jumping the season into winter
2004-10-14, 7:40p.m.

Following up my autumn holiday entertainment list...

Then will come the winter holidays. Christmas. Chanukah. Solstice. Kwanzaa. New Year's.

BLEAK MOVIES THAT I THINK OF AS CHRISTMAS FILMS:

Less Than Zero

Eyes Wide Shut
(all those colored Christmas lights looked so good it made me re-think my adulthood preference for white lights)

MY CLASSICS:

Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version)
(my favorite when I was younger - still is)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
(You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch)

Meet Me In St. Louis
(Though it has great scenes for several holidays - I call it an Xmas film since it gave us "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" which was actually a rather bittersweet song referencing soldiers who were away from home during WWI -- these days we usually hear a different lyric than the one in the film - the lyrics in the original version are much more powerful - BUT actually the very first draft had lyrics so dark Judy Garland had to go to the writers and ask them to change them, afraid people would think she was "a monster" for singing to a little girl "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be our last; years from now we all may be living in the past." )

The Bells of St. Mary's
(I like it better than the film that hypes it.)

Nightmare Before Christmas
(I know, I had this on the Halloween list too. So sue me.)

A Christmas Story
(you'll shoot your eye out).

FAVORITE HOLIDAY TV SHOWS:

Year Without a Santa Claus
(I loved Heat Miser and Snow Miser and their mini-me sidekicks)

Christmas in South Park
(starring Mr. Hanky, The Christmas Poo)

Beavis And Butthead Do Christmas

The Little Drummer Boy

Charlie Brown
(I always had a little "Charlie Brown tree" in my bedroom to hang my colored blinking lights on and a few of my own ornaments)

Frosty The Snowman
(I used to cry and cry when he was melting)

Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Christmas Carol/Scrooge - I don't have a favorite version of this, but I do enjoy seeing the re-worked re-telling of this story, and there seem to be a few every year. Like that Vanessa Williams one on VH-1 last year.

Osbourne Family Christmas - I kinda liked that last year. I hope they do it again.

I tried to start the SONG LIST - but - that will have to wait for another entry... because surely Diaryland has a limit to how long one entry can be? And finally:

NEW YEAR'S FILMS:

Radio Days

New York, New York