Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. We all know it. We all accept it. No one disagrees anymore.
But don’t despair, “well, actually” aficionados. You can still celebrate Christmas in your way because there are, in fact, lots of movies that take place at Christmas without emphasizing their Yultide setting, many of which have themes that seem to run contrary to the reason for the season. So next time you’re tempted to pull on your “Now I have a machine gun” sweater, leave it in the dresser and make one of these movies your topic of conversation.
The Thin Man (1934)
Lots of people spend the holidays drinking way too much, but rarely are they as charming as Nick and Nora Charles, the husband and wife sleuths played by William Powell and Myrna Loy. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, who drew inspiration for the central couple from his own relationship with playwright Lillian Hellman, The Thin Man‘s main draw is the non-stop banter and endless charm of its two leads. The only thing that threatens to distract from Nick and Nora’s repartee is their dog Asta. Between the three, it’s hard to even pay attention to the plot, let alone its holiday trappings.
The Lady in the Lake (1947)
Any adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel suffers when Humphrey Bogart‘s not in the lead (yes, even when they’re made by Robert Altman). However, director Robert Montgomery finds an interesting, if largely unsuccessful, fix by shooting The Lady in the Lake through Philip Marlowe’s perspective. Montgomery provides Marlowe’s voice-over, and it’s his face we see when the gumshoe looks in the mirror. And through that perspective, we can see the various Christmas parties and decorations Marlowe navigates as searches for the missing wife of a publishing magnate.
3 Godfathers (1948)
John Ford and John Wayne don’t exactly scream Christmas cheer, but that’s exactly what we get with 3 Godfathers, based on the short story by Peter B. Kyne. 3 Godfathers takes the Biblical story of the three wisemen and sets it in the Old West, with Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, and Harry Carey Jr. as a trio of rustlers who take care of an orphaned infant. Ford and Wayne always make movie magic together, and the playfulness of the story lightens their sometimes mythic approach.
Ikiru (1952)
Like 3 Godfathers, Ikiru doesn’t explicitly mention Christmas. Furthermore, it doesn’t even draw inspiration from a Christmas story. Instead, this gentle drama from the legendary Akira Kurosawa stars Takashi Shimura as a government beaucrat Kanji Watanabe, who learns that he’s dying of cancer. With his limited time left, Watanabe devotes himself to getting the city to construct a playground for children, hoping to leave some sort of legacy. Ikiru lacks jingle bells and tinsel, but when Watanabe sits on a swing and the snow begins to fall, you’ll see why the movie is sometimes called the Japanese It’s a Wonderful Life.
Stalag 17 (1953)
Many great filmmakers get mentioned on this list, but only one has the honor of having two movies make the cut. The war film Stalag 17 comes from writer and director Billy Wilder, and stars William Holden and Don Taylor as American airmen held in a German camp overseen by a crafty warden (Otto Preminger). Lest the idea of Christmas and a World War bring to mind the Christmas truce, be assured that Wilder has no such optimism here. Stalag 17 deals with the Americans turning on one another as they search for an informant in their midst, playing more like The Thing than any episode of Hogan’s Heroes.
We’re No Angels (1955)
Humphrey Bogart finally makes the list in We’re No Angels, not as a private detective, but as (essentially) one of the Three Stooges. Bogart stars alongside Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov in this farce about escaped prisoners in colonial French Guiana. Initially intending to lie low, the trio soon finds themselves helping the struggling townspeople, finding their better natures in the process. The idea of criminals, two of whom are murderers, brightening the lives of colonizers is pretty icky if you think about it, but director Michael Curtiz and the three stars things light, especially as Christmas decorations begin to appear around its island setting.
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
The majority of Douglas Sirk’s triumphant melodrama All That Heaven Allows does not, in fact, take place during Christmas. But some key scenes certainly do involve the holiday, and the glorious technocolor and Frank Skinner’s swooning score makes the whole thing feel of the season, as does its romantic plot. Jane Wyman plays Cary Scott, a New England blue-blood widow who thought love was behind her when she meets Ron Kirby, a charismatic but blue-collar and much younger groundskeeper played by Rock Hudson. The two defy social standards and embrace their love, which makes All That Heaven Allows sound like a Hallmark movie, but none of those match the lushness of this classic.
Desk Set (1957)
The truest successor to Powell and Loy’s Nick and Nora Charles came in the form of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, the power couple of ’50s screwball comedy. In the Desk Set, directed by Walter Lang and written by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, Tracy plays an inventor who creates a computer to do research more efficiently than any human. That claim is put to the test when he tries to install the machine in a library run by a researcher played by Hepburn. As the two try to prove each other wrong, they start to fall in love—which is exactly the type of plot that Phoebe and Henry Ephron’s daughter Nora would perfect later, in movies such as When Harry Met Sally… and You’ve Got Mail.
The Apartment (1960)
In his first movie on this list, Billy Wilder used the hope of Christmas to contrast the cynicism of the main plot. His second entry acheives a better balance, without becoming saccharine. The Apartment follows company man CC Baxter (Jack Lemmon), who hopes to climb the corporate ladder by allowing higher-ups to use his apartment as a lover’s nest for their mistresses. He starts to reconsider his plan when he falls for elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), the side woman of his boss Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, somehow even slimier here than in Double Indemnity). Wilder’s script certainly veers toward the bitter, but Lemmon and McClain have such chemistry that The Apartment ends up offering a sweetness that feels earned.
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Katharine Hepburn’s second appearance on this list is quite different from her first. Gone is the rapid-fire dialogue that she delivered as a modern woman, replaced by the chills of early 12th century England during Christmas season. The Lion in Winter stars Peter O’Toole as Henry II and Hepburn as his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, who reunite as the King tries to choose his successor among his three sons. The Yuletide does nothing to warm the politic machinations and hurt feelings that follow, but such sniping makes for entertaining viewing, as viewers of Game of Thrones or Succession can attest.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
For some, James Bond movies are an integral part of the Christmas viewing season. But 007 is too busy being a blunt instrument of England’s interests to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. Leave it to Bond’s (George Lazenby) archenemy Ernst Stavros Blofeld (Telly Savalas) then, who spends some of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service not only skiing outside a chalet in the Alps, but also trimming the tree. Throw in the film’s romantic plot, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is almost a holly jolly Bond movie. Well, until the end.
Female Trouble (1974)
For his own part, Baltimore’s favorite provocatuer John Waters would choose (the excellent!) Christmas Evil as his favorite holiday film. But Waters himself dabbled in the genre with Female Trouble, which stars Divine as a high schooler who drops out and goes on a crime spree. Waters doesn’t spend much time contemplating the true meaning of Christmas, but there’s no question that he achieves his intended effect when Divine’s bratty lead expresses her anger at her parents’ insufficient presents by pulling the tree down on them.
First Blood (1982)
In First Blood, all Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) wanted for Christmas was a town free of hippies. So when he sees some long hair drifting through his home of Hope, Washington, Teasle takes action, eventually arresting and brutalizing the vagabond. Unfortunately for him, that outsider was John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone), a special forces commando and former POW who snaps. If only Teasle and his men would have spent more time contemplating the trees and cards decorating their office then they wouldn’t have decided to draw first blood.
Trading Places (1983)
Early ’80s Eddie Murphy shone brighter than any star in the sky, so it makes sense that he would be in at least one film set around Christmas. In Trading Places, Murphy stars alongside his Saturday Night Live predecessor Dan Aykroyd to play two men from very different backgrounds who decide to walk in each other’s shoes. Such high-minded concepts can lead to moments of sanctimony and, like most ’80s comedies, the movie does fall prey to them in its final act. Until then, however, Trading Places is all Aykroyd bits and Eddie electricity with a holiday backdrop.
Brazil (1985)
Early in Brazil, someone makes a surprise entry into an English family’s garishly-decorated home, but it’s not Santa. It’s storm troopers for the fascist government, who arrest the patriarch because of a clerical error. Such juxtapositions drive Terry Gilliam‘s masterpiece, which uses its holiday setting as just one more example of the way the brutal government puts a friendly face on its atrocities. From the party that office drone-turned-revolutionary Sam Lowrey (Jonathan Pryce) must attend to anonymous gifts that a smiling torturer (Michael Palin) hands out, Brazil’s holiday cheer only makes things more horrible.
Better Off Dead/The Sure Thing (1985)
1985 was turning point year for John Cusack, who starred in not one, but two teen comedies set at Christmas break. First came The Sure Thing, the second entry in the late-great Rob Reiner’s miracle run. In The Sure Thing, Cusack plays a college student who journeys across the country, hoping to meet a woman who guarantees romantic bliss, not realizing that he’s falling for his traveling companion (Daphne Zuniga). Directed by Savage Steve Holland, Better Off Dead casts Cusack as a high schooler who spends his break dealing with being dumped for a more popular guy.
Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
One year earlier, Silent Night, Deadly Night scandalized Americans with its killer Santa Claus. But that killer had nothing on the commie terrorists who attack a Florida town in Cannon‘s Invasion U.S.A.. Sleaze auteur Joseph Zito fills the screen with all manner of carnage in suburbs and shopping malls, with explosions sending bulbs and garland into the air. Whacky as the action is, Invasion U.S.A. suffers from a lead performance by Chuck Norris, whose utter lack of charisma weighs the entire thing down. Still, it’s fun to watch ’80s bad guys blow up at Christmas, even if Norris seems half asleep as he mumbles his one-liners.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Honestly, this entire list could be made up of Shane Black movies. Whether it’s The Long Kiss Goodnight, Iron Man 3, or The Nice Guys, Black loves to let mayhem play out in the holiday season. But the best example remains his first script Lethal Weapon, the buddy cop classic he wrote for director Richard Donner. As too-old detective Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and his disturbed partner Riggs (Mel Gibson) investigate a mysterious suicide, the flares of the guns illuminate bulbs, garland, and tinsel.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Like Shane Black, all of Tim Burton‘s movies feel like Christmas films. But only a handful actually take place during the holiday. We’re leaving off Batman Returns, and going with Edward Scissorhands instead, perhaps the closest thing to a traditional Christmas movie on this list. It’s not just that the film opens and closes during the season. It’s the wonder and hope that Burton brings to the film, especially when Edward (Johnny Depp) makes it snow for Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder).
Goodfellas (1990)
Henry Hill wanted to be a gangster all his life, not just at Christmas time. But when he finally achieves his goal in the Martin Scorsese masterpiece Goodfellas, he wants to celebrate in style. And with the money he and his fellow gangsters stole from an airline job organized by higher-up Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), Henry (Ray Liotta) has the means. However, in a scene made all the more frightening for the “Frosty the Snowman” playing the background, Jimmy threatens his men to lay low, reminding them and the viewers that even gangsters have to be smart at Christmas.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Curtis Hanson’s hit adaptation of the James Ellroy novel L.A. Confidential begins with a holiday horror from real life. During the Bloody Christmas of 1951, LAPD officers, drunk at a holiday party brutalized seven men held in custody in revenge for an officer being injured in an unrelated incident. It’s just one of several events drawn from true life in the film, which contrasts mythology of American police against the reality of the institution, making for very pulpy holiday indeed.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Built entirely on a soundstage in London, the New York City that Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) traverses already feels uncanny. So much so, in fact, that the lights and decorations lining the streets blend in so perfectly that they almost seem unnecessary. But every cinephile knows that Stanley Kubrick puts intention into every shot, so the Christmas elements of Eyes Wide Shut remind us that no matter how far out Bill’s sexual odyssey takes him, he’ll inevitably return to his wife (Nicole Kidman).
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
As indicated by The Fablemans scene in which Steven Spielberg‘s stand-in Sammy looks in wonder at the lights adorning his non-Jewish neighbors’ houses, it’s surprising that Christmas doesn’t show up more often in the director’s work. However, Spielberg does find space for the holiday in Catch Me If You Can, his delightful romp that stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fabulist on the run from FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks). In fact, Carl always seems to encounter his quarry during he season, making Spielberg’s take on Christmas one of the saddest.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
If 3 Godfathers sounds interesting, but you don’t like Westerns, maybe check out anime legend Satoshi Kon’s take on the same source material. Tokyo Godfathers also features three unlikely characters of a little girl, this time a young runaway, a trans woman, and a middle-aged alcoholic. As the trio goes across Tokyo to find child’s missing parents, they encounter all manner of obstacles, including yakuza and a dying homeless man. Unpleasant as this update is, Kon retains the sense of hope in the original story, making Tokyo Godfathers even more profound than the Ford film that preceded it.
Children of Men (2006)
There are neither trimmed trees nor familiar carols in Children of Men, Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of the P. D. James novel. Heck, there’s not even snow. But Children of Men is unquestionably a Christmas movie because of its plot, involving a miraculous pregnancy with an unlikely mother. Cuarón wisely keeps the story focused on skeptic Theo (Clive Owen), who must escort refugee Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) and protect her from the various forces who want her child, the first human born in nearly two decades. Any doubt that Children of Men is a Christmas movie vanishes during its standout scene, a jaw-dropping oner in the middle of military battle that slowly succumbs to peace.
Inside (2007)
Many of the movies on this list are unpleasant despite their holiday setting, but Inside outdoes them all. Part of the new French extremity horror movement, Inside comes from duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo and stars Alysson Paradis as expectant mother Sarah Scarangella. Still reeling from the death of her husband months earlier, Sarah hopes for a quiet Christmas Eve at home when she’s beset by an intruder driven to kill her and take her baby. It’s not for the faint of heart, but anyone who wants a truly upsetting Christmas will get more than enough nastiness from Inside.
In Bruges (2008)
On the surface, Martin McDonagh’s film debut In Bruges belongs among the unpleasant Christmas movies. It follows hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) hiding out in the titular Belgian town after the former accidentally kills a child. Ray initially deals with the event by lashing out at everyone with vulgar aplomb, but eventually In Bruges reveals itself to be as compassionate and concerned with redemption as even the most traditional Christmas film.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Given that David Fincher, a chilly director even when staying in the States, keeps his take on the Stieg Larsson novel in the author’s native Sweden, it’s easy to overlook the holiday trappings amidst the endlessly grey and snowy landscapes. Yet, Christmas appears throughout The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, most prominently in a rare moment of tenderness between himbo reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).
Carol (2015)
Much of the devastating romance movie Carol does not, in fact, take place at Christmas. But so incredible are the movie’s earliest scenes that they most stand out in the viewers’ memories. It’s at a busy Manhattan department store where society woman Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) first meets Therese (Rooney Mara), working behind the counter. Their affair unfolds over the holidays, but director Todd Haynes, working from a script by Phyllis Nagy, retains the bitterness in Patricia Highsmith’s original novel, which means that the romance leaves those early days, and the Christmas season, behind.
Tangerine (2015)
Many Christmas movies involve people on a quest, and Sean Baker’s breakout Tangerine is no different. Shot entirely on iPhones, Tangerine stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez as sex worker Sin-Dee Rella, who completes a short jail sentence on Christmas Eve only to learn that her boyfriend (James Ransone) is cheating on her. Sin-Dee goes on a trip across Los Angeles to find him, encountering all types of oddities along the way. In lesser hands, Tangerine would invite the audience to gawk at the people it chronicles. But Baker knows how to put his characters’ humanity first, giving Tangerine more warmth than many holiday films.
The Green Knight (2021)
David Lowery’s update of the 14th century chivalic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight begins and ends at Christmas. The first instance involves a party held by King Arthur (Sean Harris), in which the young and reckless Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) accepts the challenge of the mystical Green Knight (Ralph Ineson). When Gawain beheads the knight, he’s told that in one year’s time, he will receive the same treatment from the visitor. So Gawain spends a year preparing for the end, readying himself for that next fateful Christmas.
Spencer (2021)
Set during the 1991 Christmas Eve celebration of the British Royal Family at Sandringham House in Norfolk, Spencer takes a sympathetic and surreal look at Diana, Princess of Wales. Kristen Stewart gives an achingly vulnerable performance as Diana, constantly beset by the expectations of her husband’s family and attendants, especially the exacting Equerry Major Alistair Gregory (Timothy Spall). Director Pablo Larraín, working from a screenplay by Steven Knight, makes the event feel like something out of a horror film, while still finding moments of lightness to match the season.
The post Secret Christmas Movies That Aren’t Die Hard appeared first on Den of Geek.
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