you and I both appreciate BAD SANTA.

CHRISTMAS VACATION is a big favorite of mine too. I think the cat scene is the one that stands out for me. As Moi said, the entire movie is just pure, dumb fun.

(I'll have more information about the "weird" party early next week.)

Joanna Cake said...

Alistair Sim's Scrooge is the archetypal performance. A great favourite over here. Not seen either of the other two. It is extraordinary how some films seem to be traditional in the States but dont even merit a mention in the UK.

Anonymous said...

I feel like I HAVE SEEN "Bad Santa" because of people yakking about it at X-mas parties.

Merry MCW.

Karl said...

Good afternoon Buzz Kill,

This version of scrooge is one of the best. Has anybody bothered to count how many different versions there are?

That really was the funniest scene in Christmas Vacation.

A happy clip day to you!

Milk River Madman said...

Scrooge is a good tale in virtually every version. Too many good lines to name in Christmas Vacation and my favorite exchange is Clark with the neighbors unloading the tree. Also gift shopping "See Russ, no lines".

Happy MCW and Merry Christmas.

Buzz Kill said...

Princess
The cinematography is really good in this 60 year old movie and really makes that scene pop.

Moi
Amazing how you and I picked the same movies. You should be scared.

Boxer
I also like the tylenol and saucer sled scenes. I like weird parties too.

Joanna
Not surprising A Christmas Carol is big in the UK. Bad Santa nad Vacation are definitrly American, but I think they would translate well in your side of the world. Give them a try.

Troll
I think this is Billy Bob Thorton's best movie. If you like drunken santas you'll love this movie.

Karl
If you look on IMDB it lists a bunch. I just watched the one with Patrick Stewart the other day. And with regard to Vacation, I've been there many times with the lights not working. The aerial view of the lit house is a panic. I always thought they should have included a satellite view too.

Madman
And then there's also the pool scene. This and Bad Santa satisfies my Christmas comedy cravings.

Merry Christmas to all.