Movies are a wonderful way to get in the spirit of Christmas. You can snuggle up with your loved ones to watch a treasured classic such as It's a Wonderful Life or Elf. If you like your holiday to have a darker edge, you can watch the black comedies Gremlins or Scrooged. Classic film fans should also consider these Christmas-themed film noir titles.
This year, Video Librarian is doing something a little different. We're recommending films that have no relation to or mention Christmas, yet we consider them Christmas movies. These films have their own kind of holiday magic and are unique titles to expand your Christmas film collection beyond the conventional staples.
Inside Llewyn Davis
For as much as Christmas is a joyful time, it can also be filled with melancholy. It's stressful preparing for a day that is over far too quickly. Inside Llewyn Davis (2012) captures the cold, the tensions, and the bitter comedy of the holiday season. The Coen Brothers' cloudy drama about the failed aspirations of a 1960s folk singer somehow feels appropriate to watch around Christmas.
There's a strange comfort in placid folk music and the cyclical narrative that traps Llewyn in an endless cycle of misery and self-sabotage. You can feel the biting cold of a New York winter when Llewyn, wearing a thin coat, runs around the city with a cat and guitar in hand.
I've made watching this film my new Christmas Eve Eve tradition. It also holds a special meaning for me because I went to see a retrospective screening in NYC during Christmastime when I had one of my first dates with my future husband.
by Caroline Madden, Editor in Chief
Read our review of Inside Llewyn Davis
The Devil Wears Prada
A non-Christmas movie that always gets me in the holiday spirit is The Devil Wears Prada (2006). The Devil Wears Prada stars Anne Hathaway as Andy, an ambitious writer who lands a job as assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the editor of a high fashion magazine. This film always gets me excited for cold weather and winter fashion, with Miranda’s collection of chic coats and stylish outfits perfect for a crisp New York winter.
Although the film never mentions Christmas, Andy’s determination to complete Miranda’s increasingly demanding tasks aligns with the frenzy of the holiday season. Memorable lines make it a crowd-pleaser for holiday gatherings if you’re sick of watching Christmas movies.
by Isadora Lambert, Assistant Editor
Read our review of The Devil's Wear Prada
The Towering Inferno
I enjoy the Christmas holiday – but it also comes at the darkest time of the year and is the gateway to my least favorite season, winter. By the last week of December, I am spending a lot of time reflecting on the year that has passed and looking toward the next year with renewed hopes and lofty personal goals. This is why I find watching my favorite disaster movie The Towering Inferno to be the perfect catharsis. Released in December of 1974 it does not feature Christmas, but it is everything a seasonal blockbuster could hope to be.
It starts unassumingly, like every fresh year, but soon overconfidence meets oversight, time meets tragic circumstances, and events are set in accelerating irreversible motion. In the end, The Towering Inferno is very much like the holidays — decadent, emotional, and filled with guest stars. Much like the approaching new year, not everyone will live to see it, but those who do are hopefully kinder and wiser having been through the experiences of the year that is almost history. Still one of the greatest films of its genre, The Towering Inferno is dramatic, spectacular, stressful — and ultimately, surprisingly life-affirming.
by Dorian Bowen, Client Engagement Specialist
Fargo
When it comes time to settle in for a seasonal movie, my top choice is Fargo (1996). I find comfort in watching Frances McDormand’s quirky ‘Marge Gunderson’ solve a double homicide whilst 7 months pregnant, and the film’s dark humor portrayed through a thick, not-so-intimidating North Dakota/Minnesota accent makes it all the more amusing. There's also messy humor in William H. Macy’s kidnapping plot against his own wife.
Fargo may not be the conventional choice for a holiday film, but it brings my family together just as easily as Home Alone can.
by Charlotte Christy, Social Media & Marketing Coordinator
Read our review of Fargo