Christmas films are a part of our cinematic language, and nothing feels better than hanging out with loved ones, drinking cocoa while watching It’s a Wonderful Life, or saying your favorite lines from A Christmas Story (“You’ll shoot your Eye out!”). As great as these films are chances are you won’t pop in a copy of Scrooge on a hot Saturday afternoon in August.
There are some films where Christmas is a part of the story, but not exactly the basis of the film’s theme. Sure, you could day Lethal Weapon is a “Christmas movie” but it wouldn’t feel out of place to revisit the movie after the season quiets down. When holiday themes are present in the film, it can add a substantial new level to the story, or punctuate a character’s arch and development.
Following are 20 movies that aren’t necessarily Christmas movies, but have a strong holiday theme present in them.
1. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Does a POW camp in Java during World War II sound like a festive setting for a movie? Well, it isn’t, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a hard film to watch at times given the brutal nature of the prisoner’s treatment and ritual seppuku.
Maverick director Nagisa Oshima’s first English language film explores humanity, sexuality, and redemption as cultures clash between English soldiers and their Japanese captors. David Bowie is stellar, and (Japanese rock star and the film’s composer) Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tom Conti, and Alistair Browning deliver great performances throughout.
The real exciting role here is Beat Takeshi Kitano (who’d go on to become renowned director, actor, entertainer comedian) is also great to see. Especially when he delivers the film’s titular line in his shaky English,”Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”. Not a traditional Christmas movie, but a challenging take on redemption and equality that is a rewarding experience.
2. Lethal Weapon (1987)
After 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop, the buddy cop genre was in full swing: Lethal Weapon couldn’t have arrived at a better time. But what isolates the film from its counterparts is the films darker undertones and the fact that it takes place on Christmas.
In the best sense of the Christmas movie sub-genre, Lethal Weapon is a morality play. The character’s of Riggs and Murtaugh aren’t solely contrasted by age, and lifestyle; one’s a steady family man, the other a devastated suicidal wreck. Through the story, Mel Gibson’s character Murtaugh has taken a new lease on life and in exchange for their shared experience, he gives Riggs an unnerving, yet charming Christmas present: the bullet he was going to use to kill himself. Not exactly an iTunes gift card but the gesture certainly has some emotional resonance.
3. All That Heaven Allows
No one does fifties-era melodrama better than Douglas Sirk. Taking that into consideration it’s no wonder that one of his best known films takes place around the holidays. However, it’s not exactly the most upbeat Christmas-related titles.
Love, class distinctions, customs and the destructive nature of small town gossip are the primary conflicts of this holiday tearjerker, as gardener Rock Hudson and respectable widow Jane Wyman fall in love. They become the talk of the town, and their relationship falls victim to the cruel gossip and scrutiny from their friends and family. But underneath all of this Douglas Sirk slips into an alarmingly sad metaphor at the film’s finale. After their love is dashed, Jane Wyman is presented with her token Christmas gift, a television, that way she’ll “never be lonely again”. Not only a chilling reminder of her impending loneliness, but a comment on the immediate threat television was to cinema at the time.
4. Metropolitan (1990)
This is one of those cases where Christmas doesn’t play a huge factor in the film, but still casts a shadow over the movie. Whit Stillman is one of the great “pre-Tarantino” American independent directors of the 1990’s. Metropolitan is an incredibly witty and incisive look at the stuffy débutante society of New York’s younger upper class.
Sure, the film is a little smug, but it kind of needs to be. If you’re exploring the class structure of an allegedly classless society, what better time to place it than the hollow glamor of Christmas soiree’s and débutante balls of New York in the second Reagan era? The holiday doesn’t impose itself on the story but serves a considerable amount of atmosphere to the film. This makes it a perfect candidate for an unlikely Christmas movie: the holiday is so present it almost feels like a character in itself.
5. Black Christmas (1974)
Not in the best of taste, nor is it a film to fill you with “Christmas cheer”, but it’s pretty damn creepy, and in much better taste than Silent Night, Deadly Night. Bob Clarke’s Black Christmas is a decent thriller that plays out surprisingly well considering its premise, which is pretty straightforward.
A sorority is being terrorized by a nameless, faceless heavy-breathing killer. That’s about all there is, but transplanting the otherwise recyclable material at Christmas time, and some other creative flourishes make Black Christmas an above average, even good, horror film.
Moments of sadism, playing out around Christmas cheer makes for a contrasting, and unique imagery, if it is at times gruesome. Despite the red, green, and white lights, this is a horror film first, and scares and murder are going to come before Christmas vibe. But it works on both fronts if you want a some grim festive horror “fun”.
6. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Stanley Kubrick’s swan song is an overlooked title in his master class of films. It might not have the energy as his earlier work, but there is a lot to enjoy in the master’s twilight vision of the fragility of marriage.
Eyes Wide Shut is an odd film, with a lot of undertones and overtones, exploring the strange orgiastic underground of New York’s débutante sex culture. And did I forget to mention it all takes place on the holiday? Oh joy! Christmas is almost always the catalyst for warmth and togetherness among a familial unit, but Kubrick, ever the contrarian uses the holiday as a backdrop to emphasize the delicate nature of marriage and just how fragile it can be.
There’s a lot to see if you look at the filmmaker shows you, as long your not looking for the ghost of Christmas past or Christmas Cheer.
7. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The film that put Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder on the map, Edward Scissorhands is a classic for many. Although the holiday moments are somewhat restricted to the beginning and end of the film, Edward Scissorhands evokes enough of a sense of wonder and enchantment that is similar to, or exceeds that of any Christmas tale. Tim Burton creates a pastel-hued fairy tale out of the mundane rituals of suburban life.
The odd familiarity of middle class suburban life is depicted with such stunning clarity that the presence of the darkly constructed man-made Edward (Johnny Depp is perfectly cast) makes an enchanting journey into a splendid, hallucinatory Christmas atmosphere that is equally haunting and enchanting.
8. L.A. Confidential (1997)
What’s one of your favorite scenes from LA Confidential? Bud White (Russel Crowe) tearing down Santa and his reindeer to give comeuppance to a domestic abuser? How about Jack Vincenze’s Christmas Pot Bust? Or the jail-house mayhem that led to the bloody Christmas scandal at the LAPD headquarters?
All of these great scenes take place in the film’s first act, and they all take place on Christmas Eve. You might not find any yule-tide cheer for the rest of the movie, but the first act sets up what is one of the best revisionist noir films to come out of the past twenty years. Excellent performances and use of L.A. locations make this a great film with a wonderful holiday set-up.
9. Gremlins (1984)
Another unlikely film with some holiday cheer is Joe Dante’s Gremlins. Endeared by many, favored by more, Gremlins has the advantage of being a full-blooded creature feature, comedy and Christmas movie. I’m sure when many people revisit this movie they say they forget just how rich it is with holiday texture. The creatures steal the show, but Joe Dante’s textured little town of Kingston Falls replete with fluffy studio snow, bright lights and colorful cast of townsfolk is memorable as well. The human component (alcoholism and depression) that is usually left out of traditional Christmas movies is present throughout, making Gremlins a cut above your average creature feature.
But Joe Dante knows how to structure a movie, and Gremlins is all things fun, balancing out horror, comedy, drama, with a movie/showbiz reference at least every fives minutes. If you want some holiday cheer, man-eating creatures, Dick Miller and a few laughs Gremlins is the way to go.
10. Die Hard (1988)
The Silver Gordon production team that gave us all the great ‘hard R” action films of the eighties and nineties delivered the goods once again with this classic action film. Die Hard raised the stakes for savvy adult entertainment, launched Bruce Willis into super stardom but also has the highest body count of any film that takes place on Christmas, unless you’re counting the sequel.
Sure, Die Hard could be set on yom kippur, President’s Day, or any day of the year, but planting these films during the holidays somehow raises the stakes and makes the action more stirring and memorable. It also reinforces the “everyman-ness” embodied by the John McClain character, sure the holidays can be stressful, imagine if you had to juggle that with your rocky marriage and a gang of terrorists?
While it might be in your best interest to ignore the franchise after the first three instalments, the first two (though the second not directed by John McTiernan) are superlative action films with a lil’ Christmas flavor to boot.
11. Bad Santa (2003)
My initial reaction when I saw the poster for Bad Santa was “you’ve gotta be kidding me.” After seeing Terry Zwigoff”s Bad Santa, my mind was changed. Billy Bob Thorton and Tony Cox have great chemistry as a crooked Santa Elf team who pull heists in the malls they work in. The utterly foul-mouthed dialogue, story, and performances from the supporting cast all work together for a truly offbeat, and frequently hilarious film.
Of course this film works as a Christmas movie, but it’s obviously funny any time of the year.
12. Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
A more melancholic title here is a potent tear jerker from 1937, Leo McCrary’s Make Way for Tomorrow is an achingly sad and bittersweet portrait of an aging couple, Lucy and Barkley Cooper. They are forced to move in with their children after the bank forecloses on their home. The proceedings take place during the holidays, the backdrop of Christmas just makes the couple’s following inability to relate to the outside world and their families that much more heartbreaking.
Ironically, the two leads, Beulah Bond and Victor Moore (both overlooked in their time) give some truly magnificent performances, and the film served as an inspiration for Yasujiro Ozu to make his classic film Tokyo Story. While it’s sad, it’s also beautiful and just as relevant today as it was in 1937.
13. The Apartment (1960)
Some directors have a few classics, others might only have one or two, Billy Wilder has about twenty to his name, and one of those stand-out titles is The Apartment. C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemon) is a hapless cog in a massive insurance office whose bachelor status enables him to lend his apartment to his executives in order to climb the corporate ladder.
Of course, his professional and personal life are complicated as his boss’ extramarital trysts land Baxter in an intricate emotional state when he finds a heartbroken Fran (Shirley MacLaine) unconscious after an intentional overdose attempt. Holidays aren’t the best time (as if anytime were) for heartbreak, but good old-fashioned humanity and charity are complimented by the film taking place around Christmas. Holiday sentiments are everywhere, leading us to a convincing and startlingly human and potent comedic drama.
14. A Midnight Clear (1992)
Inspired by the real life cease fire between English and German troops during WWII, A Midnight Clear is a lesser mentioned war film that should get more praise than it does. A small intelligence squad of American soldiers set themselves up at a small chateau in order to gather intel on the nearby German camp. Given both American and German reluctance to fight, the opposing forces engage in a snowball fight following the Christmas cease fire and after communicating with the German soldiers they learn they wish to stage a skirmish and surrender to avoid desertion trials.
This intelligent war film is unique and expertly acted and directed by Keith Gordon; the anti-war message is more resonant with the presence of the holiday, and punctuated by the fact that it’s not center of the film.
15. The Ref (1994)
What looks like a relic from the 1990’s actually has some chops to it. Dennis Leary plays a career criminal whose heist lands him with the most dysfunctional married couple as hostage (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) and their even more dysfunctional family.
They prove to be so annoying, you’re wondering who’s being held hostage. And on Christmas Eve, maybe someone will have a turn of mind and lead to redemption? Well no, but this generation X, (anti-Christmas) “Christmas” movie is witty and energetic, with a great supporting cast.
16. Trading Places (1983)
Between John Landis, Dan Ackroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Eddie Murphy, Trading Places‘ collaboration was like a perfect storm, as all of their rises to stardom were meteoric.
This more or less a modernized variation of the My Fair Lady/Pygmalion premise is perfectly cast and directed. A sigh society investor (Ackroyd) “trades places” with a street hustler (Murphy) in his second starring role. The story is very familiar, but the proceedings are hilarious and unfurl in the holiday season. While the holidays play a part in trading places, the leading cast steal the show, and rightfully so, they’re magnificent.
This is another unlikely Christmas movie that never seems to dull over the years.
17. Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton apparently loves the holiday, or he just has a knack for using them as a dramatic springboard for his films. While Christopher Nolan might be the king of the caped crusader nowadays, we had some fun with the Burton/Keaton team in these two films. While Batman Returns didn’t have to take place during Christmas, it does lend atmosphere to the film and has a place among the holiday film regimen.
18. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Catch Me If You Can is possibly one of Spielberg’s funnest films, which is saying something given the director’s staggering output. Frank Abagnale’s exploits are fascinating (all that much more once we learn they based on real events) and Leonardo DiCaprio embodies his youthful spirit and cunning perfectly. His antics posing as a doctor, pilot, and a lawyer enable his swanky lifestyle, but the gravitas comes from his destabilized home life with an abestee mother and sweet, but ne’er-do-well father played by Christopher Walken, who is great as always.
While he wears his various disguises well, the one part of his identity he cannot hide is his scarred childhood that shows itself that much more during the holidays that become a recurring theme in the film.
19. The French Connection (1971)
While this might seem like a stretch, this classic film from William Friedkin does utilize the Christmas spirit, even if it takes the shape of Gene Hackman chasing drug dealers down the streets of New York. The French Connection also serves as a time capsule of New York City in the seventies, the grit and grime that we don’t see much of these days, captured as it was when the film was made.
Easy to forget, but wonderful to recall, the underscored holiday tone in The French Connection is a classic in so many rights, and in some ways you could call it a Christmas movie.
20. Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam’s famous 1985 film Brazil is a lot of things: a fantasy, comedy, dystopia, romance sci-fi thriller, but it also happen to fall on the holiday, minus any Christmas cheer. The film is as frequently funny as it is dark, and the underlying festive tones make it that much more unnerving.
Gilliam’s Orwellian world also has a nod to the commercialism that comes with the holiday season. Families watching A Christmas Carol are only to be blasted by secret police who storm their house, explosions detonating around holiday advertisements and a very creepy looking Santa Claus are a few notable visuals to take from Gilliam’s classic movie. You wouldn’t initially peg it as a Christmas film, but the Christmas is strong with this one.
Conclusion
While many films feature he holidays, they don’t necessarily need to be “Christmas” movies. If you took Christmas out of these films would they still work? With the exception of Bad Santa and Black Christmas, yes, many of them would. Would they work as well as they do? Definitely not.
And the omission of Silent Night, Deadly Night was intentional so don’t bother pointing that out, Black Christmas is enough in the “holiday horror” sub genre. Not to mention the Silent Night, Deadly Night series is largely forgettable (even if Monte Hellman directed the third entry) and I have a hard time finding anything good to say about it.
So if you want some Christmas “cheer” but you’ve seen A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol one-hundred times too many, there are some alternatives out there.
I know I’m missing some movies that in some way or another have something to do with Christmas, what have you got? Share them in the comments.
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