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Love Christmas TV? Then you'll love Christmas TV on DVD.
Below, we review some of the newest releases, along with some beloved perennials.
Another holiday favorite -- my wide-ranging book 'Christmas on Television' -- can be ordered from Amazon by clicking on the green-and-red TV set cover (at right).
List prices are shown, along with some great Amazon discount deals
-- just click BUY NOW to get 'em.
It's a great way to support this site, since we get a tiny amount from each linked sale.
Costs you nothing more. Helps us stay alive.
Happy holiday viewing!
-- Diane Werts
MERRY SITCOM! Shout, $13 ($10) Now this is handy (and a bargain) -- five vintage Christmas episodes on one disc, with a bonus episode we haven't seen. Two color '60s shows (The Flying Nun, That Girl) join three earlier black-and-white faves (Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show with Buston Keaton, Bewitched with Billy Mumy). The bonus half-hour is from Robert Young's post-Father Knows Best series, Window on Main Street. |
HOLIDAY TV COMEDY COLLECTION Universal, $15 ($10) Here's the contemporary version of the five-pack. One disc holds holiday episodes of two current comedies -- The Office, 30 Rock --along with three crowdpleasing hour series that spice their drama with humor -- House, Monk, Psych. Hard to go wrong with any of those shows. |
TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL Inspiration Collection: Holiday CBS, $15 ($9) Four episodes from Roma Downey's beloved spiritual drama include three with seasonal guest star Randy Travis and another about Mexican immigrants. Extras, too -- intros from producer Martha WIlliamson, plus web links to cast interivews. |
THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW Holiday Special Infinity, $15 ($12) Have yourself a merry little Christmas with this 1963 videotaped gem, looking crisp in restored black-and-white. Judy welcomes us into her "home" for a holiday party with kids Liza, Lorna and Joey, and friends like Mel Torme. There's song, dance, a little bit of Christmas craziness (rioting Santas), and a lot of sincere sentiment between Judy and her clearly much-loved kids. |
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KING FAMILY Infinity, $20 ($18) The sprawling musical clan gathered more than two dozen of its members in seasonal '60s TV specials, featuring the four singing King Sisters and steel guitar master Alvino Rey. Homey highlight clips and interviews merge in the hour retrospective seen on public TV -- and this DVD release adds the complete 1967 color special. |
A MUPPETS CHRISTMAS: LETTERS FROM SANTA Disney, $27 ($16) Last year's NBC special puts Jim Henson's most popular puppets in New York City in the company of guest stars like Jane Krakowski, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg and Uma Thurman. (And more songs by pop master Paul Williams.) Extras include cast "interviews." |
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Warner, 2 discs, $30 ($18) - BD $20 ($14) - DVD Now out on Blu-ray, too! And the new high-def set includes a bonus DVD copy of the 1965 Christmas classic AND a digital copy, Windows Media only. (But the Blu-ray set doesn't include the 2008 Remastered Deluxe Edition DVD set's 6-song CD sampler). Both sets are supplemented with a making-of featurette and the bonus 1992 special It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown. |
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! Warner, $30, 2 discs ($18) - BD $20 ($16) - DVD Dr. Seuss' green meanie bounces off the most saturated '60s color you've ever seen in Blu-ray's bright new high-def transfer of the 1966 musical half-hour. The BD set boasts a new animator commentary, plus all the extras from 2006's red-cased 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition DVD, including three featurettes. The Blu-ray case -- which is actually a Grinch-y chartreuse! -- also holds a DVD copy and a digital copy (Windows Media only). |
A CHRISTMAS CAROL VCI, 2 discs each $30 ($17) - BD $20 ($12) - DVD Now out on Blu-ray, too! Alastair Sim is the definitive Scrooge in the 1951 British classic. The 2008 DVD release provided the sharpest black-and-white print ever, yet this year's new Blu-ray looks even better. And the high-def set includes the standard-def version on a second disc, in both the 4x3 fullscreen original and a 16x9 widescreen-cropped version to fill today's flat-screen TVs. Note that the BD set does NOT include the DVD set's bonus disc, with its crudely colorized version, the earlier 1935 "Scrooge" feature with Seymour Hicks, a Dickens history, and interesting featurettes on the 1951 film's makers. |
A CHRISTMAS STORY Price with collectibles/without: Warner, $50 ($30)/$29 ($16) - BD $40 ($32)/$20 ($11) - DVD Stop wondering whether it's worth upgrading to Blu-ray -- this collectible 25th anniversary tin also includes a string of must-have leg-lamp Christmas lights! (You could buy the movie in a regular Blu-ray case without the lights for less. But why would you?) Devotees get to wallow in the same great extras, too -- commentary with director Bob Clark and star Peter Billingsley, featurettes on the film's making, the air rifle Ralphie covets, the infamous leg lamp, script pages of deleted scenes, and more. |
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION Price with collectibles/without: Warner, $50 ($28)/$29 ($17) - BD $40 ($28)/$20 ($11) - DVD Chevy Chase's 1989 holiday disaster comedy gets a 20th anniversary release in a collectible embossed tin packed with goodies -- Santa hat, movie quote coasters, "I Survived" button, even fake snow, plus a BD-exclusive mini (actually, micro) moose mug. And the Blu-ray disc case itself is a festive green.The gag-filled film itself hasn't been spruced up, so it contains the same stereo audio track and paltry extras (director commentary). Only you can determine how much a high-def exploding sewer is worth to you. |
MIRACLE ON 34th STREET Fox, $35 ($22) - BD $15 ($12) - DVD The 1947 perennial is now on Blu-ray, too! In glorious original black-and-white! Not colorized. No matter what it says in the text on the new BD box, clearly copied from the text of 2006's DVD special edition box. This new high-def release includes the same commentary by star Maureen O'Hara, the AMC Backstory making-of episode, a vintage newsreel, and more. But the BD disc sadly *doesn't* include the 2-disc DVD set's colorized version or its 1950s TV adaptation. |
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: A Very Sunny Christmas Fox, $30 ($20) - BD $27 ($16) - DVD Review to come. (Released direct-to-DVD Nov. 17.) |
A MERRY FRAGGLE HOLIDAY Lionsgate, $15 ($8) The Christmas episode of Jim Henson's HBO series is supplemented with two other half-hours, plus an Emmet Otter singalong and other festive extras. |
THE DANGEROUS CHRISTMAS OF RED RIDING HOOD Digiview Entertainment [Ordering info to come] Liza Minnelli's first starring role was in this 1965 musical special staged in a TV studio. Her costar as the wolf was Cyril Ritchard (Captain Hook in Mary Martin's TV staging of Peter Pan), with his woodsmen played by Eric Burdon's rock group The Animals. Too bad this DVD holds a black-and-white kinescope (a copy filmed off a TV monitor) rather than the long-unseen videotaped original. But at least we can own this cult item with songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill (who'd go on to serve Minnelli well with Cabaret). |
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Paramount, 2 discs each $30 ($20) - BD $25 ($17) - DVD Now out on Blu-ray, too! Frank Capra's 1946 classic never looked better in its original black-and-white. And it never looked better in color, either. Both the new BD and last year's silver-cover DVD set include crisp prints in both tones, to satisfy purists AND color-lovers. One disc features the restored 60th anniversary B&W edition, with all its documentary extras. The other spotlights a recently colorized version that's leaps and bounds better than earlier attempts. It's still heavily pastel, but this lends the visuals a hand-tinted antique feel. That makes it ideal for family viewing -- contemporary kids get the color brightness they crave, while nostalgic adults can appreciate the vintage appeal of "faded" tones. There's even a Blu-ray reward: If you buy the BD and already own the DVD, you can send in your receipt for a $10 rebate. |
WHITE CHRISTMAS Paramount, 2 discs $25 ($15) The new 55th (!) anniversary edition of Bing Crosby's 1954 color musical remake (of his '40s fave Holiday Inn) includes commentary from costar Rosemary Clooney and a second disc full of bonus features -- backstage stories, individual profiles of Crosby and co-stars Clooney and Danny Kay, and more. |
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE/ WHITE CHRISTMAS Paramount, 2 discs, $30 ($23) Two-pack convenience gives you both studio-era Christmas perennials, in the original versions (but without the DVD extras). In other words, It's a Wonderful Life unreels in its classic black-and-white. The 1950s musical White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney was actually filmed in color. |
THE ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS CLASSICS Classic Media, 4 discs, $40 ($21) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer leads this hard-cover foldout set compiling 7 animated holiday favorites, including Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, and the underrated Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. (An earlier edition with a red hard-cover can be found in mass-market stores this 2009 holiday season for just $15, but it includes only 6 specials -- no Mr. Magoo.) |
CLASSIC CHRISTMAS FAVORITES Warner, 4 discs, $40 ($25) This dueling compilation set from a different studio is led by How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The half-dozen other vintage specials include Rudolph & Frosty's New Year and Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. (Be warned that in some packages, The Year Without a Santa Claus is mistakenly NOT the animated disc, but the John Goodman TV movie.) |
THE NEW CHRISTMAS CLASSICS Genius/Classic Media, 2 discs, $25 ($22) Hey, hey, hey! In a clear plastic case, you'll find The Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977), an hour of 12 Gumby cartoons including Scrooge Loose (1950s), 6 George of the Jungle cartoons including Jungle Bells (2007), and the feature-length Casper's Haunted Christmas (2000). |
OZZIE & HARRIET: Christmas With the Nelsons Shout! Factory, $10 ($9) Five black-and-white holidays from the sitcom's 14-season ABC run do include "adventures" where the boys take holiday jobs, gifts get mixed up, fruitcakes make the rounds, etc. -- but not, unfortunately, such favorites as the Nelsons meeting a less-fortunate Nelson family or Ozzie getting overinvolved in holiday activities. |
A SHARI LEWIS CHRISTMAS S'more Entertainment, $10 The lively young puppeteer/singer leads three musical celebrations (1960-62) with Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy and other vintage kids show pals. Lewis is still a doll in black-and-white kinescopes that look/sound pretty good. And there's a great bonus: A holiday outing of Lewis' local WNBC New York City weekday hour "Hi, Mom!" (with 1950s Bosco ads!). |
T.V. SETS: HOLIDAY TREATS CBS DVD, $13 ($8) Eight Christmas episodes from eight different series spanning 40 years: I Love Lucy (tree-triming flashback; The Honeymooners (presents for each other), The Andy Griffith Show (jail celebration), The Brady Bunch (Carol's laryngitis), Taxi (Louie's gambler brother), Family Ties (Alex's Christmas Carol), Frasier (working the holiday), and Wings (sour holidays). |
HOLIDAY INN Universal, 3 discs, $27 ($20) Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire's 1942 movie classic introduces Irving Berlin's song "White Christmas," here in both the original black-and-white and in a nice new hand-tinted-look colorized version. (There's also a featurette explaining the care that now goes into the revitalized process.) There's even a bonus 12-song CD soundtrack. |
THIS IS TOM JONES CHRISTMAS Time Life, $15 ($13) It's not unusual to enjoy a hip-swinging holiday celebration with the Welsh crooner/'60s sex symbol/ladies underwear magnet. In two yule episodes of his ABC variety hour, the hot-'n'-hunky Jones welcomes jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, folk legend Judy Collins and impressionist David Frye, who gives us Richard Nixon's White House Christmas. Why, why, why, Delilah?
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A CLASSIC TV CHRISTMAS R2, 3 discs, $25 ($22) Vintage variety kitsch! The outer box includes separately packaged '70s holiday hours from Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie, plus a compilation of holiday highlights from Bob Hope's annual Christmas specials. |
THE JOHNNY CASH CHRISTMAS SPECIALS Shout! Factory, 4-disc box, $50 ($45) More than 60 performances are showcased in these treasures from the Country Music Hall of Fame archives -- Roy Clark, Tony Orlando, Merle Travis, Barbara Mandrell; The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis; Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge; Anne Murray, Tom T. Hall; and even comedy from Steve Martin and Andy Kaufman. (Specials also available individually for $15 list, each.)
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CHRIS ISAAK CHRISTMAS Koch, $20 ($18) This Soundstage hour with the cool rockin' crooner features old favorites (White Christmas), rock standbys (Santa Bring My Baby Back), and offbeat choices (Mele Kalikimaka). Isaak's guests include Stevie Nicks, Michael Buble and Brian McKnight. And it's all sharp as can be on standard DVD, thanks to a widescreen high-def shoot and a Dolby 5.1 mix. |
CHRISTMAS TIME IN SOUTH PARK Comedy Central, $13 ($10) It's South Park, so it's definitely not for kids -- seven themed Christmas episodes, the first of which, from the show's inaugural 1987 season, introduced "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" - and the South Park guys literally were just getting started. Other episodes include 1998's "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" and, most recently, 2004's "Woodland Critter Christmas." And yes, it's recommended - for the right recipient. -- DB
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