Q: What is the greatest Christmas movie of all time?
A: This is a tough one to answer, because it requires some subjective judgment -but its Christmas, so Ill take my best shot.
The first step is to narrow down the definition of a Christmas movie.
When most people say movie they mean feature-length films released in theatres. In order to thin the list, lets use this definition. That means those wonderful made for TV specials like the original 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Charlie Browns Christmas are excluded from consideration.
Perhaps next year we can tackle the greatest Christmas TV special of all time.
But how do you define a Christmas movie?
Is the 1984 cult classic Gremlins a Christmas movie simply because it is set during the holidays?
Even further afield is the 1974 horror movie Black Christmas or the 2003 dark comedy Bad Santa.
To further narrow the list, lets stick to what Id call traditional Christmas films: typically dramas or comedies with family-friendly ratings (G or PG), in which Christmas plays a central or integral role in the plot.
But what makes a movie great? Film is an art form, and like any other art form, one way to judge its merits is the opinions of experts and critics in the field.
Awards given by panels of expert judges are also a good indicator. In the world of movies, the Oscars -the awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1929 -are probably the most prestigious.
But to be truly great, any work of art has to have broad, popular appeal and cultural influence that extends beyond the work of art itself. And that appeal and influence should have a lasting, enduring quality that crosses generations.
For that reason, the greatest Christmas movie of all time needs to be at least 20 years old to gauge its cultural staying power. Its simply impossible to know if people will still be watching the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf or 2011 animated movie Arthur Christmas in decades to come.
The first obvious choice would be a film about the birth of Jesus, after all that is the whole reason for Christmas. But it appears all the notable films about Jesus life tend to focus on his adult life and mission, rather than his birth.
Besides Christmas, as we celebrate it today, didnt really start to take shape as a holiday until hundreds of years after Jesus death.
In terms of cultural staying power, after Jesus, A Christmas Carol is the clear winner. At least 22 film adaptations of Charles Dickens 1843 novella -and countless TV specials and theatrical productions -have been made based on Dickens Victorian tale of redemption. The earliest know film adaptation was a five-minute silent movie made in 1901 called Scrooge, or, Marleys Ghost.
But the sheer volume of adaptations has diluted the influence of each individual version. Its impossible to pick one version as the single greatest Christmas movie of all time.
With all those Scrooges out of the way, what is left?
Based on the criteria of critical acclaim, film awards, popularity, cultural legacy and enduring appeal the greatest Christmas movie of all time is: Its A Wonderful Life.
The 1946 black and white film starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers and Lionel Barrymore and directed by Frank Capra was considered a financial failure when it was first released.
Although it was generally well reviewed, it didnt connect with movie goers in the year following the end of the Second World War.
It was nominated for five Oscars -Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Sound, Recording -but was shut out. William Wylers film The Best Years of Our Lives, about three Second World War veterans struggling to adapt to civilian life, dominated the Oscars in 1947.
However Capra did get a best director award at both the Golden Globes and New York Film Critics Circle Awards. The U.S. National Board of Review named it one of the top 10 films of the year.
A year later another holiday favourite and potential contender, Miracle on 34th Street, won three Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Writing, Original Story; and Best Actor in a Support Role.
It was also nominated for, but didnt win, the Best Picture award.
But like the movies hard luck protagonist George Bailey, Its A Wonderful Life got a second chance. When the movies copyright lapsed in 1974, the film became a staple of holiday TV programming.
On TV, Its A Wonderful Life gained a new following, becoming an annual tradition for many families. The films mix of mature themes, deep sentimentality and gentle humour struck a chord with viewers.
In 1990 the U.S. National Film Preservation Board decided to preserve the film for future generations. And in 1998, the American Film institute released a list of the 100 greatest American movies to mark the 100th anniversary of film. Its a Wonderful Life was ranked 11th - the only Christmas movie to make the list.
The website Rotten Tomatoes, which ranks movies based on an aggregate of critics reviews and user votes, named Its A Wonderful Life No. 1 on its Top 25 Christmas movies list. The website gives it a 94 per cent rating based on 68 movie critic review and 96 per cent user rating based on nearly 215,000 user ratings.
The Internet Movie Database, better known as IMDb, rated Its A Wonderful Life at No. 1 on its Top 100 Christmas movies list. In addition, the film ranks 26th of IMDbs Top 250 movies of all time, again the only Christmas movie to make the cut.
IMBd gives Its a Wonderful Life a rating of 8.7 out of 10 - compiled out of more than 218,000 user reviews.
What makes Its a Wonderful Life stand out above the rest is that it is not just a great Christmas movie, it is a great movie.
Merry Christmas, Prince George.
Do you have questions about events in the news? Are you puzzled by some local oddity? Does something youve seen, heard or read just not make sense? Email your questions to [email protected], and award-winning investigative reporter Arthur Williams will try to get to the bottom of it.
