Reel Reflection: Looking Back at 2020’s Movie Anniversaries

 The year 2020 wasn’t...all...bad.  Wait!  Wait!  Before you stop reading.  Some of the good had to do with the time we had to enjoy and “re-enjoy” our favorite movies, particularly those that celebrated significant anniversaries this year.

Some, such as Jaws (45 years), The Shining and The Empire Strikes Back (both 40 years) have been celebrated this year by Screen Saver.  What follows is a list of just some of the other films that have reached milestones over the past twelve months, in what’s become an annual year-end tradition here at the blog!

As the year closes out and a hopeful new one begins, it’s the perfect opportunity to take the time to re visit and celebrate some, or all.

Inception - Celebrating 10 years

They truly don’t get more “Nolan-esque” than this trippy, original masterpiece from Uber-visionary Director Christopher Nolan.

Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team of “agents,” who are able to infiltrate dreams in order to extract information, including the inception of a thought.

A decade later, this film still amazes, particularly with scenes that defy answers as to how they were accomplished (the “floating sequence” is a perfect example).  Inception is a “Nesting doll” of a film that begs repeated viewing, to ensure you didn't dream just how fantastic it is.

Erin Brockovich - Celebrating 20 years

Julia Roberts deservedly won an Oscar for the title role, in this based-on-a-true-story of a brash legal secretary, who uncovers negligence on the part of a large corporation that resulted in groundwater contamination.

Director Steven Soderbergh is at the helm here, adding a touch of documentary-like realism to the film.  It was one of two amazing films he directed in the same year, two decades ago (the other being Best Picture Oscar winner Traffic) and he actually found himself competing against himself for Best Director for both of these films.

Erin Brockovich continues be that rare social commentary film that relays its message with entertaining humor, heart and humanity.

Toy Story - Celebrating 25 years

For years, the film industry was waiting for “the next Snow White,” that movie that would usher in a new age for animation.

Thanks to John Lasseter, Pixar and a partnership with Disney, that’s exactly what happened thanks to Toy Story, the first computer animated feature film.

Many say that the tale of Woody the Cowboy, Buzz Lightyear and Andy’s other toys led to the sunset of 2D animation, while others say it was the revolution that had been anticipated.

Either way, Toy Story led to two and half decades of envelope pushing artistry from Pixar that we can all be grateful for.

Dances with Wolves - Celebrating 30 years

This epic Western starring and directed by Kevin Costner was and still is a prime candidate for the title of “they just don’t make them like this anymore.”  Even though it won the Oscar for Best Picture, it’s somewhat faded from view in the past three decades, but most definitely deserves to be revisited.

Back to the Future - Celebrating 35 years

Great Scott!  How can it have been over thirty years since director and movie wizard Robert Zemeckis gave us the tale of Marty McFly, Doc Brown and a time-traveling DeLoreon?  Since its debut, the film has remained as beloved and quoted as when it was first released, providing generations with a positive view of the future and familial relationships.

Dog Day Afternoon - Celebrating 45 years

Movies don’t get more “New York” than this one.  Based on a real-life story of a bank robbery that spirals out of control, Al Pacino delivers one of his best performances and Sidney Lumet directs with his usual flare for real-life, that always looks so effortless.  Compelling from beginning to end.

Psycho - Celebrating 60 years

Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic and memorable film set the standard for a new generation of thrillers and horror films, turning traditions in Hollywood on its ear and causing audiences to lock their doors while showering after seeing it.  Anthony Perkins is brilliant, Janet Leigh is compelling, the movie is a masterpiece that never tires of impressing. 

Pinocchio & Fantasia- both celebrating 80 years 

Many consider Pinocchio the greatest animated film ever made and many consider Fantasia the most daring film ever made.  Only Walt Disney would and could make both in the same year!  Today’s generation of animated blockbusters owe everything to these two films.

And so, as we close out this unbelievable year and look to the possibilities of a new one, we sit through the Holiday Weekend, socially distant again, which  could prove to be a good time to binge these and other memorable movies that reached milestones in 2020.

Wishing everyone a Safe, Happy, Healthy and Better New Year!

Secret Santas: Forgotten Christmas Films Celebrating Anniversaries

 

By Michael Lyons

Here we are, it’s Christmas week and with so much “staying and working from home,” you probably feel as if you’ve exhausted your seemingly endless stash of Christmas movies.  Time to start the “rotation” all over again and begin watching some of your favorites for the second, third...or seventh time.

Before you resort to this “double-binging,” consider one or all of these somewhat forgotten Christmas movies that, through the years, have slipped through our collective pop-culture cracks.  Each one of them celebrates an anniversary this year and, while they may not be as celebrated as the 30th anniversary of Home Alone, or the 20th anniversary of Jim Carrey’s Grinch, these movies would still make a perfect compliment to your yearly Christmas “movie merriment.”

Remember the Night (1940) - 80th Anniversary

Fred Mac Murray plays a district attorney who is a prosecuting a shoplifter (Barbara Stanwyck) just days before Christmas.  As her trial won’t begin until after Christmas, she will have to spend Christmas in jail.  The attorney pays her bail, so she can be home for the holiday and yup, a romance begins.

This could almost be considered the “Grandfather of Hallmark Christmas movies,” but legendary screenwriter Preston Sturges, who penned the script, adds the right note of comedy and commentary, as he did with all of his movies, to allow it to rise above the predictable.

This is an under-appreciated old Hollywood gem. 

Beyond Tomorrow (1940) - 80th Anniversary

On Christmas Eve in New York City, three wealthy businessmen (C. Aubrey Smith, Harry Carey and Charles Winniger) conduct an experiment.  Each will toss their wallets out the window to the city street below, to see who (if anyone) returns it.  Two honest individuals (Jean Parker and Richard Carlson) both return the wallets and are befriended by the three businessmen.

The three men also decide to play a part in helping the young couple, even after tragedy strikes them (no spoilers here).

While Christmas only factors into the first half of this film (which is widely available, as it is in the public domain), the entire film’s message of unselfishness resounds throughout.  It’s dated in a number of ways, but Beyond Tomorrow still resonates today.

The Great Rupert (1950) - 70th Anniversary

What says Christmas better than comedian Jimmy Durante and a stop-motion squirrel?  This is truly a Christmas comedy unlike any ever seen.

A trained squirrel (the title character) who once appeared in a vaudeville act is set free and hides out in the attic of Louie Amendola (Durante) and his family, who have all fallen on hard times, during the Christmas holiday.

The smarter-than-average squirrel winds up bestowing good fortune on the family (again no spoilers).

The Great Rupert is a harmless, charming little comedy that features stop-motion animation by legendary effects wizard George Pal that, at the time, were thought so realistic many inquiries were sent to the filmmakers, asking how they trained the squirrel so well!

The Apartment (1960) - 60th Anniversary

Legendary director Billy Wilder’s Best Picture Oscar winner is a well-known classic, but many may not realize that it’s also a Christmas movie.

In the comedy, which has a plot that’s downright controversial by today’s standards, Jack Lemmon plays an office worker with dreams of climbing the coporate ladder, by loaning out his apartment to executives who are engaged in affairs and in need of a discreet place to bring their mistresses to.

Lemmon’s character develops feelings for one of these mistresses (Shirley MacLaine) which leads to complications.

A time-capsule and a more adult perspective of the season, (Santa drinking in a bar and revelry at a New Year’s Eve party) and like any Wilder film, there’s so much at work beneath the laughs.  Commentary on loneliness, alienation and finding perspective in life (during some very heavy, dramatic scenes later in the film) are relatable no matter what season it is.

Scrooge (1970) - 50th Anniversary

From the era of  Mary Poppins (1964) and Oliver! (1968) comes this big-screen movie musical treatment of A Christmas Carol.  Albert Finney is amazing in the title role, as Dickens’ infamous holiday “humbug,” bringing an element of humanity and sadness to the role (and the ability to play young and old Scrooge!)

Director Ronald Neame captures the details of Victorian London and also brings to life the story’s supernatural elements through some canny special effects.

And, the score and songs by Leslie Bricusse are brilliant, particularly the Oscar nominated Thank You Very Much, which is brought to life in the film through a show stopping number that deserves to rank as one of the best movie musical numbers ever.  After one viewing of Scrooge, you will be singing it well into the New Year.

One Magic Christmas (1985) - 35th Anniversary

Several years ago, while I was discussing this film on the podcast, Real Fans 4 Real Movies, the host, Andy said that this film was for anyone who feels that the darker scenes in It’s A Wonderful Life are too upbeat.

A perfect description for this Christmas movie that’s so unlike anything you’ve ever seen that describing the plot is almost like one giant spoiler!

Taking a little influence from director Frank Capra’s Christmas classic, this film tells the tale of an angel (Harry Dean Stanton) who teaches a mother (Mary Steenburgen) the true meaning of Christmas.  What follows is unemployment, bank robberies and a fatal car accident...and that’s just the film’s first act!

One Magic Christmas will make you think and allow you to appreciate what you have...but just know that the word Magic is only in the title.

Krampus (2015) - 5th Anniversary

This modern day take on a creature from German folklore - a giant, horned beast who is the opposite of Santa, coming to those who have been bad and taking from them, instead of giving -  is a Christmas horror film and cautionary tale.

Director Michael Dougherty (who also helmed the excellent Halloween tale, 2007’s Trick r Treat) leads an ensemble cast including Adam Scott, Toni Collette and David Koechner as a family, who are completely wrapped up in the glitzy commercialism of Christmas.

A blizzard traps them all in their home...and then Krampus comes, through some scary, creepy and tongue-in-check sequences that come to an ambiguous conclusion, right out of The Twilight Zone.

Krampus received a great deal of attention when it was released, but has become somewhat forgotten since.  It’s worth revisiting, as an antidote to standard Holiday cheer and a cunning statement on how we can easily let the superficial consume our lives.

As we head into this Christmas that, like everything else in 2020, has been dubbed “unique and different,” any or all of these seldom, or never, seen movies would fit perfectly!

Wishing you all a Very Safe and a Very Merry Christmas!...

...aaand, as an early Christmas Gift, “Screen Saver” is now on Facebook and Twitter!

Find the “Screen Saver” Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Screensaverblog/

Follow “Screen Saver” on Twitter: @Screensaverblog  

 

For Goodness Sake: The 50th Anniversary of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”

By Michael Lyons

 

Some classic TV Christmas specials seemingly fly by when watching them, after repeated viewings, year-after-year, the familiarity and quotable lines are fleeting.  One turns the special on and without time to even settle down, the special’s ending credits seem to roll.

 

Some other specials unfurl like a movie, even though their length is much shorter.  These specials contain so much in such a short amount of time, they have the feeling of watching something much more epic.

 

Rankin/Bass’ Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is just such a special.  Fifty years ago this Holiday Season, long before live-action films like Disney’s The Santa Clause (1994) or the recent Netflix hits, The Christmas Chronicles series, Rankin/Bass used the familiar Christmas Carol (a trope that the Studio would excel at) as the basis for a super hero-like “origin story” of Santa Claus.

 

In the special, a mythology that attempts to answers many questions about St. Nick, unfurls.  We are told the tale, as narrated by mailman Special Delivery (S.D.) Kluger, of a young baby, with no identification other than a name tag that reads “Claus” who is left at the doorstep of the evil head of Sombertown, Burgermeister Meisterburger, who orders the baby sent to an orphanage.  On the way there, the baby is lost and winds up at the cottage of an elf-like family named Kringle.

 

The Kringles are toymakers and they name the baby Kris, raising him as their own.  As Kris grows up, and learns, through a series of entanglements and adventures, that thanks to the Burgermeister, toys are banned in Sombertown, so Kris begins sneaking in overnight to deliver the toys.  And thus begins his life as Santa Claus.

 

The story takes place over the course of time, with different obstacles, characters and adversaries thrown in along the way.  Additionally, there are very creative plot points that answer questions about Santa: his red suit is given to him by his adopted mother, Tanta Kringle; his “Ho! Ho! Ho!’ laugh comes from imitating seals; and gifts in stockings come after leaving them in children’s laundered socks that are left by the fireplace to dry.

 

The story, based on the 1934 song by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, was penned by Rankin/Bass stalwart writer Romeo Mueller, who became the studio’s master at expanding familiar Christmas Carols into full-fledged stories (he is also responsible for the Studio’s classics Rudolph and Frosty).  With Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Mueller does a wonderful job of creating fantasy that has been accepted by generations of children as the actual history of Santa.

 

Adding to this is an all-star cast of voices who bring solid performances.  Mickey Rooney is such a warm, kind Santa, that Rankin/Bass brought him back again for The Year Without a Santa Claus four years later.  Keenan Wynn is both imposing and hysterical as the Winter Warlock, who transitions from adversary to friend throughout the special.  Fred Astaire is his usual debonair persona as S.D. Kluger and, as both the Burgermeister and his lackey Grimsby, another Rankin/Bass favorite (and voice acting legend) Paul Frees does such outstanding work that, at one point in the special, he manages to sing a duet…with himself!

 

His song “No More Toymakers to the King” is one of six by another “R/B regular” Maury Laws.  These are catchy and memorable numbers, most notably, “Put One Foot in Front of the Other,” which can be sung verbatim by those who make Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town part of their Holiday viewing rotation.

 

And, this all comes together with the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation technique, “AniMagic,” creating such detail to the scenes that it adds an extra layer of “otherworldy magic” to the proceedings.

 

Originally broadcast on ABC on December 14, 1970, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town was rerun for a number of years each season.  It disappeared from regular network showings in the ‘80’s, but was made available on home video and has since been a staple as part of the Freeform network’s “25 Days of Christmas.”  However, the current versions and versions through the years have been edited from the original.

 

In any form, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town has endured for fifty years thanks to it’s movie-like feel, but also its message as summed up by S.D. Kluger in the special’s final scene:

“Lots of unhappiness? Maybe so. But doesn't Santa take a little bit of that unhappiness away? Doesn't a smile on Christmas morning scratch out a tear cried on a sadder day? Not much, maybe. But what would happen if we all tried to be like Santa and learned to give as only he can give: of ourselves, our talents, our love and our hearts? Maybe we could all learn Santa's beautiful lesson and maybe there would finally be peace on Earth and good will toward men.”

Wise words from 50 years ago that mean even more this year.

True North: Remembering “Santa Claus: The Movie”

Left to right: Dudley Moore and David Huddleston in “Santa Claus: The Movie”

By Michael Lyons

 “A Thanksgiving Turkey.”  This term was used by several film critics when “Santa Claus: The Movie” debuted on November 27, 1985, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Thirty-five Christmas seasons later, with innumerable holiday movies depicting Santa having followed, it’s easy to see that “Turkey” is a completely unfair assessment of “Santa Claus: The Movie.”  The film does a wonderful job of creating its own mythology, establishing a compelling version of the North Pole, providing us with a scenery-chewing villain and using the superhero-origin-story paradigm to tell its story.

This last aspect is no surprise when one realizes that the film was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who had brought us the “Superman” films.  In fact, “Santa Claus: The Movie” was somewhat ahead of its time, in that it essentially was a “super hero event film,” the likes of which we are used to seeing today from DC and Marvel.

“Santa Claus: The Movie” opens in the 14th century, telling the tale of a generous woodcarver and his wife, who deliver their handcrafted toys to the local villages.  One night, after visiting a village, the woodcarver and his wife are caught in a blizzard (their fate is left purposely vague) and they are saved by a group of elves.

The elves take them to their hidden workshop, where an ancient and wise elf (a cameo by Burgess Meredith, after James Cagney was unable to be part of the production), renames the toy maker Santa Claus.

What follows is a very creative and, yes magical, interpretation of the Reindeer, the Elves, the North Pole and Santa’s workshop.  Through this, we are given an inventive look at how Santa grows in notoriety and his increasingly positive impact on the world (it’s especially sweet and humorous to see a scene in which Santa learns that a “new poem” entitled “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” has been written about him).

We then find ourselves in the 20th century, where Santa (character actor David Huddleston, so warm and charming in the role) employs one of his Elves, Patch (Dudley Moore, at the height of his popularity) to assist him in his work.  During a trip to New York, Santa also befriends an orphan boy named Joe (Christian Fitzpatrick) and a young girl named Cornelia (Carrie Kei Heim).

If this whole first half of the film is Santa’s “origin story,” this second half is where the villain enters the film...with actor John Lithgow playing the role of greedy toy maker B.Z. giving new meaning to the term “over-the-top.”

Left to right: John Lithgow and Dudley Moore 

B.Z. concocts a plan for a new Christmas (dubbed “Christmas 2,” a jab at both consumerism and movie sequels) and he dupes poor Patch into joining him. So, of course, it’s Santa Claus to the rescue.

While the second half of the film doesn’t work as well as the fantasy-based start of the film, “Santa Claus: The Movie” does a lot to deliver an original, big screen dose of Christmas magic.  Director Jeannot Swarc (most famous for helming “Jaws 2”) deftly handles the film, particularly its more fantastical moments.

Also, whether you grew up with the film or not, it also functions as a nice, quant time capsule of the ‘80’s, complete with lovingly blatant product placements for Coca-Cola and McDonald’s (at the time, the latter offered Happy Meals and Christmas Ornaments from the film, another throwback, that only adds to the comforting feeling of the film).

A McDonald’s Happy Meal featuring “Santa Claus: The Movie.”

Critics went after these marketing placements in the film, along with the fact that they felt Moore was underutilized and the film’s climax was a little underwhelming.

Those may be valid points, making one wonder why anyone would defend “Santa Claus: The Movie.”  The major reason is that one can’t deny all the positives that the film does still provide.  It’s not a heavy example of filmmaking that has taken its place alongside other Christmas classics. However, it is an original vision of St. Nick’s mythology and a movie that comments on commercialism and reinforces what the Holiday is all about.

And, as the movie celebrates its 35th anniversary this season, “Santa Claus: The Movie” continues to garner more devotees with each passing year.  

Not bad for a “Thanksgiving Turkey.”