From this Saturday at 12am Eastern, that’s 6pm Saturday in NZ, 4pm in Sydney and 5am in the UK, and repeated every four hours throughout the day, it’s the described movies It’s a Wonderful Life from 1946, A Christmas Carol from 1984 and Santa’s Workshop from 1932.
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet The Greatest Gift, which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loosely based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.
The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his personal dreams, in order to help others in his community, and whose suicide attempt on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers).
Clarence shows George how he has touched the lives of others and how different life would be for his wife Mary and his community of Bedford Falls if he had not been born.
Theatrically, the film's break-even point was $6.3 million, about twice the production cost, a figure it did not come close to achieving on its initial release.
Because of the film's disappointing sales, Capra was seen by some studios as having lost his ability to produce popular, financially successful films.
Although It's a Wonderful Life initially received mixed reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office, it became a classic Christmas film after it was put into the public domain, which allowed it to be broadcast without licensing or royalty fees.
It's a Wonderful Life is considered one of the greatest films of all time.
It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and has been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made.
It was No. 11 on the American Film Institute's 1998 greatest movie list, No. 20 on its 2007 greatest movie list, and No. 1 on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time.
Capra revealed that it was his favourite among the films he directed and that he screened it for his family every Christmas season.
It was one of Stewart's favourite films.
In 1990, the film was designated as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Directed by: Frank Capra.
Screenplay by: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Frank Capra.
Based on: The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern.
Produced by: Frank Capra.
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen and Gloria Grahame.
Cinematography: Joseph Walker and Joseph Biroc.
Edited by: William Hornbeck.
Music by: Dimitri Tiomkin.
Production company: Liberty Films.
Distributed by: RKO Radio Pictures.
Release date: 20 December 1946.
File Length: 131 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Budget: $3.18 million.
Box office: $3.3 million.
A Christmas Carol is a 1984 British American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens's famous 1843 novella of the same name.
The film was directed by Clive Donner, who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge, and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.
It was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
Directed by: Clive Donner.
Starring: George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, David Warner, Susannah York, Edward Woodward and Roger Rees.
Music by: Nick Bicât.
Country of origin: United Kingdom and United States.
Original language: English.
Executive producer: Robert E. Fuisz.
Producers: George F. Storke and Alfred R. Kelman.
Production locations: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.
Cinematography: Tony Imi.
Editor: Peter Tanner.
File Length: 100 minutes.
Production company: Entertainment Partners Ltd.
Distributor: 20th Television.
Original network: CBS.
Picture format: Colour.
Audio format: Dolby Stereo.
Original release: 17 December 1984.
Santa's Workshop is a Disney short film directed by Wilfred Jackson, first released on December 10, 1932 in the Silly Symphonies series.
The film features Santa Claus and his elves preparing for Christmas in Santa's workshop.
A sequel, The Night Before Christmas, partially based on the 1823 poem " A Visit from St. Nicholas", was made the year after, portraying Santa leaving the toys in a house with nine children.
In Sweden and Norway, Santa's Workshop is part of the Christmas television special From All of Us to All of You, traditionally shown on Christmas Eve. Various stereotypes in the film have been censored several times.
Santa's Workshop is the first "Silly Symphonies" titled cartoon to develop with RCA's Photophone synchronization early-in-film sound system.
The short features the first of the Marches Militaires by Franz Schubert.
Directed by: Wilfred Jackson.
Produced by: Walt Disney.
Starring: Allan Watson-Santa Claus Pinto Colvig -Santa’s Secretary, Walt Disney-Elf and Frank Geiger.
Music by: Frank Churchill.
Production company: Walt Disney Productions.
Distributed by: United Artists.
Release date: 10 December 1932 (United States).
File Length:6 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Any questions, comments, or ideas for future described movies: e-mail me: anthony at mushroomfm dot com (e-mail address written that way to cut down on
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Enjoy the movies,
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