Now that the Christmas dinner has been had and the madness of festive shopping is over, it’s time to get down to the serious business of festive viewing. The Christmas movies have done the rounds and so here we give you a selection of other movies you should watch over the festive period.
The original ‘Superman’ movie from 1978 is a must watch film over the Christmas period. In it an alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home’s first and greatest superhero. The late Christopher Reeve pulled off the role of Clark Kent and Superman admirably. It is bolstered by a supporting cast boasting the likes of Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman. Margot Kidder plays the intrepid Lois Lane. You might just believe that a man can fly!
With all the hype surrounding the new Star Wars film we could all do with spending some time with the original trilogy. ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ came out in 1977 and blew audiences away. In it Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the universe from the Empire’s world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader. It was followed by ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983). Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker); Harrison Ford (Han Solo); Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia); Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca); Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Anthony Daniels (C-3P0) have all returned for the new film that is breaking records.
‘Back to the Future’ from 1985 is another classic to watch over the festive period. In it a young man (played by Michael J Fox) is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, and he must make sure his high-school-age parents unite in order to save his own existence. The two sequels never matched the genius of the first but are great fun too.
The magic of Christmas is made complete by ‘The Wizard of Oz’ from 1939. Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home. The songs and the laughs along the way make sure to keep everyone entertained.
The holidays would not be complete without Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) cracking his whip and getting into action. In the first film ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc’ from 1981 an archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis. It was followed by ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984) and ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989). The least said about the disaster that was ‘Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull’ (2008) the better. Harrison Ford has said that they are working on a new one, so fingers crossed it will make amends.
The list goes on. The Bond films are a selection box of fun. while hits like The Neverending Story, Lord of the Rings, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Ben Hur are all on the list.
Did we miss many films? Please let us know what you will be watching. Follow the link below also for ‘The Liberal’s Top Ten Christmas movies: http://theliberal.ie/heres-the-liberals-top-ten-christmas-movies-for-you-to-watch-this-christmas/. Happy Yuletide viewing all.