8. The 80s and Early 90s Loved a Good Christmas Film
This writer has a particular soft spot for Christmas films, so it was lucky I was born when I was. This may be a minor point to some, but the frequency of Christmas films during this period is like no other. The oldies might have Its a Wonderful Life and the young whippersnappers can claim Elf, kids from the 80s? Take your pick. Early in the decade, 1982 saw the release of The Snowman, walking in the air, Aled Jones, all that malarkey, now a Christmas staple. This was followed in 1983 by two very different Christmas films. Helping support the argument that it was a great period for comedy, Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy starred in Trading Places whilst Bob Clarks rather more wholesome A Christmas Story was also released (youll shoot your eye out). 1984 saw the release of horror comedy Gremlins. A little break before Scrooged came out in 1988 (further support to the strength of 80s comedies) before Nation Lampoons Christmas Vacation in 1989 (again). Home Alone came in 1990, followed by Home Alone 2 in 1992 (a child of the 80s will also know that no further sequels exist), with the wonderful A Muppet Christmas Carol in the same year. Nightmare Before Christmas (not huge at the time but now widely appreciated by many) was released in 1993 and Miracle on 34th Street was remade with Mara Wilson (remember her? she retired) in 1994. Not bad at all, in fact, the 80s loved Christmas so much, even the non Christmassy movies were set at Christmas, Brazil, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard