Films in this series are also at the Egyptian Theatre!

Join us for movies celebrating the festive holiday spirit of yuletide cheer, braced with the romance, joy, pathos and giving mood of the season. Many of you will remember these cinematic chestnuts from your childhood – every one of them has that wonderful quality of making you feel good inside (even if the rest of the world is collapsing!). Screening at the Egyptian, classics such as WHITE CHRISTMAS (with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen), Frank Capra’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (with James Stewart), Norman Jewison’s FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (for everyone celebrating Hanukkah), Ernest Lubitsch’s THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, a brand new 35mm print of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (with Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan and Monty Woolley) and HOLIDAY AFFAIR (with Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum). Some of the samefilms will screen at the Aero, plus Bob Clark’s A CHRISTMAS STORY and Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

A CHRISTMAS STORY, 1983, Warner Bros, 94 min. Dir. Bob Clark. "A Tribute to the Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas." This nostalgic cult Christmas comedy, told from the perspective of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), focuses on his overwhelming desire to get "an official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot range model air rifle", despite the fact that all the adults around him tell him that it will "put his eye out!" He sets out to convince everyone, especially his parents (Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon) that this is the perfect Christmas gift. Not surprisingly, he runs into opposition. Features the famous leg lamp and tongue-getting-stuck-on-the-pole scenes. With Scott Schwartz, Zack Ward, Ian Petrella, R.D. Robb. Trailer

WHITE CHRISTMAS, 1954, Paramount, 120 min. This Christmas classic from director Michael Curtiz (CASABLANCA) features some of the most rousing production numbers from any Hollywood musical. Paramount’s first film shot in widescreen Vistavision is a love story, set in a Vermont inn. Two Army buddies Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye turn post-war song-and-dance team and find romance with Rosemary Clooney (George’s aunt) and Vera-Ellen, while rescuing their old general (Dean Jagger) from foreclosure of the inn and financial ruin. With 13 songs highlighted by the snow-bound train rendition of Irving Berlin's "Snow." "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" was Oscar-nominated for Best Song. [Also screens at the Egyptian – 12/21] Trailer

TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 1993, Disney, 76 min. Years after beginning as an animator at Disney, Tim Burton returned to the studio to oversee this bizarre but utterly charming family film, all told via the magical form of stop-motion animation. Jack Skellington, the "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town, falls in love with Christmas and tries to merge the incompatible sensibilities of the two holidays—an endeavor that is aided by some terrific songs by composer Danny Elfman. Trailer

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, 1971, MGM Repertory, 181 min. Coming at the end of the great era of Hollywood musicals, director Norman Jewison’s wonderful, elegiac FIDDLER ON THE ROOF added a note of somber realism to the genre, along with such soul-inspiring numbers as "Tradition" and "L’chaim (To Life)." Topol stars as the beleaguered but still optimistic Russian milkman Tevye, trying to hold his Jewish family together in the face of troubling changes in early 20th century Russia. Production designer Robert Boyle (THE BIRDS, CAPE FEAR) conjures up a marvelous, earth-toned vision of life in the shtetls. Based on Joseph Stein’s play, with music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Academy Award winner for Cinematography (Oswald Morris) and Score (John Williams). [Also screens at the Egyptian – 12/18] Trailer