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Do You See What I See? Holiday Movies and TV You May Have Missed |
woofmutt
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Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
|  Posted: 2006-12-10 11:38 am Permalink
Nothing sums up the Holiday Season better than snuggling down before a huge roaring TV set to watch Holiday movies or TV specials.
Of course we're all familiar with A Charlie Brown Christmas or Santa Claus Is Coming To Town or Don't Eat The Nativity! A Very Vegan Xmas.
But there are tons of specials, TV episodes, or films out there that are worth watching (either for their quality or kitsch factor).
If you have any suggestions for Holiday films folks may not have heard of please add them to the list. This would also include films that aren't about the Holidays as such, but take place during the Holidays.
This thread is for Holiday shows that don't get aired regularly or that people may be unaware of. It's not a list for favorites such as A Christmas Story which is brilliant, but is fairly well known by now and gets aired for 24 hours straight on one of the channels each year.
Ideally, list as much info as you know about the film and why someone ought to see it.
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woofmutt
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Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2006-12-10 11:47 am Permalink
Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special "It's like all other X-Mas shows rolled into one. And the list of guest stars is long...KD Lang, Little Richard, Cher, Oprah...And many many more!" -woofmutt-
Raymond Briggs' The Snowman "This film is just plain magical. The animation is done in the style of Briggs' colored pencil illustrations in his original book and the entire movie is without words. It's carried along by a score which is good enough to listen to without the movie. The aerial scenes of the English countryside are incredible." -woofmutt-
Comfort And Joy "Low key comedy starring Bill Paterson as a popular radio DJ in Glasgow who gets caught in the middle of a turf war between ice cream vendors. The story is set at Christmas time and director Bill Forsyth's bleak cityscapes and gray winter weather offers a completely unromantic look at Glasgow. Unfortunately this movie is unavailable on "American" DVD and is hard to find on VHS. A good rental store might have it or buy it used on Amazon." -woofmutt-
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians "This is a very odd, low budget, Christmas film from 1964 about Santa Clause being kidnapped by Martians."
-Stuff-o-rama-
Mystery Science Theater 3000's skewering of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Santa Claus a 1959 Mexican film by director Rene Cardona. "...In order to save Christmas, with the aid of Merlin the Wizard, Santa Claus must defeat...the devil Pitch...This is truly THE most ODD Christmas feature I've ever seen." -DJ Terence Gun-
Robbie the Reindeer "If you're a fan of Aardman (Wallace & Gromit...) treat yourself to Robbie the Reindeer. Be sure to listen to the British soundtrack for best results!" -UtopianDreem-
Flinstones Christmas "I enjoyed it...It's not one you see too often." -Bogielock-
Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny "A 1972 cheeseball feature about Santa Claus' efforts to get his sleigh unstuck from a Florida beach. Has to be seen to be believed." -procinema29-
Campy Christmas Curiosities a DVD compilation which features Chrismas in Monkeyland "...in which Santa Claus explains what monkeys do during Christmastime." -procinema29-
Opus N' Bill in a Wish For Wings That Work "...based on the old Bloom County comic strip. It was a nice little special and well animated. It's cute show if you get the chance to see it." -GROG-
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas made by Jim Henson in 1977.
A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart. "This (version of A Christmas Carol) is extremely faithful to Dickens' story and...the performances are top notch. Stewart presents a Scrooge that you actually understand. He's not just some scenery chewing bastard, you can see how he became the man he is." -woofmutt-
The Great Rupert "A down-and-out New York show business family trio...learn about a tiny, dingy groundfloor apartment and finagle their way in...Unbeknownst to the family...a show-business squirrel (yes, you heard correctly) named Rupert lives in the rafters of the apartment...This is a wonderful, hidden Holiday gem." -DJ Terence Gunn-
"The Great Rupert...Was great, great fun! I loved it!
Definitely a very sweet and amusing film that works pretty well today, some fifty-odd years since it was made." -procinema29-
Le martien de Noël/The Christmas Martian "One of my favorites as a kid... Made for public TV in Ontario. A little boy finds a Martian and teaches him Christmas stuff. Kinda cheesy, but endearing." -raito-
[ This Message was edited by: woofmutt 2012-12-16 03:08 ]
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stuff-o-rama
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Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 751
From: Central Coast of California
| Posted: 2006-12-11 2:48 pm Permalink
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
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UtopianDreem
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: 292
From: LA County, CA
| Posted: 2006-12-11 3:13 pm Permalink
If you're a fan of Ardman (Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, etc.) treat yourself to Robbie the Reindeer. Be sure to listen to the British soundtrack for best results!
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Chongolio
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Joined: Oct 02, 2002
Posts: 2765
From: The Coast of Kauai
| Posted: 2006-12-12 08:22 am Permalink
You don't have to buy it! Just click here. Apparently it is now public domain. Here is another link with some fun facts and synopsis on what some call the worst movie ever made. To them I say go drink your Egg Nog. I dug every frame of that cheesy movie.
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King Bushwich the 33rd
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Joined: Jan 10, 2005
Posts: 955
From: Ling Cod Beach, CA 90803
| Posted: 2006-12-12 09:04 am Permalink
Don't forget the MST3K treatment of that Pia Zadora Christmas classic
http://www.mst3kinfo.com/episodes/epthree.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002M5TOI/ref=pd_cp_d_title/104-1791044-5583161
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stuff-o-rama
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Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 751
From: Central Coast of California
| Posted: 2006-12-21 6:39 pm Permalink
OK, my friend just hep'd me to this site which is the motherload of Christmas movies, commercials, TV episodes, music videos, all full length...
even the nerdtastic Star Wars Holiday Special (#100) and the Ali G Christmas Message (#75)
Warning: Clicking here may cause hours of time to magically disappear...
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ikitnrev
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jul 27, 2002
Posts: 1298
From: D.C. / Virginia
| Posted: 2006-12-21 7:32 pm Permalink
The following website has a youtube link to a favorite memory of mine, from the mid-80's MTV programming. Bryan Adams singing a song called 'Reggae Christmas', accompanied by a partying conga line that includes Pee Wee Herman wearing a wig of dreadlocks.
http://www.musicsnobbery.com/2006/12/youtube_goodnes.html
I'm also a fan of that Bing Crosby/David Bowie version of 'Little Drummer Boy' I was watching that TV special when it was first shown in the late 70's, and I was knocked out by that song back then. In the years afterwards I often mentioned that song version as one of my favorites - even though it was only a memory - it was something like 10 years before that clip was ever shown on TV again.
Vern
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woofmutt
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Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2007-12-12 07:59 am Permalink
I don't have anything new to add to this list (well, I did see Dolly Parton in A Smoky Mountain Christmas last year and it's unintentionally funny) but am bumpin' this up as it's the season and all that rigamarole.
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Bogielocks
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Joined: Feb 11, 2007
Posts: 352
From: New Bedford, MA
| Posted: 2007-12-12 08:56 am Permalink
Here's a link to Amazon where you can download a free copy of The Flintstones Christmas. I enjoyed it the other night. It's not one you see too often.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010VZUNK/ref=atv_pp2/103-3720592-4830206?pf_rd_p=316662201&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000128561&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=18T9471KX13WMZD2W9J9
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procinema29
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Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Posts: 465
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2007-12-13 9:49 pm Permalink
Here's 3 great things you might want to see:
SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY. A 1972 cheeseball feature about Santa Claus' efforts to get his sleigh unstuck from a Florida beach. Has to be seen to be believed.
SCROOGE'S ROCK 'N' ROLL CHRISTMAS CAROL. Wretched 1983 TV special featuring Jack Elam as Scrooge, with appearances by various groups including Three Dog Night and The Association.
CHRISTMAS IN MONKEYLAND. Scary short film originally distributed by Castle Films, in which Santa Claus explains what monkeys do during Christmastime. Can be found on a DVD compilation called "Campy Christmas Curiosities."
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woofmutt
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Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2008-11-15 10:43 am Permalink
Yeah, I know it's early. But I was talking with my friends who I watch movies with and we realized there never seems to be enough time in December to watch all the holiday films we want to. So we're probably starting early. We'll no doubt ease into it with Nightmare Before... and movies that are set at Christmas but not about Christmas (such as the above mentioned Comfort and Joy)
The basic guideline for this thread: Good or amusingly bad Holiday films and TV shows which probably are not widely known.
(I'll bug you again and bump this up again in December...Though I don't think that's nearly as annoying as every chain store you go into right now being fully Xmas packed.)
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Sweet Daddy Tiki
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Joined: Jul 20, 2003
Posts: 1027
From: Edmonton
| Posted: 2008-11-15 11:17 am Permalink
A shopping mall Santa is accidentally shot to bits in David Cronenberg's Rabid. The audience I saw it with cheered.
trailer (shopping mall sequence at 1:20)
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[ This Message was edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2008-11-15 11:34 ]
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woofmutt
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Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 2584
From: Seattilite Telstar
| Posted: 2008-11-15 12:32 pm Permalink
OK, before this thread becomes Bilge worthy let me add another clarification:
This thread is meant for posts of holiday related films/TV which are worth watching (either because they're actually great or because they may be so overwrought or badly animated you find them enjoyable) and which many people may not have heard of.
I understand that for various reasons many people hate the holidays and Christmas in particular. But what I'd like to see here is...
Holiday related films/TV which are worth watching and which many people may not have heard of.
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Sweet Daddy Tiki
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Joined: Jul 20, 2003
Posts: 1027
From: Edmonton
| Posted: 2008-11-15 3:07 pm Permalink
I was really surprised when that audience cheered as Santa was gunned down. I have no particular grudge against Christmas or Santa Claus, but I guess some people do. Who knows why? Maybe they didn't get the Easy Bake oven they asked for. Sorry if I misunderstood or perverted the intent of this thread.
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