Best Christmas Movies Ever! (Blu-ray Review)
Best Christmas Movies Ever! is the cinematic equivalent of those Halloween sound effects playing in the background of a party. The festive, familiar atmosphere that can play while you decorate the tree, wrap presents, cook, or throw a party. Directed by Mark A. Altman, the documentary celebrates the enduring appeal of holiday cinema across genres, generations, and cultural tastes. Originally premiering on The CW in a shortened broadcast version before expanding into a full-length cut, the film brings together an eclectic mix of actors, filmmakers, writers, critics, and pop-culture figures to reflect on the Christmas movies that have become annual traditions for millions of viewers. Thankfully, there’s no attempt to crown a single “best” holiday film, but instead embraces the deeply personal and nostalgic nature of Christmas cinema.
Film: ★★★☆☆
Familiar staples such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Elf, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas receive slightly shallow but fun discussions alongside less conventional entries like Black Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Batman Returns, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. By acknowledging horror, action, romance, animation, and even genre-defying outliers, Best Christmas Movies Ever! argues that the genre shouldn’t be constricted but accepting of all kinds of wildly different stories. This openness culminates in the documentary’s most spirited recurring debate: whether Die Hard qualifies as a Christmas movie. Rather than settling the question, the film treats the controversy as proof of how passionately audiences define their own holiday traditions. Same with Nightmare Before Christmas, where of course it’s debated which holiday the film most honors.
While the documentary doesn’t feature major A-list stars like Bill Murray or Will Ferrell, it compensates with an engaging mix of genre favorites, filmmakers, and pop-culture personalities whose enthusiasm is infectious. Contributors include Brent Spiner, Patrick Warburton, Barry Bostwick, Denise Crosby, Mick Foley, Matt Hardy, Chris Sarandon, Deborah Ann Woll, and Troy Baker, among many others. There are enough unexpected and welcome appearances to keep fans engaged, particularly for viewers who appreciate cult cinema, television history, and genre storytelling. Best Christmas Movies Ever! is comfort-food cinema in documentary form. And you just might discover some films to seek out to add to your list of yearly holiday viewings.
Video ★★★☆☆
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Clarity/Detail: This is very much a talking heads documentary sprinkled with clips of the films being discussed. The clips are sourced from high quality sources for the most part. Some of the older clips look worn like March of the Wooden Soldiers, but that’s just due to the source being unstable.
Depth: Again, not a whole lot of depth, since it’s just people talking at you. A lot of the clips are from older films, so don’t expect a lot of depth, but I don’t think you would anyway. Clips from Elf and Die Hard look better than others.
Black Levels: Black levels are good for the most part. In some of the clips there was a bit of crushing but nothing offensive. Again, these clips are from good sources.
Color Reproduction: Altman uses clips with a lot of color, and the interviews have holiday lights behind them, making this a nice holiday addition to your home.
Flesh Tones: Flesh tones are all natural. The lighting for the interviewees are all well composed.
Noise/Artifacts: None.
Audio: ★★★☆☆
Audio Format(s): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English
Dynamics: Being the nature of the documentary, don’t expect a rousing auditory experience. If it’s an action scene, like in Die Hard or Jingle all the Way, then it’s more robust.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: I didn’t really hear a lot from the few action clips shown.
Surround Sound Presentation: Sometimes you’ll hear music or specific moments from clips around the room.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is always in the center channel and of course, always clear.
Extras: ★★★☆☆
Audio Commentary featuring Director Mark A. Altman and Scott Mantz: There’s a fun bit where Mantz recalls seeing How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Charlton Heston was right behind him in the auditorium. The track has some fun tidbits, and despite the fact that they do comment a lot on what the interviewees are discussing, it never becomes dull.
Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD, 19:17)
‘Best Christmas Movies Ever’: Live At GalaxyCon (featuring writer / director Mark A. Altman) (HD, 40.39): This is a pretty fun Q&A with some overlap with the commentary
Trailer
Collectible Mini-Poster
Reversible artwork
Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
Summary: ★★★☆☆
I enjoyed this documentary. It’s all fluff but during the holiday season, isn’t that what we’re looking for? It accomplishes what it sets out to do, and it’s something I would absolutely play in the background at my annual holiday party next year.
