Christmas Film Season
December 11th - 17th
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 just the first few - the season will run up to 24th December.
This year’s season: New York on film
Wednesday 11th December: Those weirdos next door
You Can't Take it With You (1938)
Son of the boss, Jimmy Stewart, falls for his secretary Jean Arthur, whose family are a bunch of merry oddballs who typify Frank Capra’s libertarian vision of America.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/you-cant-take-it-with-you
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Wes Anderson does New York, featuring Gene Hackman as the head of this fucked up family.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-royal-tenenbaums
Thursday 12th December: A Thousand Cop Stories
Naked City (1958)
Classic ‘40s police procedural inspired by Weegee’s photographs of the gritty New York streets.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/naked-city
French Connection (1971)
Gene Hackman again, this time as no nonsense vice cop Popeye Doyle on the trail of a French drug dealer
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-french-connection
Friday 13th December: Crime and punishment
Rope (1948)
Hitchcock classic inspired by the Leopold & Loeb case, filmed as if all in one take.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/rope-1948
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Pacino and Cazale together again, this time in a bank robbery that degenerates into a siege.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/dog-day-afternoon
Do The Right Thing (1989)
It’s a heat wave in Brooklyn and not everything is sunny.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/do-the-right-thing
Saturday 14th December: Song and dance
Pillow Talk (1959)
A Doris Day / Rock Hudson romance, featuring a few songs, including the title one, from Day
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/pillow-talk
On the Town (1949)
Three sailors on shore leave in New York for a day. All I can think of is the Fast Show sketch.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/on-the-town
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall as models trying to find men. How will such homely young ladies ever manage such an impossible task?
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/how-to-marry-a-millionaire
Sunday 15th December: High Society
Quiz Show (1994)
The film of the Twenty One quiz show scandal with Ralph Fiennes as Charles Van Doren, the man who helped rig the TV quiz show for ratings.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/quiz-show
Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Jennifer Jason Leigh in a biopic of Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin set
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/mrs-parker-and-the-vicious-circle
Metropolitan (1990)
Whit Stilman’s movie about a Substack of Gen X cultural criticism
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/metropolitan
Monday 16th December: The Furries take Manhattan
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Carlton Heston without his vest on, for a good deal of the movie. Technically set mostly in New York, obviously. Technically.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/planet-of-the-apes
Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
I know I’ve seen this, but I remember nothing about it. It’s the Muppets, though, what can go wrong.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-muppets-take-manhattan
Tuesday 17th December: Shut Your Mouth
Shaft (1971)
He’s the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about.
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/shaft
Léon: The Professional
Jean Reno’s hitman takes on a child, Natalie Portman, as a sidekick, while Gary Oldman chews the scenery. How troublingly French is this movie going to seem from a twenty first century point of view?
https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/leon-the-professional
For more on Christmas time entertainment:
The other Christmas stories
Well, it’s almost time for the annual folderol to begin once more: the time-honoured ritual of trying to find entertainment that is both appropriately Christmassy and actually enjoyable.
Leon: The Professional, such an underrated lovely film.