Ten best Christmas films

The Independent's film critic selects the ten best festive flicks

Geoffrey Macnab
Wednesday 25 December 2013 12:00 GMT
Comments
Family values: 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Family values: 'It's a Wonderful Life' (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

A yearly staple to help ease you into the festive period, the Christmas film is best enjoyed in front of the television with a good supply of wine and seasonal fare.

But with such a large range of films to choose from, it's hard to know which sentimental titles to stay clear of, and which have just the right amount of seasonal schmaltz.

The Independent's film critic Geoffrey Macnab gives his definitive list, with a good mix of titles to satisfy even the biggest scrooge.

The 1951 take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is well worth a watch if you fancy a vintage film to entertain the grandparents and children alike, while Nicolas Cage's performance in The Family Man is a more modern derivative of the classic, complete with a heavy dose of necessary Christmas emotion.

From festive favourites such as It's A Wonderful Life and Macaulay Culkin's Nineties hit Home Alone, to Bruce Willis' fast-paced action movie Die Hard, look no further than the gallery below.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in