From cinepanettoni to the great holiday classics, from romantic comedies to animated films, all Christmas films have one thing in common: every year, as December 25 approaches, they are revived in freewheeling television programming. We have compiled a list of the 20 best Christmas movies , among which are many of our favorites. On the other hand, which ones are the ones you love the most?
1. Home Alone
Timeless cult among Christmas movies, Mom I Missed the Plane is a 1990 film directed by Chris Columbus. You all know the story: little Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is forgotten at home during the Christmas period and it will be up to him to protect the house from the attack of two unscrupulous thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). A funny comedy suitable for the whole family that creates a Christmas atmosphere from the first hint of the soundtrack.
2. Miracle on 34th Street
3. Christmas holidays
A Christmas holiday scene
The progenitor of all Italian-style cinepanettoni, Vacanze di Natale (1983) brings portraits of different types of Italians to the screen during the holidays, interpreted by an exceptional cast: Jerry Calà , Christian De Sica, Claudio Amendola, Guido Nicheli, Stefania Sandrelli and many others. The incredible success of this film by Carlo Vanzina gave life to the roundup of Christmas films with a comic vein that we all know well.
Christmas cinepanettoni: the most beautiful ever
4. An armchair for two
An armchair for two: Eddie Murphy with Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy
Although it is not a real holiday film, in Italy, the airing of Unachair for two means only one thing: Christmas. 1983 film directed by John Landis, A Chair for Two is the story of a bet between two bored billionaires that involves the swapping of positions between Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd), a wealthy stockbroker, and Billie Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy ), a homeless scammer; the two, once discovered the deception, will try in every way to make the bettors pay.
5. The Family Man
The Family Man: Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni
In this contemporary Christmas fairy tale, Nicolas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a wealthy New York businessman who is given the chance to live, for only a specific period of time, the life he would have had if, thirteen years earlier, he had decided to stay in London with his girlfriend Kate Reynolds (Téa Leoni). The Family Man (2000), directed by Brett Ratner, is a film that confronts us with the choice between a comfortable and trouble-free existence and a life, instead, characterized by the warmth of a family, albeit with all its responsibilities.
6. Escape from Christmas
Now that daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) is with the Peace Corps in Peru, Luther Krank (Tim Allen) and his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to let go, for once, the usual Christmas celebrations and indulge in a relaxing cruise to the tropics. But when her daughter changes her mind and returns home with her boyfriend to show him what Christmas holidays are like at their parents’ house, the Kranks will be forced to organize a perfect Christmas in a few hours. Escape from Christmas is a 2004 Christmas comedy directed by Joe Roth and based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham.
7. Snow in the heart
Snow in the Heart (2005) is a film that tells the unusual Christmas in the Stone house, a very close and eccentric family, capable of dealing with almost everything, except the arrival of Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), the new and restless girlfriend. of son Everett (Dermot Mulroney). Hoping for moral support, Meredith draws her sister Julie (Claire Danes) into her celebration, unaware that things will take a disastrous turn this way. The snow in the heart of Thomas Bezucha belongs to the classics of the family reunion genre, between hilarious scenes and some sentimentality.
8. Love Actually – Love really
A choral Christmas film directed by Richard Curtis and with an exceptional cast (Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Liam Neeson), Love Actually is a 2003 feature film in which ten different stories intersect in one great leitmotiv: the Christmas holidays. A truly must-have film for true lovers of Christmas movies.
9. White Christmas
A 1954 musical comedy directed by Michael Curtiz, White Christmas is the film that launched the VistaVision, 35mm wide-screen cinema format that replaced the CinemaScope. Two friends and former soldiers, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye), join sisters Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) to put on Christmas shows in Vermont, where their former commander owns a hotel. Once they arrive at the scene, however, Bob and Phil discover that General Waverly (Dean Jagger) is facing serious financial problems.
10. Relatives Snakes
A film directed by Mario Monicelli and released in theaters in 1992, Parenti Serpenti tells of the annual Christmas family reunion in Sulmona, Abruzzo, at the home of grandparents Saverio (Paolo Panelli) and Trieste (Pia Velsi). Everything seems to be going well until it is decided who to entrust the care of the two elderly parents.
11. Nightmare Before Christmas
From the genius of Tim Burton, a Christmas animated film loved by adults and children: Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). The film follows the vicissitudes of Jack Skellington, king of the Halloween country who, after having accidentally discovered a world entirely dedicated to Christmas, decides to bring this new party to his own home. The implications, however, will be completely unpredictable.
12. Christmas for rent
2004 film directed by Mike Mitchell, Christmas for Rent follows the vicissitudes of Drew Latham, (Ben Affleck) a wealthy businessman who, after being left by his girlfriend, decides to visit his childhood home. spend Christmas with the new tenants completely unknown to him. All this in exchange for $ 250,000.
13. The Grinch
Directed by Ron Howard and masterfully performed by Jim Carrey, The Grinch (2000) is a true Christmas classic, an indispensable presence in television programming during the holiday season. The Grinch, a grumpy green being who lives on Mount Briciolaio and hates Christmas, is invited by sweet little Cindy Lou (Taylor Momsen) to take part in the festivities in the Chinonso country. Things, however, will not go as hoped for by the child.
14. Life is wonderful
George Bailey (James Stewart), a man who has dedicated his entire life to helping others, is about to take his own life on the night of Christmas Eve. However, he appears to be his guardian angel, Clarence Oddbody (Henry Travers), a second-class angel who does not yet have wings. Clarence shows George what the world would have been like without him, providing the man with a valid reason to continue living. Based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story The Greatest Gift , It’s a Wonderful Life , shot by Frank Capra in 1946, remains one of the finest Christmas classics ever.
15. A prince for Christmas
A film directed by Alex Zamm, A Prince for Christmas is a sentimental comedy released on the Netflix streaming platform in 2017. Amber (Rose McIver), a journalist sent to the state of Aldovia for a report on the coronation of Crown Prince Richard (Ben Lamb), she becomes, by chance, the new guardian of the disabled princess Emily. During her stay at the palace, Amber will have the opportunity to discover the machinations of the royal family and the true personality of Prince Richard.
16. Dickens – The man who invented Christmas
2017 film directed by Bharat Nalluri, Dickens – The Man Who Invented Christmas is a biopic about Charles Dickens that chronicles the author’s return to London after a triumphant six-month tour of America. Desperate for money and inspiration, Dickens (Dan Stevens) is enlightened by the wonderful tales of a young Irish maid; Thus he begins to come to life A Christmas Carol , destined to become a classic of literature. The perfect Christmas fairy tale to see with the whole family, full of good feelings and full of hope for the future.
Dickens – The Man Who Invented Christmas: Dan Stevens and Christopher Plummer in a scene from the film
17. The gang of Santas
Italian Christmas comedy starring the comic trio of Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo, La Banda dei Santas is a 2010 film directed by Paolo Genovese. During Christmas Eve, Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo are caught climbing a building and brought in front of the inflexible commissioner Irene Bestetti (Angela Finocchiaro), impatient to return home for Christmas Eve. The three, in a red dress and white beard, begin to confess and tell their troubles. A comic comedy suitable for those looking for an unconventional Christmas film, also capable of eliciting a few laughs of taste.
18. Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton’s film dated 1990, Edward Scissorhands marks the beginning of the artistic partnership between the director and Johnny Depp as well as the collaboration with composer Danny Elfman. This dramatic tale tells of Edward, an artificial boy with long blades instead of hands who is found, by chance, by Mrs Peggy Boggs (Dianne Wiest) in an old abandoned Gothic villa. Invited to move in with the woman’s family, the young man soon becomes the neighborhood hairdresser and gardener and falls madly in love with the Boggs’ teenage daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder).
Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in the movie ‘Edward Scissorhands’
19. Serendipity – When love is magic
Serendipity is the good fortune to find something surprising while looking for something else. And this is precisely what happens to the protagonists of Serendipity – When love is magic , a 2001 romantic comedy directed by Peter Chelsom. Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale), two complete strangers, meet by chance at Bloomingdales, intent on buying the same Christmas gift for their respective partners.
Although a strong mutual attraction immediately manifests itself between the two, Sarah and Jonathan decide to leave their eventual future meeting to fate, writing their telephone numbers on a five-dollar bill and on a copy of the novel Love in the time of cholera . Ten years later, the magic of Christmas will give us a hand to make them meet again.
20. Love does not go on vacation
We conclude our list of the best Christmas movies with a romantic comedy from the stellar cast: Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black are the protagonists of Love does not go on vacation , a 2006 film directed by Nancy Meyers. Amanda, an American producer from Los Angeles, and Iris, a British journalist, decide to exchange homes during the holiday season to escape from their sentimental disappointments and from men. Instead, they will find love.
