A Christmas Story 2 Disc SE (1 Viewer)

[Jonny P]

This movie is an absolute classic. I am glad they are finally getting this thing right with the upcoming release. I am looking forward to it already.

I am likely the only one that remembers this, but Darren McGavin (and the actress that played the mother) were in a PBS production (I believe it was American Playhouse) of another of Jean Shepherd's stories that involved Ralphie.

Ralphie was a teenager (Peter Billingsly was not playing the part) and going on his first date.

No one...and I mean no one...recalls the film. I saw it and I called a few friends of ours to see it at the time.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear on imdb.com because it wasn't a full-fledged "movie", but one of the hour-long American Playhouse productions. It had decent production value and I wished I had had a VCR at the time to tape it...but alas I didn't.

If anyone ever finds information about it, please let me know...

 

[Randy A Salas]

According to the online bibliography of Jean Shepherd, these are his only stories that were on American Playhouse:

American Playhouse - Produced for PBS by WGBH, Boston

"The Phantom of the Open Hearth" (1976)
Starring: David Elliot, Barbara Bolton, James Broderick

"The Great American 4th of July and Other Disasters" (1982)
Starring: Matt Dillon, James Broderick, Barbara Bolton

"The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski" (1983)
Starring: Pete Kowanko, James Coe, Katherine Kamhi, Barbara Bolton

"Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss!" (1989)
Starring: James B. Sikking, Dorothy Lymon, Jerry O'Connell.

 

[Greg_S_H]

There was a sequel called It Runs in the Family, with Charles Grodin in the Darren McGavin role. It was . . . not so good, even though it was also directed by Bob Clark. But, Bob Clark is pretty hit-or-miss. Witness the horror that was Baby Dumbasses.

 

[Jeff D Han]

It would be terrific to have Billingsley, McGavin and
Melinda Dillon talk together on the commentary with
Bob Clark. I agree that Darren McGavin added alot to
the film. Forget It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas
Story is THE holiday movie!

 

[Brian Kidd]

Oh let's not forget IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Still top notch in its own way. Apples and oranges my friend. Now come out from under the sink. Daddy's not gonna kill Ralphie.

 

[Jeff D Han]

Yeah, I know it's apples and oranges. WONDERFUL LIFE
isn't a heartwarming film until the end while CHRISTMAS
STORY is feel-good all the way through. I didn't mean
to ruffle feathers, but I like CHRISTMAS STORY much
better.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I thought he was supposed to say fudge! Sort of like he was saying "Fudge", but imaginging himself saying the real thing. It made it so much more real in a childlike way. Kids do those sort of things sometimes you know, just to see if they can get away with it.

 

[Cal S]

I don't how many of you are familiar with Diamond Previews, a catalog that showcases upcoming comics and toys. But the current issue features an entire line of "A Christmas Story" toys and collectibles.

They have talking actions figures: Mom with Randy all wrapped up for winter. Dad and the lamp, Flick stuck to the pole and Ralphie with the BB gun.

They also have bobble heads, lunch boxes and tree ornaments.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.....You can also get your very own leg lamp. Full 40" size ($252.00) and desk size, 20" ($46.99)

I'm not joking

 

[BrettB]

If I bought that lamp I fear it would suffer the same fate it did in the movie (major award though it is).

 

[Scott Weinberg]

GREAT news! How great it will be to finally add this classic to my collection.

I've seen this one probably six times and it just never gets old. Such a sweet, warm-hearted, FUNNY little movie. You'd never guess that such a charming and family-friendly flick came from the director of Porky's!

Fa-ra-ra-ra-raaaa!

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

It's Ralphie's facial expressions to all the crassness and madness that surrounds his family and life in general that I really like. The film has a weird, nostalgic air to it and the gags are hilarious.

Uh... what's the other film they show every Christmas? - The Christmas Martian! Is that it? Man, that movie is psychedelic!


Gordy

 

[MatthewA]

Goodbye to my LBX LD which I had to replace because the first one cracked!

Yes, but does it come with a Red Ryder Carbine Action Model Air Rifle?

You'll shoot your eye out, Kidd.

 

[Andrew Radke]

I'm ecstatic about this set. No doubt about it. I watch this movie at least twice every holiday season and it continues to make me laugh every time. To own a special widescreen edition of this on DVD would be excellent. The extras which were stated above also sound great! I would love to see Darren McGavin be a part of the commentary for this movie, but due to his recent tragedy, I guess it's pretty much hit-or-miss. Between this and Christmas Vacation, it'll definitely be a merry Christmas in my home. By the way, put me down for one of those leg lamps!! LOL

"FRAGILE..........it must be Italian"
"I think it says fragile honey."

 

[Laura Nicholson]

Resurrecting a very old dead thread. :b I was reading over at Amazon that the widescreen version was just a cropped fullscreen. Is this right? I want to be sure the aspect ratio is correct before I buy this.

Thanks

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I was reading over at Amazon that the widescreen version was just a cropped fullscreen. Is this right?

Sort of. The fullscreen version of this film was an open matte version, which means it was filmed using the whole frame of 35mm film and mattes were placed over the projector when it was shown in the theater to give the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. REmoving or "opening" the mattes gives you a fullframe version. This does not mean that 1.33:1 is the correct aspect ratio, it just means that the mattes were in the projector instead of the camera. The widescreen version is the correct one, regardless of the fact that you see "more" with the open matte version. "More" in this case means more of what the director did not want you to see.

 

[Laura Nicholson]

Thanks Jeff!

 

[Andrew Radke]

I just watched my SE yesterday, and you literally can't go wrong with it. The OAR version looks leaps and bounds better than the full frame version and looks amazing on my 52" widescreen set. I highly suggest you grab this. Not to mention it's got some pretty decent extras (i.e. radio segments featuring author Jean Sheppard telling stories which were the inspiration for the film, a rather short but entertaining trivia game, two mock featurettes on the leg lamp and the Red Rider BB Gun, a secret decoder game, theatrical trailer, behind the scenes featurette and commentary. It also contains BOTH full screen and widescreen versions (in case you prefer the former).

 

[MikeEckman]

This is one of those movies that I dont mind watching the 1.33:1 version of the film. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the 1.85:1 version, but what I am implying is I never saw this in the theater (as did most people as it did not reach popularity until well after its theatrical run), and the only way I am familiar with it is from cable TV broadcasts. Considering there isn't anything missing from the 1.33:1 version and there was no CGI to speak of back then that could be incorrectly centered, its not nearly as offensive to watch as some pan and scan travesties (Ghostbusters always comes to mind when I think of this).

As Andrew pointed out, the new transfer is a huge improvement over the original disc, and even if you didn't care about any of the extras, the cleaned up transfer is worth the price of the movie by itself!

I snatched this up as soon as it was available last year, and I should grab this off my shelf very soon and watch it!

 

[Laura Nicholson]

Thanks for the explanation on the aspect ratio. I am aware of open matte, but I wasnt' sure if it applied here. I picked this up last night at Best Buy (I swear the price was lower last week). Now all I have to do is get the family together and have our yearly showing. And the father in the movie IS my father.

Thanks Again

 

[Grant H]

I finally picked up the SE on half.com at a decent price. It's just been too expensive. A light scuff on the disc. I'll have to watch it soon to make sure it plays okay.

I gasped when I mentioned "A Christmas Story" to a co-worker, and she said she hated the movie.