The Holidays are all around us… Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa… Do you celebrate any of them this year? Or do you prefer, like Frank Constanza to celebrate Festivus (after all it is for ‘the rest of us’…)? More importantly, do you have a list of films in heavy rotation for this time of the year? You see, come Christmas time, and in my house, we tend to rewatch the same films over and over again, taking each and every one of us back in time, reliving past Christmas joy.

Growing up surrounded by the action-packed screens of the 1980s, my father (and I expect some of you) is a firm defender of John MacLane as a true Christmas icon. And so, we watch him in Die Hard showcasing the true Christmas spirit in his brave defending of the Fox Plaza from the evil Hans Gruber. My mother, not really believing that Christmas has anything to do with guns and hostages (weird, right?!), looks for the Christmas spirit in the entangled narratives of Love Actually. My grandmother makes her Christmas spirit rise in the rewatching of James Stewart’s quintessential performance in It’s a Wonderful Life.

For me, there are several films I need in this time of the year… Home Alone (1 and 2), Jimmy Carrey’s version as The Grinch, and when the Christmas spirit is taking a while to kick in, I watch (and sing along to) The Muppet Christmas Carol. Not only because A Christmas Carol is perhaps the best Christmas story ever written, but because it only gets better with Kermit, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and the brilliant ‘Humbug’ Sir Michael Caine.

Whether you celebrate any of these holidays or not, these films are key texts in Hollywood’s history, not just by their technical brilliance, but because of their ability to continuously touch new generations, becoming a part of their December traditions. This week, The Dukes is showing some of these amazing films allowing us to share a darkly lit room with one another. Some of us watching these films for the very first time, others mouthing the lines as the narrative goes along – isn’t that magical? If we don’t see each other in magic of the cinema room, we will surely see each other in the new year. Until then, I leave you with Yippee Ki-Yay… oh sorry, typo… I meant to say Ho, Ho, Ho, May your holidays be filled with warmth, love, laughter, and great films!

Written by João Eduardo Lima Belchior

You can see our selection of festive flicks from Now - 24 December

See what magical treats await you in our Snow Programme here: https://info.dukeslancaster.or...