Though there isn’t any scarcity of Christmas motion pictures on the market, only a few of them find yourself lasting a very long time within the public consciousness. The final film to actually show itself long-term was the 2003 comedy “Elf,” which is up there on most individuals’s rewatch record each time the vacations come round. For probably the most half, although, our favourite Christmas motion pictures are the older ones, like “Residence Alone” (1990), “A Christmas Story” (1983), “A Christmas Carol” (1951), or “Miracle on thirty fourth Avenue” (1947).
Earlier than all of these was “It is a Fantastic Life,” which got here out in 1946 and is now thought-about the best possible movie the Christmas style has to supply. With a rating of 8.6 out of 10 on IMDb, the film is ranked twenty first amongst the location’s high motion pictures ever. In 2024, at the least, no person’s received a nasty factor to say concerning the movie. It is a heartwarming story a few man who learns to worth the fantastic life he has, and it has been parodied and referenced in numerous sitcoms ever since; how may anybody probably not prefer it? On the time of its launch, although, the response was very totally different.
Some critics didn’t like It is a Fantastic Life
When “It is a Fantastic Life” first got here out, it truly misplaced cash on the field workplace, and obtained combined opinions from critics. “The weak point of this image, from this reviewer’s viewpoint, is the sentimentality of it — its illusory idea of life,” wrote New York Occasions critic Bosley Crowther. “[Director Frank] Capra’s good persons are charming, his small city is a fairly beguiling place and his sample for fixing issues is most optimistic and facile.”
In the meantime, columnist Jimmie Fidler for the Sioux Metropolis Journal complained concerning the film’s class commentary:
“Lionel Barrymore’s position — that of a small city banker — is made nearly inhuman. There’s been no nastier Scrooge portrayed on the display screen inside my reminiscence. Generally I ponder what’s again of the urge to painting all wealthy males — on the display screen and in newspaper comedian strips — as both irresponsible playboys or miserly skinflints. Usually there most likely isn’t any deliberate intent to ‘propagandize,’ however the cumulative impact is unhealthful. I would prefer to see it offset by an occasional portrait of one other kind of rich man that’s, Allah be praised, reasonably frequent in America — the sort who works arduous and unselfishly for the betterment of society.”
The FBI apparently shared Fiddler’s concern, as indicated by a later-released report on “Communist infiltration into the movement image trade.” The entry on “Fantastic Life” learn, “The movie represented a reasonably apparent try and discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ‘scrooge-type’ in order that he can be probably the most hated man within the image. This, in line with these sources, is a standard trick utilized by Communists … this image intentionally maligned the higher class, trying to indicate the individuals who had cash have been imply and despicable characters.”
It is price nothing that a lot of the previous opinions I discovered of this film have been nonetheless optimistic; these destructive opinions function an vital reminder of how controversy tends to clean out with time. So many now-classics have been divisive after they first launched, which is vital to recollect when coping with the divisive motion pictures of at the moment.
It is a Fantastic Life is IMDb’s greatest Christmas film, however what’s #2?
Though “It is a Fantastic Life” wasn’t an enormous hit when it first got here out, it grew to become a cultural phenomenon nearly fully because of TV re-runs, which reminded viewers of the film each single Christmas season and can proceed to take action till the tip of time. The result’s the film is now one in every of solely two widely known Christmas movies to make the highest 250 record on IMDb. The opposite one is 2019’s “Klaus,” rated 8.2 and ranked 172nd general. It is an amazing film, though given how not too long ago “Klaus” got here out, the jury’s nonetheless out over whether or not it will be forgotten inside a pair years or if it will take the “Elf” route of staying a preferred rewatch favourite for many years to come back.
Then once more, you possibly can argue that there are a number of different Christmas movies within the high 250, offering you are utilizing a looser definition of the time period. Followers of “Die Exhausting” can (and infrequently will) argue that it is the second-highest Christmas film, with its 8.2 score inserting it at 117th on the general chart. There’s additionally the 1960 romantic comedy “The Residence,” which is not often thought to be a Christmas film however does technically happen across the Christmas holidays. Personally, I would argue that “The Shining” is an efficient Christmas film; there’s plenty of snow, there is a household spending time collectively … this film’s received all the things a vacation basic wants! In that case, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece is the true #2 Christmas film on IMDb, with its 8.4 score placing it in 67th place general.
However maybe probably the most Christmas-y non-Christmas movie is definitely “Spirited Away.” The 2001 Miyazaki movie might get slightly scary at components, however there is a sense of childlike marvel to the entire thing that actually matches the vacation temper. Most of all, there’s the soundtrack (particularly through the scene the place Haku remembers his previous life) that feels prefer it’d be proper at house in any Christmas music playlist. Rated 8.6 on IMDb and ranked thirty first general, “Spirited Away” blows all the opposite non-Christmas Christmas-y movies out of the water. “Klaus” may be IMDb’s official second-best Christmas film of all time, however I would argue “Spirited Away” deserves the true prize.