Spoiler, it’s not Die Hard
One way to get a debate going around the dinner table on the big day is by picking out the ‘best’ festive film.
From How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Love Actually and from Home Alone to Elf, we’ve all got our favourite movie to flick on at Christmas.
But apparently none of those are the ‘best of all time’. And no, it’s not Home Alone 2.
Elf trailer
Credit: Warner Bros.
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To be honest, you might be pretty surprised by the film topping Rotten Tomatoes’ ‘Best Christmas Movie of All Time’ ranking – in fact, you’ve probably never even watched it.
Don’t worry though, I’m not going to keep you guessing as you’re listing out all of the Santa Clauses and Netflix festive feel-goods.
The film review-aggregation site goes back to a film from a whopping 80 years ago to name its number one.
Meet Me in St. Louis sits pretty proudly with a ‘Certified Fresh’ rating with 100 percent on the Tomatometer and 87 percent from audiences on the Popcornmeter.
Yep, I bet you’ve never even heard of it, have you?
The musical starring Hollywood jewel Judy Garland from all the way back in 1944 apparently beats out all the other classics – old and new.
And get this, only about 25 minutes of the film takes place during Christmas time.
However, it’s still praised as a ‘Christmas classic’ by many.
It’s the best, apparently… (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
“Meet Me in St. Louis is a classic MGM romantic musical comedy that focuses on four sisters (one of whom is the nonpareil Judy Garland) on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair,” reads the movie info.
“The film spotlights the sisters’ education in the ways of the world, which includes, but isn’t limited to, learning about life and love, courtesy of the prototypical boy next door.
“In the end, love – accompanied by song, dance and period costumes, all in glorious Technicolor – conquers all.”
Yeah, interesting. But fair enough, it’s a classic, I guess.
And weirdly, the second-best Christmas film on the list is even older; The Shop Around the Corner from 1940.
And then the third best zooms all the way forward to a much more recent movie, The Holdovers which landed in UK cinemas at the beginning of this year.
The Holdovers was widely praised by critics (Focus Features)
Starring Paul Giamatti, it’s about ‘a cranky history teacher at a remote prep school’ who ends up having to ‘remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go’.
The other films listed from fourth to tenth best are: Tangerine (2015), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Little Women (2019), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Klaus (2019), Carol (2015) and It’s A Wonderful Life (1946).
Oh, and good news for the ‘Die Hard is a Christmas film’ debaters, that comes in at 11th place.
But I don’t care what anyone says, it’s Nativity!, Home Alone and The Holiday all the way for me.Featured Image Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Topics: Christmas, Film, Entertainment, TV and Film, Rotten Tomatoes
Jess Battison
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Published 10:51 24 Dec 2023 GMT
Rotten Tomatoes’ best Christmas film is from nearly 80 years ago and you’ve probably never heard of it
Sorry Die Hard and Home Alone fans, your favourite hasn’t made the cut
Discussing the ‘best’ Christmas films can easily cause quite the heated debate with your mates down the pub.
From Love Actually to Home Alone and from Die Hard to Elf, we all have our favourite but the apparent ‘best of all time’ might surprise you.
Love Actually Trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures
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Nope, according to Rotten Tomatoes, none of those absolute bangers of films are the ‘Best Christmas Movie of All Time’.
And it’s not Home Alone 2 either.
I could keep you guessing really, and I’d be surprised if you actually got it right – and nope, it’s none of the Santa Clauses or the bop-filled Nativity!
According to the film review-aggregation site, the number one Christmas film is from nearly 80 years ago.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Certified Fresh with 100 percent on the Tomatometer, the movie holding the crown is Meet Me in St. Louis.
Yep, I was a little taken aback too.
The musical starring Hollywood jewel Judy Garland from all the way back in 1944 apparently beats out all the other classics – old and new.
And get this, only about 25 minutes of the film takes place during Christmas.
However, it’s still praised as a ‘Christmas classic’ by many.
The movie info reads: “Meet Me in St. Louis is a classic MGM romantic musical comedy that focuses on four sisters (one of whom is the nonpareil Judy Garland) on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
“The film spotlights the sisters’ education in the ways of the world, which includes, but isn’t limited to, learning about life and love, courtesy of the prototypical boy next door.
“In the end, love — accompanied by song, dance and period costumes, all in glorious Technicolor — conquers all.”
Yeahhh, interesting. But fair enough, it’s a classic I guess – even if a lot of us have probably never heard of it, let alone seen it.
Focus Features
And weirdly, the second best Christmas film on the list is even older; The Shop Around the Corner from 1940.
And then the third best zooms all the way forward to a more recent movie, The Holdovers.
Starring Paul Giamatti, it’s about ‘a cranky history teacher at a remote prep school’ who ends up having to ‘remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go’.
Despite claiming a place in the top three, The Holdovers isn’t actually releasing widely until 19 January 2024.
The other films listed from fourth to tenth best are: Tangerine, Miracle on 34th Street (from 1947), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Little Women (2019), Klaus, Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Oh and good news for the ‘Die Hard is a Christmas film’ debaters, that comes in at 11th place.
But I don’t care what anyone says, it’s Nativity! and The Holiday all the way for me.Featured Image Credit: Focus Features
Topics: Christmas, TV and Film
Jess Battison
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Updated 13:39 17 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 14:52 16 Dec 2024 GMT
Netflix viewers in stitches at huge ‘mistake’ in new Christmas movie that ‘they thought nobody would notice’
In the age of streaming, no detail goes unnoticed
Viewers have been left in stitches after noticing a continuity error in a new Christmas movie which has just landed on Netflix.
With 25 December now just over a week away, streamers are in full swing when it comes to putting out their latest Christmas and ‘Christmas-adjacent’ offerings.
One of these is Carry-On – currently number one on today’s ‘Most Watched’ films list – an action thriller which sees a deadly nerve agent threatened to be unleashed on a packed Christmas Eve plane.
Watch the trailer below:
Carry-On trailer
Netflix
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Starring Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson and Danielle Deadwyler, Carry-On follows the story of unmotivated TSA officer Ethan (Egerton) who finds himself blackmailed by a mysterious traveller (Bateman) looking to smuggle nerve agent novichok onboard a busy flight to New York.
The action-packed film is, of course, very Die Hard inspired as Ethan works to save the passengers from a painful death while not arousing suspicion from the the Traveler, however, the film is currently attracting attention due to a seemingly unfortunate continuity error.
Sharing the moment on TikTok was user @FloridaFitBrit, who recorded her husband’s reaction to the moment before sharing it online.
In the clip, the couple have paused the film at a specific moment which shows a woman walking through security with her son.
Here’s the baby in question (Netflix)
“What have we found?” the user says, before her husband points out the child’s light brown hair and distinctive reindeer jumper.
However just seconds later the same woman and child appear on the screen one again – however the child is now completely hairless.
“Look at that balda** baby, that’s a different baby,” he adds, before switching back and forth between the two clips several times.
“That child’s confused because they weren’t in the last scene,” he jokes. “He doesn’t even know where the movie’s heading.”
The moment left several viewers tickled, with one person commenting: “I’m cracking up. Cause I didn’t notice it either,” while a second person joked: “Their continuity persons was asleep on the job.”
And here is the same actor holding a different child just seconds later (Netflix)
“For someone who’s so observant , how did i miss this when i watched the movie,” a third person added.
A fourth said: “Enjoyed this and never even noticed.”
Despite the baby mix-up – which isn’t the worst continuity fail in the history of film and TV – the user gave an overall positive review of Carry-On, adding in the caption: “We recommend watching Netflix’s new film Carry-On.
“Very enjoyable especially, if like me, you know that Die Hard IS a Christmas film. Imo its got some serious 90s vibes!!!”
Let this be a reminder to filmmakers that viewers are able to see everything in the age of streaming.
LADbible has contacted Netflix for comment.