Whether you’re looking for stocking stuffers for others or a small gift for yourself, we’ve got a roundup of some of the best new Blu-rays and DVDs for the holidays.
christmas favorite
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment offers four of your favorite holiday shows in 4K for the first time this holiday season: “Elf” “A Christmas Story,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” And “Polar Express” All shine for your library. Whether you’re giving (or getting) a 4K system this Christmas or already own one, this quartet of titles represents the top holiday classics for a wide audience. (Whether or not the sequel “A Christmas Story Christmas” will eventually get its own schlocky physical release remains to be seen.)
also available:
“apartment” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): Billy Wilder’s bittersweet, Oscar-winning Holiday Story made its 4K debut earlier this year.
Girls Rule: The Holidays Collection (Paramount Home Entertainment): This set of female-centered, holiday (or holiday-adjacent) comedies includes “Mean Girls,” “Last Holiday” and “Serendipity.”
“nobody’s Fool” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): One of my favorite Christmas-ish movies, featuring one of Paul Newman’s finest latter-day performances (plus exceptional turns by Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith, and the likes of Margo Martindale, Pruitt (early appearances from) Taylor Vince and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) released in 4K for the first time. (December 27th – maybe a little late for this Christmas, but worth a revisit any time of year)
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (Paramount Home Entertainment): Well, yes, it’s a Thanksgiving movie, but it’s part of the “Happy Holidays,” especially now that you can watch it in 4K.
holiday indie
Anna Margaret Holliman – even says her name “Merry Christmas” – gives an unforgettable performance in this 2013 dark comedy “white buck” (Factory 25). Holliman stars as a widow who spends the holiday season wrestling with grief over the recent death of her husband, until she learns some surprising and shocking facts about the man, The one she knew sends her into a decadent underworld she could never have imagined. Written and directed by Zack Clark, this outrageous holiday tale deserves to find a wide audience.
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“A Christmas Karen” (FilmRise): Scrooge wants to talk to the manager in this 2022 comedy. (out December 13)
“Scrooge and Marley” (Dark Star Pictures): This weird twist on “A Christmas Carol” — starring David Pevsner as a modern LGBTQ misogynist — gets a 10th-anniversary DVD re-release that includes a cast reunion, making-of doc and director commentary is included.
“See you next Christmas” (Chrismas Productions): An unlikely couple (played by Elisabeth Guest and AJ Meijer) fall in love several years after their best friends’ holiday parties in this charmingly low-key (and low-budget) rom-com. , (out November 29)
“some girls” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): Finally, a Blu-ray release for Michael Hoffman’s sexy and alluring 1988 comedy about a college student (played by Patrick Dempsey) who sets out to spend Christmas with his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly). He travels to Quebec for her, only to find her announcing upon his arrival that she no longer loves him.
family vacation
With the recent passing of famed animator Jules Bass, all the more reason to get involved The Complete Rankin/Bass Christmas Collection (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) to your home library. Bass and partner Arthur Rankin, Jr. helped invent the Christmas TV special as we know it—with their “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman”-style Mount Rushmore (after Charlie Brown and the Grinch). together). — and the anthology includes holiday favorites from “Rudolph” and “Frosty” to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and many, many more are more; This is a total of 18 specials featured on nine discs.
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“8-Bit Christmas” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment): While not an official sequel to “A Christmas Story,” this ’80s comedy is a similar mix of snark-sprinkle nostalgia and a child’s desire for an unattainable present (though this time it’s a video game) and not a BB gun).
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment): This Emmy-winning musical stars Parton as an angel who tries to stop a ruthless millionaire (Christine Baranski) from selling an entire town to developers.
“Prancer: A Christmas Tale” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment): In this follow-up to 1989’s The Cave, James Cromwell stars as a grandfather whose belief in magical reindeer threatens to send him home. (out November 29)
“Santa and Pete” (Questar): James Earl Jones plays a widowed grandfather who spins yarn for his young grandson as they prepare for Christmas alone together; Hume Cronin co-stars as St. Nick.
“Tom and Jerry: Snowman’s Land” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment): The great duo bring a snowmouse to life, but keeping her from melting will set them on a chilly adventure. (out November 29)
christmas romance
Cord-cutters have many options if they want a never-ending stream of holiday movies on their TVs, from various streaming services to massive home collections like Lifetime’s Ultimate Holiday Movie Collection And Lifetime’s A Very Merry Movie Collections, Vol. 3 And Vol. 4 (all Lionsgate). The “Merry Movie” set has a dozen movies, and the “Ultimate” has more than 50 titles, making it the perfect gift for someone who doesn’t stop watching Christmas movies because the calendar flipped.
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Meanwhile, Lifetime’s rivals in Hallmark aren’t sleeping on the job when it comes to physical media; Their 2022 offerings include (in alphabetical order)”Jolly Christmas”/”Double Holiday”/”It’s Starting to Look Like Christmas, “Christmas at Castle Hart”, ,Christmas CEO”/”Christmas Together With You”/”An Unexpected ChristmasLGBTQ-Inclusive “The Christmas House 2: The Deck That Halls”, “Christmas in Harmony” (directed by indie legend Rusty Cundiff); “Christmas in My Heart” / “My Christmas Family Tree”, “Christmas on My Mind”/”Homecoming for the Holidays”/”Holiday Hearts”, “Christmas Promise”/”Christmas for Keeps”, “Coyote Creek Christmas”, “A Mrs. Miracle Christmas by Debbie Macomber”, “The Dickens of a Holiday!” / “Boyfriends of Christmas Past”, Charming Holiday-But-Not-Christmas-For-Once Romance “The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah”, “five more minutes”, “A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love”, “Jingle Bell Bride”/”The Christmas Doctor”/”Delivered by Christmas”, “A Kiss Before Christmas”, “Next Stop, Christmas”, “The Nine Kittens of Christmas”, “Open by Christmas”, “Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas”, “A Very Merry Bridesmaid”/”Tis the Season to Be Merry”, “You, Me and the Christmas Tree” And this Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 9-Movie CollectionIncluding “Checking in to Christmas,” “Christmas Comes Twice,” “Christmas Land” (“Brothers” star Luke McFarlane’s Hallmark Christmas movies), “The 12 Gifts of Christmas,” “Christmas in Love,” “With Love, Christmas,” “Window Wonderland,” “What Christmas Looks Like” and “The Christmas List.”
(My personal favorite from Hallmark Group? Since there’s no physical release for “Crashing Through the Snow,” I definitely recommend Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley in the double feature
“Sister Swap: Hometown Holiday”/”Sister Swap: Christmas in the City,” Two engaging (and interlocking) rom-coms designed to be watched back to back.)
And if this style is your bag, you can also check it out “Christmas in Rockwell,” “Christmas in Wolf Creek,” “Country Roads Christmas” And “A Ring for Christmas” (all Imagiccom) For more holiday hugs and kisses.
holiday horror
Bob Clark’s 1983 “A Christmas Story,” as noted, has become a cornerstone of holiday cinema, but it had already entered the pantheon a decade or so earlier. “Black Christmas” (Scream Factory), now making its 4K debut. This impressive holiday slasher — it’s hard to imagine that John Carpenter wasn’t at least partially influenced by it when he created “Halloween” — still ranks as one of the great chillers of all time, and the yuletide setting just adds to the tension. combines. This release features a new 4K scan of the original negative and restoration of both the mono and 5.1 soundtrack, with commentary tracks featuring Clark or actors Keir Dullea and John Saxon. (There’s a separate commentary from Nick Mancuso, who provided the unforgettable voice for obscene caller Billy.) (On December 6)
also available:
“The Christmas Craft Fair Massacre” (Wild Eye Release): As if crocheted-owl plant-hangers weren’t awesome enough. (out December 13)
“Christmas Cruelty” (Unearthed Films): This Scandinavian import follows a serial killer who’s out to ruin some holidays.
“ChristmasSacre” (Wild Eye Releasing): Not everything is bleak nor bright in this 2015 chiller.
“Don’t Open Until Christmas” (The Vinegar Syndrome): Holiday horror meets disco sleaze in this 1984 video from director-actor Edmund Purdom (who starred in Michael Curtiz’s “The Egyptian”).
“silent Night” (RLJE Films): There’s no place like home for the apocalypse, as an ensemble of Brits led by Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Roman Griffin Davies gather for one last vacation before it all comes to an end.
“Silent Night, Deadly Night” Collection (Lionsgate): Draw your own conclusions about the third to fifth chapters of any franchise, but that’s what the holiday box set offers. Fun Fact: Mickey Rooney spoke out against the first “SNDN” movie, only to appear in Part 5 as an evil toy maker. (out December 13)
Holiday Books and Calendars
The creators of the delightful cinephile game “return with”my first movieBook series introduces young film-lovers to genres like film noir And giallo And this french new wave, Oh, to be a youngster and to be introduced to the likes of “Gun Crazy” and “Deep Red” and “The 400 Blows.” Be the cool Auntie/Uncle at this year’s family get-together.
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“Batman Returns: One Dark Christmas Eve” (Insight Edition): I’ve said for years that this superhero sequel was one of our great contemporary Christmas movies, and now it’s time for a children’s storybook to cement its status as a holiday favorite.
When will it be Christmas again? (primedia): two hosts of deck hallmark Podcast — with whom I collaborated on The Essential Hallmark-Holiday-Movie Guide “I’ll be home for the Christmas movies,” Which makes a perfect gift – return with a new storybook about the holidays you’ve been eagerly waiting for.
Indulge With Your Favorite Pop-Culture Obsessions All December Dragonball Z: Official Advent Calendar, Dungeons & Dragons: The Official Countdown Gift Calendar And Star Wars: The Life Day Pop-Up Book and Advent Calendar (All from Insight Editions).