The Twelve DVDs of Christmas

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We're not about to don a Santa suit anytime soon, but the Grand Old Men of DVD Town (John, Tim, and Jim) came up with a list of The Twelve DVDs of Christmas for your holiday countdown. And if chestnuts and open fires aren't exactly your thing, the younger reviewers were quick to weigh in with some alternatives, so we'll share those with you too.

First, the top holiday films of all time, according to John, Tim, and Jim, with the #1 film listed last. If you want to watch them for the Twelve Days of Christmas, you'll start with #12 on Dec. 14, then watch #11 on Dec. 15, and so on. Can we have a Little Drummer Boy roll, please?

#12, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Seeing what Chevy Chase goes through to survive his Christmas should put you in the holiday spirit, especially if your relatives aren't as wacked-out as Randy Quaid! (Color; rated PG-13)

#11, Elf Will Ferrell in an elf suit? Grinch-like James Caan deserves him. This one starts out goofy and goes for the warm fuzzies in act three, with some genuine laughs in-between. (Color; rated PG)

#10, The Preacher's Wife Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston shine in this warm-hearted film that puts the Christ in Christmas, with Washington playing an angel trying to set things right and Houston belting out the Gospel. (Color; rated PG)

#9, Scrooged Bill Murray is fun to watch as a modern-day TV-network Scrooge who gets the ghost treatment, and just in time to turn him into a human being again. (Color; rated PG-13)

#8, Holiday Inn Forget "White Christmas" the movie. This is the film that introduced the song, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire competing for the woman of Crosby's dreams. Filled with music and that big holiday finish. (B&W; NR)

#7, A Charlie Brown Christmas The hapless one contributes the scraggliest Christmas tree to the gang's celebration in this Emmy and Peabody Award winner. (Color, animated; NR)

#6, How the Grinch Stole Christmas Sorry Jim Carrey, but there's nothing like the original animated version, narrated with Dr. Seuss's own words. (Color, animated; NR)

#5, The Santa Clause What happens if you put Santa out of commission? Well, there's this clause, and Tim Allen has to don the big guy's suit to take his place. (Color; rated PG)

#4, A Christmas Carol (1951) George C. Scott did a fine job in a later version, but Alastair Sim set the bar pretty high in this faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens' tale. (B&W; NR)

#3, Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Another classic with a remake, but you can't beat Edmund Gwenn as the real Santa, and wide-eyed Natalie Wood as the child who learns to believe in him. (B&W; NR)

#2, A Christmas Story You'll shoot your eye out, kid! If there were a prize for the film that generates the most quotable lines, this funny film would get it, no contest. Fantastic adaptation of Jean Shepherd's Christmas memories set in 1940s Indiana. (Color; rated PG)

#1, It's a Wonderful Life When Frank Capra went to film school, he majored in feel-good, and his story about good-guy George Bailey and its message about the importance of friends and family rings true every year, when more and more angels seem to get their wings. (B&W; NR)

That's the nice list. Now for the naughty one--a list you probably won't find anywhere else. But some of the staff thought these were so full of holiday ho-ho-ho that it would be ho-hum to leave them out. Topping that list, and then tailing off in haphazard order:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas This was the tree-topper for Will and Eddie, a strange animated tale about Halloweentown hero Jack Skellington and his Christmas adventure.

Bad Santa Even John and Tim voted for this one. Why should the kids just get to act naughty during the holidays?

Home Alone Home for the holidays, with burglars instead of family. What else is there to do besides whack the bad guys?

Die Hard Speaking of whacking the bad guys, Justin says if "Elf" makes the list, so should this one.

Tokyo Godfathers I haven't seen this one, but Will says it belongs on an alternative list.

Eyes Wide Shut Despite the nudity and drug use, Chris insisted that this should be number one on any holiday list. Who am I to argue?

Black Adder's Christmas Carol Huh? Oh yeah, another one from the top of Chris's list.

The Dekalog, Part 3 Hey, it takes place around Christmas, one of the staff said. And that would be Chris.

Female Trouble Chris. Enough said.

If you haven't had your fill of politicians, there's Ahhnold in "Jingle All the Way." And for those of you wanting more than "The Preacher's Wife" for holiday inspiration, Chris recommends Pasolini's "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew" and "The Last Temptation of Christ," while John suggests "King of Kings" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told." There's no shortage of good holiday films, whether you're heading home to Christmas in Connecticut or staying Home Alone.

HAPPY HOLIDAY FILM WATCHING!

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