The 1980s may not have been the greatest era for film in general, but some of the best Christmas movies of all time came out during the decade that brought us big hair, loud music, and widespread consumerism. Sure, not all 1980s holiday films were traditional. In fact, most weren’t. Only in the 1980s would you have Christmas movies that also passed as big-budget action flicks, creepy creature features, or R-rated comedies.
Still, whether they were cheesy, over-the-top, or filled with jokes that probably wouldn’t hold up so well today, many of the Christmas films released during the ’80s occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of cinephiles of a certain age. At the same time, some of them have even managed to find new audiences. With all that in mind, here are 10 of the best Christmas movies from the 1980s.
10
‘A Christmas Story’ (1983)
Based on semi-autobiographical stories by radio personality and humorist Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story follows a nine-year-old boy from a fictional Indiana town in the 1940s who attempts to convince practically everyone in his life that he deserves a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Narrated and co-written by Shepherd himself and based on a true story, the classic comedy stars Peter Billingsley as the young Ralphie Parker and Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin as Mrs. and Mr. Parker.
It’s hard to find a more definitive 1980s Christmas movie than A Christmas Story. The movie dominates the TV airwaves from right after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day, with the 24-hour Christmas-Eve-to-Christmas marathon having been a tried-and-true holiday staple for around 25 years. Featuring iconic scenes like the unwrapping of the leg lamp and the tongue-on-the-pole dare (and, of course, who can forget the running “you’ll shoot your eye out” mantra), A Christmas Story is practically tied to the modern-day Yuletide tradition.
9
‘Trading Places’ (1983)
Following the release of his early hits Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and An American Werewolf in London, iconic comedy director John Landis struck gold yet again with the Christmas comedy film Trading Places. Set in Philadelphia, the movie stars Dan Aykroyd as a wealthy investor and Eddie Murphy as a con artist. Unbeknownst to them, the two men find themselves in the middle of a test orchestrated by two millionaires that hinges on their positions being reversed. Hilarity ensues.
Trading Places isn’t just a Christmastime guilty pleasure, but it’s also one of the best comedy movies from the 1980s. Grossing over $120 million at the box office, the movie is particularly memorable for the career-defining performances of Murphy, Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis, whose role as a savvy sex worker earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. Nominated for Best Original Score at the 56th Academy Awards, Trading Places also received two Golden Globes nominations (Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and Best Actor for Eddie Murphy).
8
‘Gremlins’ (1984)
Joe Dante introduced audiences to some of the most iconic mischievous monsters in movie history with his 1984 comedy horror film Gremlins. Starring newcomer Zach Galligan and Fast Times at Ridgemont High standout Phoebe Cates, Gremlins became one of the first films to earn a PG-13 rating, while also spawning a massive merchandising push that included toys, video games, and even a novel.
Gremlins may be wildly popular during Halloween due to its roots in the horror genre, but its Christmastime setting, and messages against consumerism and Scrooge-like characters unmistakably tie it to the December holiday season. It was an incredible commercial and critical success, earning $212 million at the box office and winning five Saturn Awards out of a total of nine nominations. On top of that, its legacy as the film that popularized small monsters on the big screen solidifies its strong contribution to cinema history.
7
‘A Christmas Carol’ (1984)
Airing on CBS in 1984, the made-for-television film adaptation of A Christmas Carol starred Academy Award winner George C. Scott as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Directed by Clive Donner, who worked as an editor on the 1951 film Scrooge, the movie also featured a cast of renowned British actors, including Emmy winner David Warner and Oscar nominee Frank Finlay.
There have been dozens of movie and television adaptations of Charles Dickens’s classic 19th-century novella over the years, but the 1984 version stands out as one of the best. Scott’s performance as Scrooge is particularly memorable (it earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special). At the same time, the faithfulness to the source material and deliberate pacing make it a Christmas classic.
6
‘Santa Claus: The Movie’ (1985)
Santa Claus (David Huddleston) and an elf named Patch (Dudley Moore) team up to save Christmas from a sinister toy company executive (John Lithgow) in Santa Claus: The Movie. Horror and sci-fi movie legend John Carpenter was originally pegged for the director job, but the job ended up going to French filmmaker Jeannot Szwarc (Jaws 2, Supergirl). Funded by a company that was actually called Santa Claus Productions Limited, the movie also spawned a Marvel comic book adaptation.
Santa Claus: The Movie was ill-received at the time of its release. It was a box-office bomb, garnering mostly negative reviews from critics, and even John Lithgow himself called it “one of the tackiest movies I’ve ever been in.” Today, however, the film has an outspoken contingent of fans on various movie review platforms who, with the benefit of childhood Christmas nostalgia, consider it one of the greatest holiday films ever made.
5
‘Babes in Toyland’ (1986)
Two years after the release of A Christmas Carol, Clive Donner turned in another made-for-TV Christmas flick with Babes in Toyland. Based on the early 20th-century operetta, the holiday musical aired on NBC and starred Keanu Reeves, Drew Barrymore, Eileen Brennan, and Pat Morita.
Like Santa Claus: The Movie, Babes in Toyland didn’t receive rave reviews at the time of its release, but it remains a guilty pleasure among a number of viewers who saw the film as kids. Folks who have a soft spot for the film particularly enjoyed the performances of Drew Barrymore, who received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Female Superstar in Television, and a pre-Bill & Ted Reeves.
4
‘Die Hard’ (1988)
New York City police detective John McClane fights to save his wife and her co-workers after a group of terrorists led by Alan Rickman attacks the Los Angeles skyscraper where they work in the John McTiernan-directed Die Hard. A host of popular action stars, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, turned down the lead role, which was eventually accepted by Bruce Willis. The movie spawned a wildly successful franchise and catapulted Willis into Hollywood superstardom.
While it’s been the topic of many a debate for over 30 years, we’re here to tell you that Die Hard is definitively a Christmas movie, as the action film takes place during an office Christmas party and has an unmistakable holiday magic to it, despite all the hardcore gun fights and explosions. On top of being a box-office hit and earning four Academy Award nominations (Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects), Die Hard practically flipped the script on action films, with the undersized and wisecracking Willis and the charming and intelligent Rickman both adding nuance to their respective hero and villain archetypes.
3
‘Scrooged’ (1988)
Scrooged, a modern-day, comedic take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a Scrooge-based TV executive who forces his employees to work on Christmas Eve to put on a live production of the Dickens classic. Naturally, Cross gets the three-ghost treatment, with rock star David Johansen playing the cab-driving Ghost of Christmas Past and Academy Award nominee Carol Kane playing the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Even though Murray didn’t enjoy making the film and occasionally clashed with director Richard Donner, Scrooged made over $100 million at the box office and received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup (losing to Beetlejuice). Audiences and critics either loved or hated Bill Murray’s portrayal as the sarcastic and mean-spirited Scrooge stand-in, but today, the movie is considered one of the greatest Christmas comedies of all time.
2
‘Prancer’ (1989)
Prancer stars Hollywood newcomer Rebecca Harrell as a farm girl named Jessica who cares for a wounded reindeer that she believes belongs to Santa Claus. Set in the small town of Three Oaks, Michigan, the fantasy drama features Sam Elliott as Jessica’s dubious father, and also co-stars Cloris Leachman, Abe Vigoda, and Michael Constantine.
Earning Harrell a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture, Prancer is a wholesome holiday movie for the whole family, though with more heart and less soulless cheesiness than the typical Hallmark Christmas film you might see today. It spawned a 2002 direct-to-video sequel, Prancer Returns, and a 2022 remake called Prancer: A Christmas Tale.
1
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
The third movie in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, follows the Griswold family as they try (and unsurprisingly, fail) to plan a fun-filled, family Christmas. Based on John Hughes’s short story Christmas ’59, the Christmas comedy features the returns of Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold, while also including memorable guest appearances from Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brian Doyle-Murray.
While it initially received mixed reviews from critics (Roger Ebert gave it only two stars), Christmas Vacation is now considered a Christmas classic. As he always does in the Vacation movies, Chevy Chase undoubtedly steals the show as the well-meaning-but-tantrum-prone patriarch. Still, the ensemble cast certainly holds its own, particularly when the holiday hijinks ramp up towards the end. Of course, Randy Quaid is hilarious in his return as Cousin Eddie. Grossing over $73 million at the box office, Christmas Vacation was the highest-grossing film in the series until the release of the 2015 reboot.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
