THE compilation of Christmas Movies -- more than just a list
|
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Thanks Frank Thompson, for a starting place for a thorough listing of Christmas Movies. This book is a REFERENCE book in that you can breeze through it rather quickly. It's critiques and reviews are the reason you picked it up, but background stories and personal rememberances of the actors are the true backbone of the book. Lots of picutres, well designed, all the classics (except SCROOGED, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and CHARLIE BROWN'S CHRISTMAS) are listed and given coverage including Jesus films, the Monty Python LIFE OF BRIAN and the Christmas Horror classics. A VALUABLE ASSET FOR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATORS!
|
|
A disappointing rush job
|
|
In the acknowledgments, the author admits that this book was rushed to print, apparently to be timed with an AMC special, and the rushing shows, both in the production--several typos, a rather poor selection of photos (too many photos from the MGM "Christmas Carol" and none at all from the silent versions or the Seymour Hicks version, all of which get several pages of text attention)-- and in the odd imbalance of film coverage. Imagine a book on Christmas movies that gives 11 pages over to "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but only 4 1/2 pages to "It's a Wonderful Life"!! Because the author interviewed people like June Lockhart, Margaret O'Brien, and Chevy Chase, he apparently felt the need to include almost every word they said, even though most of the interviews have little light to shed on the movies under discussion. This is especially wasteful when 15 pages are devoted to an "oral history" of "A Christmas Story"; some judicious editing would have helped greatly. The space would have been much more wisely used for some deeper analysis of the Christmas movies. As it is, the author settles mostly for plot summary and the odd production detail and, despite mentioning the interesting fact that Fred Astaire bowed out of "White Christmas" because he hated the script, the author doesn't even get around to summarizing the plot at all, not even noting that it's basically a remake of "Holiday Inn." The chapters on silent films and the various "Christmas Carol" films are interesting, and he justly notes some overlooked gems like "Remember the Night" and "Come to the Stable." Still, my advice is to skip the book and wait for the TV special.
|
|
|
