Christmas Film Season
December 18th - 24th
It’s hard finding something to watch in December, endlessly scrolling through Netflix, trying to find a Christmas movie you haven’t seen too recently. Back in the ‘80s, the BBC would usually run December film seasons, so we’ve decided to create our own. A season of films all based round a theme - this year, New York - getting increasingly Christmassy as we reach the 25th. Every day is lightly themed, but the idea is to treat it like a TV schedule. If we’re in and need something to watch, we’ll watch something that’s programmed for that day.
And we figured we might not be alone in this need, so we’re sharing it with you. This is the third part.
This year’s season: New York on film
Wednesday 18th December: Punk Rock
Times Square (1980)
Two troubled girls - one rich kid, one from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ - start a punk band. I saw this as a teenager and thought it was great. It may not have aged well.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/times-square
Sid and Nancy (1986)
Alex Cox’s biopic of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Apparently Courtney Love auditioned for the Nancy part.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/sid-and-nancy
Thursday 19th December: If you can make it there
Frances Ha (2013)
Greta Gerwig as a girl trying to make it as a dancer in New York.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/frances-ha
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
The biopic of Valerie Solanas (Lili Taylor), the founder of The Society for Cutting Up Men (SCUM) and the woman who tried to assassinate Andy Warhol.
Apparently not available to stream in the UK, so you might have to buy a DVD, its not like someone would embed a YouTube upload of the whole movie.
Friday 20th December: A New York Kind Of Love
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as young newly weds in New York. The joke about their apartment being five flights up apparently had to be changed for French audiences who didn’t think five flights was very high.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/barefoot-in-the-park
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Brace yourself for Mickey Rooney’s astonishingly racist portrayal of Mr Yunioshi
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/breakfast-at-tiffanys
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
A company offers to wipe your memory of past romances but as Jim Carrey tries to forget Kate Winslet he discovers he doesn’t want to.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind
Saturday 21st December: Sparkling Romance
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
Cary Grant as a Christmas angel, David Niven as a Bishop, Loretta Young as the woman caught between them.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-bishops-wife
Remember the Night (1940)
Fred MacMurray is a DA who has to take care of petty criminal Barbara Stanwyck over the Christmas break, as she graduates from shoplifting to stealing his heart.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/remember-the-night
Thin Man (1934)
Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy), drink Martinis, trade wise-cracks and solve crimes. AT CHRISTMAS.
Not forgetting Asta the dog, obviously.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-thin-man
Sunday 22nd December: Will they, won’t they?
Affair to Remember (1957)
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr fall in love on a cruise and agree to meet at Christmas at the Empire State Building, but Kerr never shows us. Finally Grant finds out why and everyone starts crying.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/an-affair-to-remember
The Apartment (1960)
Jack Lemmon lets executives use his apartment for their affairs, but when, one Christmas, he discovers Shirley Maclaine having tried to kill herself in it, things get complicated.
Shut up and deal.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-apartment
When Harry Met Sally (1989(
Can men and women just be friends?
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/when-harry-met-sally
Monday 23rd December: A Gotham Christmas Carol
Scrooged (1988)
Bill Murray and what one assumes were snow drifts of cocaine in a very manic updating of a Christmas Carol
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/scrooged
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
You know, for kids! Sure, sure.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-hudsucker-proxy
Trading Places (1983)
Two rich men decide to play god with the lives of Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy, but get taught a lesson themselves.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/trading-places
Tuesday 24th December: Christmas Eve!
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
A man calling himself Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) takes a job as the store Santa Claus at Macy’s. He’s very convincing, but he couldn’t possibly be the real thing. Could he? And could you prove that in a court of law?
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/miracle-on-34th-street
Carol (2015)
Rooney Mara as an aspiring photographer in ‘50s New York who, one Christmas, falls in love with older divorcee Cate Blanchett.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/carol
Elf (2003)
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/elf
You can read our frighteningly obsessive blow-by-blow analysis of Elf here:
