Anyone besides me going to watch The Christmas Story with Sherman(?) Billingsly?

Whatever happen to that kid? Did he grow up?

What gbg said. Usually this group is pretty on topic. I don't mind now and then going off - esp something like this that is often linked to books.

The kid wrote the book, IIRC

My fav comfort movies

>Philadelphia Story

>Young Frankenstien

>Airplane

>Top Secret

>Top Gun Part Deux

>Night at the Opera - Marx Brothers

Mine are mostly from what are considered the "classics" so quite appropriate...

Pride & Prejudice
Sense & Sensibilty
The Forsyte Saga
Vanity Fair
Mansfield Park
Gosford Park (ok not a classic!)
and all the LOTR's movies - oh and Harry Potter too.........

Pat

Sorry if I rocked the boat by posting this topic here. Thought if I labled it OT that people would know that it wasn't about books, and could choose to ignore it. I have added a lot of books to my TBR pile based on recommendations I found here. So, I thought I might find some good movie recommendations. I didn't know there is a movie forum -- I'll have to check it out.

One of my "comfort" movies is Shane with Alan Ladd. I guess since I watched this so many times growing up that it takes me back to my childhood. There are a lot of the Christmas movies that I love such as It's A Wonderful Life and The Bishop's Wife.

My wife loves to watch Pride & Prejudice (just bought the 10th anniversary addition), Pollyanna, and The Quiet Man. Our whole family loves to watch Anne of Green Gables and The Sound of Music (with karoke words). Of course a lot of the old Disney movies can bring back fun memories.

There are also a few old TV shows -- The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show (black and white ones only)-- that I enjoy for nostalgia reasons since I watched them in reruns as a kid.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think the occasional movie posting is not out of line here.

My comfort movies:
Singin' in the Rain
The Band Wagon
Gigi
My Fair Lady
Easter Parade
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Twelfth Night
Pride and Prejudice (used to be the latest BBC series but is now changing to the latest big movie - I can not get tired of looking at Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy)
The Dark Crystal
Ocean's Eleven
The Gods Must be Crazy
The Lord of the Rings trilogy

There are more, but these atre the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

Hi, eliott, no need to apologize!

Here is my "comfort" list:

"The Sound of Music"
Zeffirelli's "Romeo & Juliet" ( yes, I know, a sad comfort film)
"Gigi"
"Dr. Zhivago"
"Run, Lola, Run"
"Two for the Road"
"Annie Hall"
"Camelot"
"Jules & Jim" (French)
"An American in Paris"
"Roman Holiday"
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

With me, it's Twelve Angry Men or Casablanca.

Or possibly Singin' in the Rain.

I wish Ken Russell's film The Boyfriend was available on DVD - I have a rather old tape of it...

I think the fun here, is seeing some of my favorites, which didn't immediately pop into my mind, on someone else's list.

Casablanca, Wonderful Life, Pollyana, Muppets Christmas Carol which I was too embarrassed to put down!

I think readers understand the comfort to be gained from many forms of media...anything you can appreciate while tucked under a warm blanket...fits into our lives.

Ahhh! So many good films of the comforting kind, that I can watch over and over, have been mentioned already.

Pippa, I'm with you about black & white films, especially of the thirties and forties. I adore Carole Lombard with William Powell in "My Man Godfrey" and with James Stewart in "Made for Each Other."

Cece, I love "Stage Door" because it has Ginger Rogers AND Katharine Hepburn as the leads, plus there's Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Eve Arden, and all the actress-wannabes residing at the Footlights Club. Gosh, all of them were so young! Adolphe Menjou plays the smarmy producer to a T.

When I'm feeling nostalgic for Scotland, I like to watch "Local Hero" with Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, and all those endearing Scots.

Mary, I also think sad movies can be comforting; e.g., John and Tony Huston's adaptation of "The Dead." Sure, ultimately it is sad, but it's also charming and funny -- and I always salivate over the meal.

I always notice the food in films. The ultimate comforting food film for me is "Babette's Feast." Okay, I've mentioned two films that are literary too; so this thread is not always off topic. :-)

Oh, and when I want to toe-tap, "The Commitments" will do it every time.

Interesting that so many of the favorites are musicals.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins and of course... The Sound of Music

Soooo wonderful to watch so many many of the movies mentioned above -- included:

The Philadelphia Story
The Ghost & Mr. Muir (with tissues available!)
While You Were Sleeping
Pride & Prejuidice (Colin Firth!!)
The Clandestine Marriage (costumed comedy -- very hard to find but a wonderful!!! movie -- love the homes!)
The Thin Man Series
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Desk Set
Emma
Shakespeare in Love
The Scarlet Pimpernel (I own several verisons but the old black-and-white in great)
Miss Marple Mysteries (the black-and-white ones with Margaret Rutherford - available in a box set)
Rosemary & Thyme mystery series -- boxed sets -- excellent!!
LOTR
Harry Potter series
Practical Magic (LOVE the house!)
Ladies in Lavender

Just to name a mere few .......

Of course there are the current seasonal ones:

A Christmas Carol (black-and-white 1951 with Alastair Sim)
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
The Bishop's Wife

Elliott, I agree that you have no reason to apologize.

I hesitated to include some of my choices since some of my comfort movies are rather violent, so maybe they don't qualify as comforting to others. I do, however, find myself reaching for them again and again since they evoke in me a sense of familiarity and thus safety and comfort.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Matrix
Excalibur
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Fugitive
Silence of the Lambs
The Piano
Immortal Beloved
Out of Africa
Witness
The Dead Poets Society
Kill Bill
A Fish Called Wanda

I also like to curl up in a blanket and watch The X-Files and Millenium DVDs.

Elliot, do come and check out the Circle Theatre (movie forum) - but it's a slightly different crowd, and as you already know this lot I think you are likelier to know that you can trust our advice ;-)

No 1 comfort is an evening with three or four episodes of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' - we watch it beginning to end in cycles, probably on the 4th or 5th round now. We're also doing 'X-Files' from first to last, because we only saw them out of sequence and incomplete before.

Comfort movies would be things like -

Labyrinth
Chicken Run
Nightmare Before Christmas
Little Shop of Horrors
The original Star Wars trilogy

My husband and I just watched Miracle on 34th Street, but it was the colorized version. Still good, though. Natalie Wood was always beautiful, wasn't she?

I love Miracle on 34th Street too, and the Alastair Sim Christmas Carol.

Other favourites:
Rear Window, North by Northwest, Rope, etc. (love Hitchcock!)
Swing Shift
Enchanted April
Any Hepburn/Tracy movie
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Full Monty
Brief Encounter
...and many more already mentioned.

Forgot to mention that I usually watch the first Die Hard movie around Christmas. It has some Christmas music and a few references to Christmas to go along with the violence and Bruce Willis' one liners. Sometimes it's fun to watch some action after viewing the more sentimental holiday fare. I guess that's the same reason my kids like to watch Home Alone during the holidays.

I hesitate to suggest this since it's not a movie, but around this time of year I watch the DVD of Carols for Christmas. Here's the Amazon review I wrote for the VHS:
The carols in this tape are presented straight-forwardly by David Willcocks and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir. The soloists are Aled Jones, boy soprano, and Gerald Finley, bass. The instrumental accompaniment is by the Farnaby Brass Ensemble and Willcocks on piano. The visuals are stunning still shots of Christmas-related artwork from the Metropolitan Museum of Art alternating with footage of the performers. I watch this video every Christmas season and at other times of the year as well.

Some comfort movies for me :

All the President's Men
Emma
Christmas Vacation
Nanny McPhee
and I know there are others....

Total comfort TV: The Golden Girls

gbg

Mine are:

The Princess Bride (I will love it forever)
Pride & Prejudice (the latest movie has superceded the BBC miniseries b/c sexier and very romantic music)
LOTR
Star Wars

There are many other movies I have enjoyed and rewatch occasionally, but the above I can watch endlessly and they always seem fresh.

Some others I love to rewatch on a more occasional basis:

Before Sunrise
Two for the Road
Bride and Prejudice
Finding Nemo

Are there any books that you particulary like to use to find movies to rent?

Saw that "Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert" came out this fall and thinking about purchasing it.

Good Will Hunting
Dead Poets Society
Love Actually
Capote
Match Point
Look Both Ways
Lantana
Fargo
The Ice Storm
Annie Hall
The Big Steal
City Slickers
Deconstructing Harry
Gosford Park
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mr Holland's Opus
Secrets and Lies
Smoke

Elliot-since I am never in agreement with the critics, I don't pay any attention to them!
I tend to follow my favorite actors and their new movies, or word of mouth, or even Netflix recommendations.

I really enjoy period movies, so I am usually willing to watch any new ones they make!

Pat

I have never been one for the 'big screen' epics, and I must be the only person here who was bored by the sheer length of Dr Zhivago, nor am I crazy about modern musicals . . . although I do enjoy the older ones.
My comfort movies have to be the old b&w's from the 30's and 40's, especially some of the English films of that era.
The Scarlet Pimpernell with Leslie Howard, The Fallen Idol with Ralph Richardson, and always David Lean's Brief Encounter.
With a Chrismassy theme The Holly and the Ivy with Celia Johnson and Ralph Richardson.
And for Frieda feeling nostalgic for things Scottish, Powell and Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going with Roger Livesey and Wendy Hiller, much of it made on location on the Isle of Mull.
And thinking of Wendy Hiller, how about A Man for All Seasons . . . although not really 'comfortable'.

BTW on the movie site I was surprised when someone described 'English/British' films as foreign. Over here I think we class 'foreign' films as those made in a language other than English. Am I wrong?

cjoseph, Aled Jones hasn't been a boy-soprano for many years (remember 'The Snowman' I'm Walking in the Air) but still has a good voice, now baritone, and is often seen on BBC TV hosting and singing in various religious programmes.

I don't think of films made in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, or New Zealand as foreign although strictly speaking they are. Anyway, so many films nowadays are international collaborations that it's difficult to say what country they come from.

Yes, I'm aware Aled has grown up; the video was made in 1985. I'm glad to read that he's made a career of singing since he seemed to enjoy it so much as a kid.

I don't have any films that I watch from my own collection as comfort films, but there are some I always watch if they are on TV. As a selection:

Love Actually
Gosford Park
Billy Elliott
The King and I
The Full Monty
The Sound of Music
Dances With Wolves
Die Hard
Bond films

Scottish themes? One more: "Brigadoon."

And "Tight Little Island."

Mary I have just had to look-up 'Tight Little Island' as I had never heard of it and find it is the US name for Whisky Galore from the book by Compton MacKenzie, an event which really did take place in WWII, although the outcome was changed in the film to give it a 'Happy Ending'. In real life several of the islanders spent many months behind bars!
Why do the titles of so many UK films change when they cross the Atlantic?

I only know the film as "Whisky Galore!" and my copy, bought stateside, is titled such, and so is my copy of Compton MacKenzie's novel from which it is adapted. Vee, I can't remember if the novel has the happy ending or the real life one. But the late forties was the era when films were often given happy endings because viewers just wouldn't watch 'em otherwise, or so the filmmakers thought.

"Brigadoon" -- I was "Jean" in my high school's production. I didn't even attempt a Scottish accent (this was long before I ever set foot in Scotland). I thought I was madly in love with the fella who played Gene Kelly's part in the film. He wasn't as good a dancer as Gene but he was pretty dreamy. Cyd Charisse had the most beautiful legs of any dancer of her day, I think.

Speaking of old British black & white films: Vee, do you remember "Love on the Dole," the one with a young Deborah Kerr? It's not exactly comforting, but I have watched it many times and find it fascinating -- the photography and editing are rather unusual for its time, I think.

I also enjoy a little film, set at the Welsh seaside in the early 1960s, called "Experience Preferred...But Not Essential" (at least that is how my copy is titled). I remember that Barbara/KateFW also liked this film, but I can't recall if I ever asked you, Vee.

Vee said: I must be the only person here who was bored by the sheer length of Dr Zhivago - not the only person! David Lean is on my List of Most Overrated. Epic movies usually give me the giggles, or the yawns.

Thank goodness for that anyanka, may the bats in your belfry multiple but not draw blood.

Frieda, re Experience Preferred . . . I looked it up and it seems to have been made for UK TV in the early '80's, a decade when I seem to have been up to my ears in babies, nappies/diapers, long days and very short nights . . . many of you will have been there .. . so don't remember if I saw it.
I don't think I saw Love on the Dole, these old films are often shown on afternoon TV. Do you remember the Deborah Kerr film Black Narcissus from the book by Rumer Godden? Hysterical nuns in the Himalayas.
What about Godden's book The River made into the excellent film of the same name by Jean Renoir . . . now there's a 'comfort movie'.
And another 'made for TV' film from Bruce Chetwin's book On the Black Hill a simple yet moving story with a lovely Welsh country-side setting.

Dr Zhivago - add me to the list of The Unimpressed by the film ( don't like Omar Sharif, either). But the book was wonderful.

CJoseph, just listened to Handel's Messiah on BBCRadio3, introduced beautifully and sensitively by Aled Jones. I thought of you.

Dido

Me, too, re Doctor Zhivago!
Netla, you mentioned the only English-language comfort film that happens to come to my mind: The Gods Must Be Crazy. My other favorite would be "The Totoro next door" in English, I guess. In Japanese, it is "Tonari no Totoro," an animated film about a family that moves into an old farmhouse while the mother is ill in the hospital, and the children have delightful and mysterious experiences with a sort of fairy called Totoro.

Heh, it's all in what you like! Lean's "Doctor Zhivago" is a time warp for me: I sit down to watch it and the next thing I know three hours have passed.

I like most of Lean's films, especially his small ones, including "Blithe Spirit" and "Brief Encounter" and "Great Expectations" and "Hobson's Choice"; in fact, I can count those last three as great comfort films.

His epics -- including "Doctor Zhivago" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Ryan's Daughter" -- are more breathtaking visually (I like scenery and beautiful cinematography!) than comforting to me, though I like the stories and characterizations as well.

"A Passage to India," however, seems to last an aeon or two, to me, in spite of the scenery. I am not crazy about Forster's novel either, so that may have something to do with my relative dislike of "APTI."

I guess I like old-style epics: I think "The Ten Commandments" is an absolute scream in its campiness. And Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" is endlessly fascinating -- I spend a lot of time looking at the mountains and deserts of Spain and thinking, yep, they're not half-bad stand-ins for the American West. And the character that Henry Fonda plays -- evil incarnate! And ooh! that Ennio Morricone score.

I can't sit through more than fifteen minutes of the newer epics, though -- including all those "Godfather" and "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" films -- without wanting to get up and roam around the room or wander out onto the lanai. Now, those are l-o-n-g, in my opinion. :-)

Anyanka, this past weekend my son was watching something in his room that sounded rather strange. The voices were familiar but I couldn't place them, so I rapped on his door and asked him if he was looking at TV or a video. He told me to come in and take a look for myself.

Well, at first I thought it was one of those "Angry Kid" video vignettes on the Internet because the figures (some kind of three-dimensional animation) were similar. Then it dawned on me that they were chickens and one voice I recognized was that of "Saffron" on AbFab and the other was Mel Gibson's voice.

DS said the film was "Chicken Run" and it was almost to the end so I didn't get involved in it, but that title rang a bell with me. I couldn't recall why, though, until I reread your post upthread. I'm not usually much for animated films; but this one looked quite interesting, and the storyline synopsis at IMDb -- and from my son's description -- makes me think this might be more up my alley. What about it makes you like it so much, Anyanka?

Just found this forum and would like to contribute with the Powell/Pressburger British film; "The Red Shoes" from 1948.

I guess it has a bit of fairy tale to it (including quick shots of various ballets), that reminds me of the Holidays. Very much a winter movie to escape into.

alex, The Red Shoes is one of the few videos I actually own!

Re On the Black Hill Frieda, I think I had already read the book and just caught it on TV (it wasn't shown as a movie in the UK) must have got the kids tucked up in bed early that night. I almost never go to 'the Pictures' as we call it over here. The longest time for 'not' seeing a film was 21 years! I think the first Star Wars was the last thing I watched. God it was so long and pointless.

Our very own Dido now has her name up in lights as she has been the co-screenwriter on a recently released film Calon Gaeth (in Welsh) 'A Small Country'.
Below is the trailer for it; some beautiful scenery. I don't know if it will be shown country-wide.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calon Gaeth

Frieda, for one thing I love stop-motion animation, which was used a lot in children's programmes when I was little (many were Czechoslovakian productions)but is now quite rare, as it's too labour-intensive. It has a much more tactile quality than some other animation, esp computer graphics. Chicken Run is by the one big stop-motion studio, Aardman Animations, who also made Wallace & Gromit, Morph, Creature Comforts etc.

Chicken Run is very very funny, one of those 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' films stuffed full of visual jokes as well as snappy dialogue. The characters are great, with brilliant voices - my favourite is Jane Horrocks as the dim chicken-who-knits, Babs. There are lots of very witty references to other films, especially to The Great Escape. Plus, the chickens have teeth. What more could you ask for.

Last year, for our slightly unconventional wedding, I wanted something like Beauty and the Beast (although not the Disney version) atop our cake instead of the usual bride and groom. Couldn't find any, and ended up with Ginger and Rocky instead, which seemed rather suitable too.

{{gwi:2117459}}

Top of the list is
Sleepless in Seattle

Closely followed by:
Dirty Dancing
Love Actually
The Sound of Music
Singing in the Rain
Gone With The Wind

And from TV:
Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth one)

Frieda, I am in your camp with some of the David Lean films, e.g. "Ryan's Daughter" and "Laurence of Arabia."

Speaking of "old style" epics: I loved "The Robe" and "Helen of Troy" (with Jacques Sernas and Rosanna Podesta). Alas, this really reveals my age!

I, too, am fortunate enough to own a copy of 1948 "The Red Shoes". I think Anton Walbrook's performance in this is incredible, as is Moira Shearer's dancing. It is hardly a comforting film, given the tragic ending, but I find myself watching it at least once a year....

I am glad that someone else likes The Gods Must Be Crazy. I don't even know anyone that has seen it. I think it's great!

We also enjoy watching the Wallace and Grommet tapes. Just watching the "facial" expressions is a treat.

Alex, If you haven't seen it, ballet, ETA Hoffman, and The Red Shoes come together in the film The Tales of Hoffmann. I've watched it too many times to count.

Another Hoffmann-related film I like is George Balanchine's The Nutcracker which is based on the production performed every winter in Lincoln Center. What I like about this Nutcracker is that kids are cast in the kids' roles instead of adults.

Loved The Gods Must Be Crazy.

gbg

Thanks cjoseph, I happen to be a big fan of ETA Hoffman (english translations) and often thought someone should write an opera or ballet based on his Christmas story, "Master Flea". A few years ago I saw a new version of J.M Barrie's "Peter and Wendy" by Mabou Mines' performed on the stage- I wish that had been filmed.

I loved Chicken Run, and realized I'd missed many good lines the first time, when we watched it again. The line I laughed hardest and loudest was 'Captain, we've got a cling-on, the engines can't take much more'.

Gods must be Crazy is wonderful and still stands up over time - I showed it to my DH a few years back. The sequel is a disappointment btw

I love silent movies, btw. Some of my fav include Sunrise, Metropolis (for the 'a head of its time' design, not so much for the acting), The General, The Wind and Greed. Also love some original silents of later popular movies: Wizard of Oz and Oliver Twist are very interesting, and Scarlet Letter is probably the best version I've ever seen. I have a huge collection of these movies and often find myself drawn to the time and place, and the acting of those days.

Regarding silent films, I just bought and watched Fritz Lang's film Die Nibelungen which is based on the medieval German epic poem Das Nibelungenlied. I enjoyed it enough to order a translation of the poem itself. The DVD is from a recently restored print that has a new recording of the original orchestral score. Also the dragon was quite effective considering the time the movie was made. It makes me wish that Lang had done LotR instead of Peter Jackson.

Now that would have been interesting!

BTW, do you know about silentera.com? Its a great place to go to find out what silents are being restored and printed, as well as reviews on existing films.

Thinking more: Pandora's Box, Wings, and Nosferatu to the list

Did anyone mention Ghost? The idea that loved ones are still with us is so comforting, so this is one of my favorites.

I loved it the first time I saw it - and wouldn't let DH out of my sight for a bit. But then I made the mistake of seeing it again.....A better movie is Truly Madly Deeply. Woman greives for her boyfriend (played by the wonderful Alan Rickman), and he comes to comfort her. A lovely movie about how those memories (as I see them) help a person deal with the sorrow, and how someone can reconnect with the world around her

I got the same feelings from "What Dreams May Come." I think my tears were therapeutic, in a sense.....

I saw TMD with my DH and a close friend of ours, who had just lost her mom. He joked later that he was surrounded by a stereo of tears (tho I did hear him sniff once or twice)