Yuletide Jollies
Yuletide Jollies
By Cesare A.X. Syjuco [Video Troll]
Published in: The Manila Times, December 14, 1987
AS a rule, Christmas tapes languish on the shelves for 11 months of every year, only to be resurrected as instant superstars come December. Unless you fancy battling tooth-and-nail with shoving hordes of holly-crazed videophiles suddenly overcome with yuletide greed, it's probably best to do your own video shopping a week in advance. Here are some of the better titles available at most rental outlets:
A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Academy-award-winner George C. Scott stars as the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge in this outstanding 1984 re-make of that spooky yuletide classic by Charles Dickens, backed by a powerhouse supporting cast that includes David Warner, Bryan Brown and Susannah York. Scott’s memorable characterization brings a totally new dimension to Dickens' shrivelled, bickering miser, a timeless indictment of that unfortunate sector of humanity hardened by the ways of the world and the wanton pursuit of material gain. To be sure, the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future could make even the most callous among us get up and yoddle. And as they say in the poppy trade, if you can't cheer them up, you always scare the pants off them, by golly!
THE CHRISTMAS STAR - Banish all doubts that the favorite theme of Christmas is the thawing of the soul's polar icecap! Lou Grant's Edward Asner is cast in the role of a convicted con-man who bolts the state pen on Christmas Week disguised as a street-corner Santa. Seeking refuge in a coal-furnace basement after a bad fall temporarily incapacitates him, Asner is mistaken for the real Santa Claus by neighborhood children who try to enlist his help in bucking a mass-eviction notice served on their families by an evil landlord. Asner has obviously learned his Dickens well, spooking the old miser into a change of heart even while changing for the better himself. A virtual collage of traditional Christmas themes, this teevee movie may be a little heavy on adaptations, but yuletide magic subsists precisely on the repetition of the familiar to rouse the child in each of us.
LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY - Video Troll gives its readers an edge on the competition: a full-fledged Christmas feature little known to greedy videophiles who are out to stuff their stockings with yuletide family viewing. Based on the literary classic of the same title, this minor cinematic masterpiece has the irresistable Ricky Schroeder starring in tandem with the great Alec Guiness, a surefire combination that packs dramatic wallop and an abundance of homegrown wit into a tight period piece already a standard favorite. A small child shall lead them, as the saying goes. No fleetfooted reindeer here, but more than enough Christmas joy to spread around.
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Cesare A.X. Syjuco, “Yuletide Jollies” (page 1 of 1), The Manila Times, December 14, 1987
