Today’s blog I dedicate to one of my favorite Christmas films of all time. Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story“.
Based on Jean Sheperd’s novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”, “A CHRISTMAS STORY” has been a part of so many families must-see Christmas films during the Holiday season.
I don’t think I can grow tired of watching this film. As a child, watching this film, I was captivated by it, to the point I could watch it all month long on cable.
But there are so many memorable moments from the film that I think is ingrained in everyone’s memories. May it be the “Don’t shoot your eye out!” scene, sticking your tongue on a frozen pole, “Remember to Drink your Ovaltine” scene, the leg lampshade, Ralphie and soap, the eat like a piggie scene and so many other moments throughout the film.
While filmmaker Bob Clark may be known for the “Porky’s” films, “Rhinestone” and “Turk 182!”, possibly in his list of films, no film has captivated America more than “A Christmas Story”.
Created for only $3 million, the low budget film would do OK in the box office considering that holiday films were not popular at the time but with MGM having financial trouble, when MGM’s film library was sold to Ted Turner in 1986, the film would be shown on TNT and over a decade later, Time Warner which owns TNT would have their 24 hours “A Christmas Story” marathon on Christmas Eve through Christmas Day. And now the film continues to be seen on cable on TBS.
And so beloved of a film that in 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Recently, Vanity Fair’s Sam Kashner has written a fantastic article on “A Christmas Story” and how the film became a sleeper hit and how this film would capture the attention of Americans during Christmas time.
Overall, “A Christmas Story” is a film that will no doubt entertain many generations to come. It’s not the magical type of Christmas that many of us grew up watching featuring Rudolph, Frosty or Santa Claus, but it sure does feel like a snapshot of Christmas anticipation, family and that special time that most of us have experienced or remember in our lives.
And no doubt, “A Christmas Story” has become a must-see film, once a year, family tradition during the Christmas holiday season for many Americans.
