"A Christmas Story", I don't get it, Explain why this is a "Classic"?

No, it was a BIG cult classic the instant it was released.

Everybody I knew at work, at clubs, in the gym, relatives, EVERYBODY could'nt believe I did'nt share their enthusiasm. :rolleyes

TNT just added to the frenzy that already was there :unsure



Solo4114 said:
I've never seen the film from start to finish in one go, but I think I've seen the entire film in pieces, just from walking past TVs that had it on.

Here's what I think is at play here. The film itself is ultimately incidental. People don't love the film, they love the experience that surrounds the film.

For many folks, this film has been a staple of the Christmas season. TNT runs it non-stop for, like, a week. So it's now inextricably linked to everything you love about the holidays. That creates a halo effect for the film itself, which makes it impossible to judge it on its merits. So, basically, it's a "classic by association" and that association is with stuff that has nothing to do with the film itself as a film.
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Wow... You contrarian hipsters amuse the hell out of me.
This movie is every bit as good as The Princess Bride.
You probably don't like that movie either...
Let me know when it ain't cool to like "Brazil", so I can write that on my calendar...
 
Great movie ! Love it . its cynical about everything ! The Christmas the on the nose nostalgia you all complain about is on purpose. EVERY thing he strives to achieve is found to be B.S. he worked and waited for the little orphan Annie decoder ring , to find it a commercial . he hates the fact everyone tells him hell shoot his eye out. But first shot if he did not have glasses on he would have .
The sequel it runs in the family is good as well , its the summer version I think some copy's are called My Summer Story .

The search four the perfect spinning top to defeat the bully .
So my advice don't watch it and tell your story walking ! J.K.
 
annanake said:
Great movie ! Love it . its cynical about everything ! The Christmas the on the nose nostalgia you all complain about is on purpose. EVERY thing he strives to achieve is found to be B.S. he worked and waited for the little orphan Annie decoder ring , to find it a commercial . he hates the fact everyone tells him hell shoot his eye out. But first shot if he did not have glasses on he would have .
The sequel it runs in the family is good as well , its the summer version I think some copy's are called My Summer Story .

The search four the perfect spinning top to defeat the bully .
So my advice don't watch it and tell your story walking ! J.K.
Click to expand...

I didn't care for the sequel. Mostly due to the actors in the first one were SO great and played their parts perfectly. The actors in the sequel were sub-par (to ME) and it seemed as if they were all just trying to mimic the acting from the first movie resulting in mugging, over acting and ham-fisted scenes. Plus, I just didn't find the story all that engaging. I couldn't relate to it like I could for the Christmas story.
 
Man... I'm not even going to read all of the comments on here and risk ruining this movie for me.
What is wrong with you people.

This is one of the greatest Christmas movies ever. I didn't appreciate this movie as much as a kid as I do now. As a kid it was the gimmicks like the bunny suit, the tongue on the pole, the leg lamp, and Santa pushing the kid down the slide with his boot. As an adult it's so much more.
The combination of overacting, silliness, nostalgia, etc. is all part of the charm.
The acting was great. The combination of subtle gestures and expressions with the more ham fisted humor.
I didn't grow up in the 40's so I wouldn't know how accurate it is. My mom always points out how they nailed it though.
I love Darren McGavin in this movie. His acting was hilarious.

But hey... if you think Jimmy Stewart was the real deal, well, I'm not going to ruin that for you.
 
I love A Christmas Story, because I watched it multiple times when I was a kid. HBO had it running non stop in the winter. During different times in the 1980s, HBO also continually replayed Midnight Madness, Just One of the Guys, They Call Me Bruce, Crimewave and Cloak and Dagger, all of which I still remember fondly. Thus, I'd attribute my questionable taste in movies to HBO's lack of selection in the 1980s. (Actually Night Flight is also equally responsible for subverting my then-burgeoning taste in movies and music.)

Besides, ACS is a great look at 1950s Americana. It's a whimsical take on Norman Rockwell paintings. Besides the director also made such other "classics," such as Porky's and black Christmas.
 
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This is not only my favorite Christmas movie, but one of my favorite movies, period.

I love everything about the film, and will watch it in its entirety AT LEAST twice during the 24 hour marathon.

This is is one of the first movies, along with "E.T." that I remember seeing in the theater as a child...so maybe that has something to do with my own personal love of it...but as I've gotten older I've grown to enjoy it even more.

I of course did did not grow up in the 40s...but so many things that happen in this movie I have personally experienced at some point in time during the holidays in my life.

Wanting a gift so so bad that it consumes every moment of your life? Check...NES and my first RC car.
Dog ruin a holiday meal? Check...in 1988 my father's new partner, one of the first three police K9s used in central Michigan, Chase was his name, took our Thanksgiving turkey off the counter and helped himself.
Friend gets stuck to a pole? Check...a friend after seeing this for the first time when he was 10/11.
Dinner on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant? Check...the wife and I several years in a row after working on Christmas Day.
The list just goes on.

My wife doesn't like this movie, and I have at times threatened to leave her over this fact...particularly when she's tries to change the channel off of TBS during the fourth viewing of the day. :lol
 
Yep, we ALMOST had Flash Gordon in A Christmas Story, but the scene was cut.
He's still in the credits, though!

Ralphie helps Flash save Earth from Ming, using his red Ryder BB gun!


flashgordonachristmasstory.jpg
 
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